Written Answers Nos. 256-266
256. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if, when the EPA approved a foreshore licence to a company (details supplied), it was aware that there was hazardous waste adjacent to the jetty comprised of bauxite raw material and alumina material; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37754/16]
View answerOn 12 August 2016, I approved an application for a foreshore licence from the company named to allow them to carry out maintenance dredging. The proposed activity also required a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Dumping at Sea Acts 1996-2009; all relevant documentation in relation to the licence application, which is a matter entirely for the EPA, is available on the Agency's website at www.epa.ie.
257. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government further to Question No. 163 of 17 November 2016, the way in which the customer demand was measured; if it was gathered anecdotally with library staff working in branches or through management teams working in offices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36861/16]
View answerDemand for extended public library opening hours was identified through a formal consultation process carried out by my Department in the development of Opportunities for All, the national public library strategy 2013-2017. This demand had been previously highlighted by public library user surveys carried out in 2002 and 2007.
The ‘My Open Library’ initiative has been identified as an innovative approach to meeting the demand for additional opening hours. In this regard, it allows library members the freedom and flexibility to use the library at times that suit them. It provides additional opening hours from 8am to 10pm, seven days per week, ensuring access to library services for users who cannot avail of them during regular staffed hours.
The initial ‘My Open Library’ pilot was introduced in Tullamore, Banagher and Tubbercurry libraries from November 2014. The pilots were established to examine the feasibility of the open library model for Ireland. I am satisfied that the learning from the original pilots, and the very positive feedback from library users, justifies extending the pilot phase to a further 23 library branches from January 2017. The extended pilot phase will inform and shape the future development and implementation of the service across the broader library network.
258. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the guidance his Department has provided to local authorities regarding the circumstances in which a person in receipt of HAP and who is on a transfer list for the local authority will be housed by that local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36866/16]
View answerOn 16 December 2014, a statutory direction was issued to all authorities involved in the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, instructing them to take the necessary steps to ensure that households benefiting from HAP can avail of a move to other forms of social housing support, should they wish to do so, through a transfer option. Local authorities were also directed that HAP recipients who apply to go on the transfer list should get full credit for the time they spent on the waiting list and be placed on the transfer list with no less favourable terms than if they had remained on the waiting list.
It is ultimately up to the household to choose if they wish to be placed on a local authority’s transfer list, and I understand that the majority of HAP households do avail of this option. As of the start of November 2016, over 190 households across the country have transferred from the HAP scheme to other forms of social housing support.
The practical operation of transfer lists is a matter for each local authority to manage, on the basis of their scheme of letting priorities.
259. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will provide the safety certificates that he or his Department has received in respect of funfairs in County Meath in each of the years 2015 and 2016, in tabular form. [36887/16]
View answerSection 239(4) of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 requires that the owner of fairground equipment shall not make it available to the public unless such equipment has a valid certificate of safety.
Section 239 (7) states that a person who intends to hold or organise a funfair, other than at a place where the operation of funfair equipment has been authorised by a permission under Part III of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 or Part IV of the Act of 1963 or is not otherwise an unauthorised use, shall give 2 weeks' notice (or such other period of notice as may be prescribed) in writing to the local authority in whose functional area the funfair is to be held. The notice referred to shall be accompanied by a valid certificate of safety for the fairground equipment to be used at the funfair and shall give details of the names of the organiser of the funfair, the owner or owners of the fairground equipment to be used at the funfair and the location and dates on which the funfair is to be held.
Certificates of Safety are returned annually to my Department in accordance with Section 8 (3)(b) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Certification of Fairground Equipment) Regulations 2003. The 2015 and 2016 Certificates received by my Department for funfairs in County Meath are listed in the table:
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Year |
Location |
Equipment |
|
2015 |
Mount Hanover, Duleek, Co. Meath |
Activity Stall x 2 |
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Bee Jets |
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Bungee Tramps |
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Candy Floss |
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Cassely Big Wheel |
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Cassely Pirate Ship |
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Convoy Device |
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Cork Shoot |
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Cup & Saucer |
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Dodgems x 2 |
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Extreme |
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Inflatable Slide |
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Inflatable Stall |
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Juvenile Galloper |
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Miami |
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Punch Ball |
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Round Stall |
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Stall Churns |
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Street Fighter |
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Toy Ride |
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Twist |
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Waltzer |
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Water Balls |
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2015 |
Tayto Park, Ashbourne, Co. Meath |
Air Racer |
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Coaster |
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Honey Pot |
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Jump Around Frog |
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Maxi Dance |
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Pony Express |
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Sky Tower |
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2016 |
Tayto Park, Ashbourne, Co. Meath |
Air Racer |
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Coaster |
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Endeavour |
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Gallopers |
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Honey Pot |
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Jump Around Frog |
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Maxi Dance |
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Mini Ferris Wheel |
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Pony Express |
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Power Fans |
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Power Surge |
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Rocking Tug |
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Sky Tower |
260. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the criteria to be used to designate areas under the revived RAPID scheme; if demographic changes that have taken place in the past ten years since the last revision of the RAPID areas took place will be taken into account in any review of RAPID areas, in view of the significant change in such areas in the past ten years with new housing estates being built; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36892/16]
View answerThe new RAPID programme is due to roll out from early next year. The logistics and modalities for the programme are currently under consideration in my Department. Further information will be made available once the programme specification is agreed.
261. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of successful applications for the mortgage-to-rent scheme since its inception broken down by county and by year; the reason for the low take-up of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36905/16]
View answer294. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will review the criteria for the mortgage-to-rent scheme with a view to increasing the number of distressed mortgage holders who would qualify to avail of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37509/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 261 and 294 together.
There are currently two Mortgage to Rent (MTR) schemes funded by my Department. A scheme exists whereby a local authority (LA) can acquire ownership of properties with unsustainable local authority mortgages, thus enabling the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant. The second scheme provides for an Approved Housing Body (AHB) to acquire ownership of a property with an unsustainable private mortgage from a lender, which also enables the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant. Both schemes are part of the overall suite of social housing options and an important part of the mortgage arrears resolution process.
Information in relation to Local Authority Mortgage to Rent (LAMTR) scheme applications during its pilot phase in Dublin City Council and Westmeath County Council in 2013 and from the national roll out of the scheme in 2014 to the end of 2015, including by local authority and by year, is available on my Department’s website at the following link: -
http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/house-prices-loans-and-profile-borrowers/local-authority-loan-activity.
To date in 2016, 59 LAMTR cases have been received and approved and a further 19 claims are currently being processed. Local authorities are responsible for submitting valid LAMTR applications to my Department and all applications received were approved.
In relation to activity under the AHB Mortgage to Rent scheme which was introduced in 2012, up to the end of Quarter 3 2016, a total of 3,498 cases had been submitted. Of the 3,498 cases submitted, 2,642 were ineligible or terminated during the process. The reasons for this are varied and can depend on the lender, the property, the household and the ability of the AHB sector to increase their involvement in the scheme. Of the remaining cases submitted, 669 are actively being progressed and 187 have been completed. Further statistical information relating to the scheme since its inception, including a breakdown by local authority and by year, is available on the Housing Agency’s website at the following link: www.housingagency.ie/Our-Services/Housing-Supply-Services/Mortgage-to-Rent.aspx.
A number of amendments were made to the AHB Mortgage to Rent Scheme in July 2015 to enable more properties to qualify and to make the scheme more flexible and accessible to borrowers.
Notwithstanding the amendments already made to the scheme, the Government has included a review of the AHB Mortgage to Rent Scheme as an action in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. The review, currently underway, is examining what further amendments can be made to the scheme to make it work better for borrowers and my Department is consulting with key stakeholders in this regard. The review is to be completed by the end of the year.
262. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the process by which council budgets are developed; the legislative provisions that govern the manner in which amendments are made by elected members during the course of a meeting at which a budget is voted upon; the guidance his Department has offered in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36906/16]
View answerThe Local Government Act 2001, as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014, provides the legislative basis for the local authority budget process. Section 103 of the 2001 Act provides for the local authority budget meeting and states that a local authority may amend the draft budget by resolution, and may adopt the budget with or without amendment.
The Local Government (Financial and Audit Procedures) Regulations 2014 (as amended) take account of the relevant provisions in the Local Government Act 2001 and the Local Government Reform Act 2014 in relation to the budget process for those authorities with municipal districts. These regulations provide a definition of General Municipal Allocation and set out the timeline for submission of the draft budgetary plan to members of Municipal Districts and the timeline for finalisation of a draft budgetary plan.
Guidelines provided by my Department (via Circular Fin 05/2014) set out the process as provided for in the legislation, further information on the budget strategy and draft budgetary plan, as well as clarifying the application of fairness and equity as it applies to the allocation of the General Municipal Allocation to municipal districts.
It is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources. The elected members of a local authority have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions of the authority, which includes adopting the annual budget, and are democratically accountable for all expenditure by the local authority. Local authorities are required to adopt budgets which are sufficient to meet the expenditure arising in the year in accordance with the terms of section 10A of the City and County Management Act 1955.
263. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of staff from his Department currently seconded to other Departments or agencies in the Civil Service per annum from 2010 to date in 2016, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36964/16]
View answer264. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of staff from his Department who have appealed against secondment per annum from 2010 to date in 2016, in tabular form; the appeals mechanism involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36980/16]
View answer265. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of staff from his Department currently seconded to a firm in the private sector per annum from 2010 to date in 2016, in tabular form; the details of the company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36996/16]
View answer266. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of staff from his Department currently seconded from a firm in the private sector per annum from 2010 to date in 2016, in tabular form; the details of the company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37012/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 263 to 266, inclusive, together.
Information in relation to the number of staff from my Department seconded to other departments or agencies in the Civil Service per annum from 2010 to 2016 is set out in the table.
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
22 |
22 |
18 |
13 |
16 |
12 |
13 |
There have been no appeals against secondment in this period.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 03/2013 sets out the details of a Staff Exchange Scheme between the Civil Service and the Private Sector, along the lines of the Temporary Staff Transfer Scheme provided for previously under Department of Public Service Circular 10/1979. A copy of Circular 03/2013 can be found on www.circulars.gov.ie.
No staff from my Department have participated in such a scheme and there were no secondments under the scheme from external organisations to my Department in the years 2010 to date.
