Written Answers Nos. 111-121
111. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Education and Skills if each Minister of State in his Department has appointed a programme manager or adviser; the date of such appointment; and the remuneration and expenses allowance for each. [9532/17]
View answerMs Michelle Clancy was appointed as Special Adviser to Deputy John Halligan, Minister of State at my Department with effect from the 14th November 2016. As part of her duties she will also advise the Minister of State in relation to his duties at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation. Notification of her appointment was published in Iris Oifigiúil on the 16th December 2016. She is on a salary of €65,000 per annum. In the event she incurs expenses in the course of her duties, she is entitled to claim such in accordance with conditions contained in circular 11/82 governing the payment of travel and subsistence expenses for Civil Servants.
112. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on a matter (details supplied) with regard to Ireland's breach of pollution laws; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8841/17]
View answerThe Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (Council Directive 91/271/EEC) mandates waste water collection and treatment requirements for urban agglomerations. There are various deadlines for meeting the requirements of the Directive, one of which was the requirement for secondary treatment to be provided for all agglomerations which discharge to freshwaters and estuaries and have a population equivalent of greater than 2,000 by 31 December 2005.
A first letter of formal notice, issued in September 2013, signalled that the European Commission had commenced an infringement process against Ireland regarding its implementation of the Directive. This was followed by a supplementary letter of formal notice in September 2015. A Reasoned Opinion was issued on 30 September 2016, with the Commission deciding to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU on 15 February 2017.
The supplementary letter of formal notice of September 2015 identified compliance concerns around a total of 82 agglomerations. Ireland has satisfied the Commission, through their responses to date, that 44 agglomerations should be removed from the case. This demonstrates that considerable progress has been made in addressing these issues. However, 38 agglomerations remain of concern to the Commission and have now been referred to the Court.
Since taking over responsibility for water services on 1 January 2014, Irish Water has put in place a prioritised range of projects to deal with the historic deficits and lack of investment in waste water collection and treatment across the country. Irish Water has identified key projects, in both their current and recently approved future capital investment plans, to address all non-compliances in their waste water treatment plants by 2021 for each of the areas identified by the Commission in this ECJ case. The cost of these works is estimated at €1 billion.
However, further significant and sustained investment will be essential to ensure ongoing compliance, to cater for growth and to provide waste water services that protect the environment and meet our obligations under the directive.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via email at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on a dedicated number, 1890 578 578.
113. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he has considered new regulatory measures to deal with domestically produced noise pollutions such as dogs barking constantly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9081/17]
View answerUnder the provisions of section 25 of the Control of Dogs Act 1986, the District Court may act on a complaint by any person where a nuisance has been created by excessive barking by a dog. A copy of the form used for complaints to the Courts regarding barking is available from local authorities. The Court may make an order, requiring the occupier of the premises in which the dog is kept to abate the nuisance by exercising due control over the dog. The Court may also limit the number of dogs that can be kept on a premises or may direct that the dog be delivered to a dog warden to be dealt with as an unwanted dog. I have no plans to amend the legislation in this area. While complaints in relation to barking dogs are largely dealt with under the provisions of the Control of Dogs Acts, the position in relation to noise nuisance generally is that a person experiencing noise nuisance may contact their local authority, which may initiate proceedings on grounds of noise nuisance under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992. This Act also provides for any person, or group of persons, to seek an order in the District Court to have noise giving reasonable cause for annoyance abated. The procedures involved have been simplified to allow action to be taken without legal representation. A public information leaflet, A Guide to the Noise Regulations, outlining the legal avenues available to persons experiencing noise nuisance, is available from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment or at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/attachments/pdf_version_of_guide_to_the_noise_regulations_2015_0.pdf.
114. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will include Part V units in the tenant purchase scheme in view of the fact their exclusion appears to be discriminatory; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8882/17]
View answerThe Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme.
The Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015 governing the Scheme provide for a number of specified classes of houses to be excluded from sale, including units provided to Local Authorities under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, houses specifically designed for older persons, group Traveller housing and houses provided to facilitate people with disabilities transferring from institutional care to community-based living.
The provisions of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, are designed to enable the development of mixed tenure sustainable communities. Part V units are excluded from the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme to ensure that units delivered under this mechanism will remain available for people in need of social housing support and that the original policy goals of the legislation are not eroded over time. The continued development of mixed tenure communities remains very important in promoting social integration.
In line with the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government and reaffirmed in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, a review of the first 12 months of operation of scheme is currently being undertaken by my Department. Any changes to the terms and conditions of the scheme which are considered necessary, based on the evidence gathered as part of the review, will be brought forward. I expect this review to be completed by the end of Quarter 1 2017.
115. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if the local government forum is still in operation; when it last met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8903/17]
View answerThe last meeting of the Local Government Forum, which was appointed by my predecessor for engagement with local authority elected members as part of an operational review of the 2014 local government reforms, was held in January 2016. The Forum has not been reconstituted since the current Government came into office and is not currently operational.
I will be consulting with all relevant stakeholders in the context of preparation of the overall report on local government matters to be submitted to Government and the Oireachtas in mid-2017 under the Programme for a Partnership Government.
116. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government further to the publication of the Action Plan for Rural Development, and under Pillar 1, action No. 8, when a review of derelict sites legislation will be carried out with a view to assisting in the revitalisation of towns and villages; the timeframe for the completion of this review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8937/17]
View answerLead responsibility for the Action Plan for Rural Development , which was launched on 23 January 2017, rests with my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. However, as the proposal listed at Action 8 therein relates to a planning matter, its delivery falls to my Department.
The proposed action, which was also reflected in the Programme for a Partnership Government published in May 2016, is indicative of the ambitious priority attached to urban regeneration by the Government, is one of a series of specific actions to facilitate the regeneration of our urban centres, many of which were adversely impacted by the economic downturn. The Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness- Rebuilding Ireland, published in July 2016, further reinforces the Government’s commitment to the area of urban regeneration.
To drive forward consideration and implementation of these actions, a Working Group, which I chair and which also involves senior representatives from my Department, local authorities and other relevant actors, has been established to bring forward proposals for new urban regeneration measures as early as possible. It is intended that the new measures will complement the existing regeneration activities under my Department's Social Housing Capital Programme, as well as other social regeneration initiatives already underway. As part of its deliberations, the Working Group is also evaluating the use of the derelict sites legislation to address the problem of dereliction in many urban centres. I expect the Working Group to be in a position to report in Q2 2017, the results of which will inform a review of the derelict sites legislation by the final quarter of 2017, as envisaged in the Action Plan for Rural Development.
117. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of housing assistance payment, HAP, tenancies that have been secured in 2014, 2015 and 2016; the length of time each of these tenancies is for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8954/17]
View answerThere are currently more than 18,000 households supported by the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) in 28 local authority areas, including homeless households being supported by the DRHE operated scheme for the Dublin Region. Since the commencement of the phased statutory roll-out of HAP in September 2014, the following numbers of additional households have been supported in each year of the scheme’s operation:
|
Year |
Additional Households supported at end of year |
No. of local authorities operating HAP Scheme at end of year |
|
2014 |
485 |
7 |
|
2015 |
5,680 |
18 |
|
2016 |
12,075 |
28 |
HAP supported tenancies are agreed between the landlord and the tenant; the local authority is not a party to the tenancy and has no role in its agreement. There is no limitation placed by the scheme on the length of tenancy that can be supported by the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). However, as with other private rental tenancies, the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) governs the relationship between landlord and tenant and the length of the tenancy is a matter that must be agreed between the landlord and tenant in that context. My Department does not hold information in relation to the length of individual tenancies.
Under the HAP scheme, tenants supported by the scheme are expected to stay in their current tenancy for a minimum period of two years, unless there are exceptional reasons for moving tenancy. Such exceptional reasons include moving for the purpose of employment, further education, family or health reasons.
118. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his Department's current guidelines with respect to (details supplied); his plans to make any changes to these; if so, the rationale for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8977/17]
View answerThe allocation of social housing support to qualified households is a matter for the housing authority concerned in accordance with the authority’s allocation scheme made under Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Allocation Regulations 2011.
While the development and implementation of an allocation scheme is a matter for the housing authority concerned, being a reserved function of the elected members, Section 22(17) of the 2009 Act provides that the Minister may issue directions to a housing authority regarding the operation of an allocation scheme and the housing authority shall comply with any such direction in operating the scheme. In this regard, a Ministerial Direction was put in place in January 2015 which required the Dublin Region housing authorities to allocate at least 50% of tenancies under their control to homeless and other vulnerable households. The Direction was subsequently renewed on two occasions, with the last renewal expiring on 30 April 2016.
At the time of the last renewal in February 2016, the Housing Agency was requested to conduct a review of the operation of the Direction and provide an impartial assessment.
The Agency recommended that the Direction should be allowed to lapse upon its expiry.
This Direction was only ever intended to operate for a short period of time to provide an immediate increase in the number of social housing tenancies being allocated to homeless households. In the normal course, local authorities and their elected members are best placed to determine the allocation of social housing for their own areas, in line with national policy.
Among the Agency’s findings was that the well-established allocation procedures of housing authorities are capable of responding to particular housing need without an on-going Ministerial Direction. This analysis is vindicated by the fact that during 2016 local authorities nationally achieved in the region of 2,700 sustainable exits from homelessness into independent tenancies; this is a record level of exits, with the comparable figure for 2015 having been 2,300.
Taking account of the Housing Agency's report, my predecessor decided not to renew the Ministerial Direction after 30 April 2016 and I do not propose to revisit the issue. I am confident that the comprehensive range of actions and initiatives underway to increase housing supply generally, as set out in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, will enable local authorities to prioritise appropriately the level of housing allocations to homeless households and other vulnerable groups achieved under the Direction.
119. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of new build local authority homes, excluding voids and Part Vs, completed in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9046/17]
View answer121. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of new social housing units acquired via Part V in 2016; the number bought by councils or housing associations; the number that were leased; his views on the relative long and short term cost benefits of leasing and purchasing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9048/17]
View answerI propose to take Question Nos. 119 and 121 together.
Under my Department’s Social Housing Capital Investment and Social Housing Current Expenditure Programmes, funding is provided to local authorities to deliver additional social housing stock through new construction projects and through the acquisition of new and previously owned houses/apartments. Details on the number of properties constructed and purchased by all local authorities for letting to those on their social housing waiting lists are available on my Department’s website at the following link:
www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.
Details on the number of units delivered under Part V arrangements are also available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/affordable-housing/affordable-housing-and-part-v-statistics. Information on the full year of 2016 is currently being finalised and will be published shortly; provisional data published as part of the Q4 2016, Rebuilding Ireland Progress Report indicated that 640 social housing units were built in 2016.
While the construction programme has been advancing, it has made sense that local authorities take opportunities to acquire housing where there is a social housing need and where good value for money can be obtained and I am satisfied that they are deploying options to both buy and build new social housing in a balanced way. It is important that they utilise all opportunities to develop new social housing but the mix will increasingly switch towards construction on foot of the substantial pipeline of projects now in place. I continue to keep all of the social housing delivery mechanisms under review to ensure that they remain relevant and are meeting housing needs in a cost effective and value-for-money way.
120. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if consideration will be given to collating numbers on social housing transfer lists nationally; his views on whether these numbers have increased in local authority areas that have introduced the housing assistance payment scheme, HAP; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9047/17]
View answerThe practical operation of transfer lists is a matter for each local authority to manage, on the basis of their allocation scheme made under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. My Department does not gather or hold any information on households seeking a transfer to an alternative social housing support, whether they are currently having their housing need met through HAP, RAS or any other form of support. My Department does not have any plans at present to collate such data.
On 16 December 2014, a statutory direction was issued to all authorities involved in the HAP scheme instructing then to take the necessary steps to ensure that households benefitting 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 a majority of HAP households do avail of this option.
