Written Replies Nos. 126 to 135
126. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider providing the capital funding necessary to aid the development of a library at a college (details supplied) in order to provide the same learning opportunities and supports that are available to other third level institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29130/16]
View answerThere are many competing demands on the limited capital budget for higher education.
The Department of Education and Skills is aware of the proposed new library referred to by the Deputy and it will be considered within the context of competing demands. I am not in a position to commit to a funding allocation at this point.
127. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position with regard to the provision of a secondary school (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29136/16]
View answerThe building project for the school to which the Deputy refers was recently approved to progress to the advanced stage of the architectural planning process, Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design, which includes the applications for planning permission, fire cert and disability access cert and the preparation of tender documents. The design team, in liaison with officials from the relevant local authority, has identified a potential solution to the drainage requirements at the proposed site for the new school building. Officials from my Department are currently liaising with the relevant parties in order to secure the consents necessary to effect this solution. When agreements have been reached the planning application will then be submitted to the Local Authority.
128. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position with regard to the provision of a new primary school (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29137/16]
View answerThe building project for the school to which the Deputy refers was recently approved to progress to the advanced stage of the architectural planning process, Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design Stage, which includes the applications for planning permission, fire cert and disability access cert and the preparation of Tender Documents.
Once all statutory approvals have been secured, and subject to no further issues arising, the Design team will submit the stage 2(b) report to the Department for review and the Department will revert to the school with regard to the further progression of the project following consideration of that report.
129. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that two people (details supplied) are immediately provided with school bus tickets and are allowed to take a place on a school bus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29139/16]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
During the 2015/16 school year in the region of 114,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, were transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Bus Éireann has advised that the children in question are eligible for school transport but that the family was late in submitting their payment by which time all seats on the service in question had been allocated for the 2016/17 school year. Bus Éireann will issue a refund to this family.
130. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a use it or lose it by year end rule is or has been in operation within his Department when devolving funding to agencies under his remit on an annual basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29194/16]
View answerThe principles underpinning the funding of agencies are set out in the Public Financial Procedures and circulars issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, including Circular 13/2014 concerning management and accountability of grants from Exchequer funds.
Funds for the different bodies in the education sector are provided for in Vote 26: Education and Skills and are voted upon by the Dáil through the Annual Estimates process. Following this, agencies are advised of expected allocations which reflect their agreed work programmes. During the course of the year, the Department of Education and Skills issues advanced grant payments to the different bodies under agreed tranching arrangements.
In certain cases, pre-funding may lead to unexpended balances of grant money at year’s end. In accordance with Public Financial Procedures unspent or surplus funds are expected to be surrendered to the Exchequer at year end.
However, with the approval of the Department, and on foot of sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, these balances, or a portion thereof, may be retained by the grantee if deemed necessary to meet outstanding financial requirements. Such balances should be kept to a
minimum and are taken into account when considering the following year’s grant. The Department may also use its discretion to determine if some base level of funds should be maintained by the bodies involved for the following year.
131. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will devise a new school transport scheme that treats all children equally; if he will put the school bus routes out to tender, either under a national or regional framework; and if he will set up a working group to set out the criteria for such a scheme. [29206/16]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
During the 2015/16 school year in the region of 114,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, were transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school. In general, children are eligible for school transport if they meet the distance criterion and are attending their nearest school.
The terms of the Scheme are applied equitably on national basis.
It is a matter for Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department, to procure contractors to provide services for school transport purposes.
Bus Éireann is obliged to tender all works, goods and services in line with the European Directives on public procurement, which includes school transport services performed by contractors under the School Transport Scheme.
The Programme for Government commits to review the concessionary charges and rules element of the School Transport Scheme prior to Budget 2017. A cross-party group was established to feed into this review.
132. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will provide estimates for the cost of the budget 2016 decision to reduce commercial motor tax. [29159/16]
View answerA reduction in motor tax rates for commercial vehicles with an unladen weight in excess of 4,000 kgs was announced in Budget 2016. The changes applied to vehicle licences taken out with a commencement on or after 1 January 2016. Tax receipts for these vehicles for the period from January to September 2015 were €53.6m, including arrears. The comparable figure for January to September 2016 is €17.4m, a reduction of €36.2m. The projected reduction to the end of 2016 is expected to be in the order of €41m.
|
- |
January – September 2015 |
January – September 2016 |
|
Tax |
€ 51,105,909 |
€ 16,629,257 |
|
Arrears |
€ 2,494,739 |
€ 725,191 |
|
Total |
€ 53,600,648 |
€ 17,354,448 |
133. Deputy Michael D'Arcy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to roll out the repair and lease scheme pilot projects to County Wexford; the timeframe for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29039/16]
View answerRebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness recognises the important source of potential accommodation vacant private properties present. A new Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) has been developed to assist private property owners and local authorities or Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to harness this potential, and bring these vacant houses into social housing use as new homes for families on local authority waiting lists. The new scheme will operate initially in Waterford and Carlow local authorities from today. My Department is working closely with other local authorities to roll out the scheme around the country over the course of the next 6 months.
Approved Housing Bodies' (AHBs) proven record in managing the refurbishment of properties, delivering social housing and being good landlords puts them in an excellent position to play a key role in the success of the scheme. Several AHBs will be working together with Waterford and Carlow local authorities to manage the scheme in those areas. As the scheme is rolled out in other local authority areas, more AHBs around the country will be funded to deliver new social houses this way.
The scheme is targeted at owners of vacant houses who cannot afford or access the money required to bring them up to the standard for rental property. Subject to the suitability of the property for social housing, and the agreement of the property owner, the cost of the necessary repairs will be met upfront by the local authority or AHB. In return, the property owner will sign-up to a lease arrangement for a length that is linked to the value of the repairs but is a minimum of ten years. The value of the repairs will then be offset incrementally against the agreed rental payment over a defined period within the lease.
A property owner can either choose to arrange a contractor to carry out the repairs themselves, or the local authority or AHB can arrange this instead. Property owners will not be required to take on landlord responsibilities and the local authority or AHB will have ongoing management and maintenance responsibilities in respect of the properties.
Eligibility for the scheme will be determined by the relevant local authority having regard to the location and suitability of the property for social housing and also the extent of repairs that might be required.
I have secured €140m for the successful implementation of this scheme over the next five years. I am hopeful that this can bring at least 3,500 vacant houses back into productive use between now and 2021. Early indications are that in excess of 150 new houses can be made available for social housing through the scheme in 2017.
134. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the figures for homeless persons nationally and in the Dublin region; and the number of these persons who have been deemed not entitled to be on a social housing waiting list nationally and in Dublin. [29045/16]
View answerOfficial homeless reports are published on my Department's website on a monthly basis and can be accessed using the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/homelessness/other/homelessness-data.
These reports are based on data provided by housing authorities and produced through the Pathway Accommodation and Support System (PASS). These reports capture details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities.
The specific data sought in the Question regarding those persons deemed to be homeless but who are not on a social housing waiting list is not available in my Department, and is a matter for the relevant housing authorities.
135. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 137 of 29 September 2016, if he will provide the data on which the claim on sustainability regarding social mix is based. [29073/16]
View answerThe following criteria formed the basis of the assessment of sustainability for prospective social housing sites being delivered through the Public Private Partnership programme :
- Compatibility with the relevant development plan for the area;
- Impact on sustainable communities in the area; and
- Access to services by future residents ( amenities such as public transport, schools, shops).
My Department’s guidelines concerning such issues as sustainability and social mix are set out in Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities which is available on the Department’s website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/search/archived/current/category/housing/type/publications?query=sustainable%20design. The assessment criteria for the selection of PPP sites reflect provisions contained in these guidelines.
The site at Scribblestown was identified and proposed for inclusion in the Social Housing PPP programme by the Dublin Social Housing Delivery Task Force and by Dublin City Council, having regard to social housing need, and the suitability of the site to be developed for social housing at this location.
