Written Answers Nos. 185-196
185. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has received the tender documents and stage 2b documentation for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10763/17]
View answerThe major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning - Stage 2b - Detailed Design, which includes the applications for Planning Permission, Fire Cert and Disability Access Cert and the preparation of Tender Documents. All statutory approvals have been obtained.
The Design Team are currently working on finalising the Stage 2(b) Report. Upon receipt and review of this report my Department will revert to the school with regard to the further progression of the project at that time.
186. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to mitigate the impact of the proposed strike action by the ASTI on students sitting their leaving certificate and junior certificate examinations; the contingency plans and alternative arrangements he has in place for leaving certificate and junior certificate examination students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10764/17]
View answerThe State Examinations Commission (SEC) has responsibility for the administration of the Final Examinations that form part of the assessment procedures for Junior Cycle. The SEC has provided reassurance in relation to concerns that some students may not have opportunities to complete all elements of the SEC’s Junior Cycle Final Examination, in English, in 2017. The Examination in English comprises an Assessment Task, undertaken in schools, which is worth 10% of the available marks and a Final Examination, in June 2017, representing 90% of the marks. Both elements are marked externally by the SEC.
Schools were advised of a second window for the completion of the second Classroom Based Assessment (CBA) and the Assessment Task (AT) in English. The new window will be in the week beginning 24 April 2017.
The SEC will shortly provide further guidance to schools regarding the completion of the Assessment Task. The SEC has assured parents and students that this guidance to schools will make clear that all their students will have an opportunity to undertake the AT, and in this way to complete all elements that are marked by SEC within the Junior Cycle Final Examination.
The class teacher role, in facilitating students to the complete the Assessment Task, is to engage with their students in relation to stimulus material and questions (provided by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment), and then to supervise the class in completing the SEC-provided booklet. Class teachers have no role in marking the Assessment Task.
I welcome the reassurance provided by the State Examinations Commission on this issue and I am satisfied that all students will have the opportunity to complete the Assessment Task and Final Examination.
187. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason his Department and Fáilte Ireland were not officially consulted regarding a 35-year foreshore lease application (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10517/17]
View answerUnder the Foreshore Act 1933 (as amended) a person who has submitted an environmental impact statement in accordance with a requirement of or under section 13A of this Act shall, as soon as may be, send a copy of the relevant application and environmental impact statement to certain specified prescribed bodies including the National Tourism Development Authority (Fáilte Ireland).
However, as the application in question was not accompanied by an EIS no such legislative obligation exists. Fáilte Ireland did provide a submission during the public consultation period (Submission No. 297 in batch 6) which can be viewed on my Department’s website at: http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/foreshore-applications/application-documents/batch_6_-_submissions_251_to_300.pdf.
All submissions received whether from the prescribed bodies or from the public will be considered in the assessment of the application.
188. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government when local authorities will be able to access funding for the repair and lease scheme; the way applications will be made; if extra allocation will be made for towns such as Longford with above average levels of boarded-up properties; the timeframe for this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10527/17]
View answerThe Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) has been developed to assist private property owners and local authorities or Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to harness the accommodation potential that exists in certain vacant properties across Ireland. The scheme is targeted at owners of vacant properties who cannot afford or access the funding needed to bring their properties up to the required 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 an Approved Housing Body (AHB). This allows for the property owner to sign-up to a lease arrangement for a length that is linked to the value of the repairs, subject to a minimum of 10 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 for 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 on-going management and maintenance responsibilities in respect of the properties.
The local authority will determine the eligibility for the scheme, having regard to the location and the suitability of the property for social housing and also taking into consideration the extent of the repairs that may be required. The maximum costs of repairs allowable under this initiative will be €40,000. My Department is working closely with local authorities to implement the scheme locally.
Following on from the success of the initial pilot in Waterford and Carlow local authorities, the Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) is being rolled out on a national basis from 23 February 2017.
I am making an additional €26m available to fund the scheme in 2017, which brings the total amount available this year to €32m. This additional investment in 2017 means that delivery under the scheme can be accelerated and up to 800 vacant properties can be brought back into use as new homes for families on local authority waiting lists this year. This funding represents a frontloading of the €140m being made available for the scheme over the next 5 years. Over the period 2016 to 2021, it is anticipated that up to 3,500 units will be secured for social housing under this scheme.
I will be carefully monitoring the scheme in 2017 to ensure that it works and is cost effective. Likewise, this analysis will assist in determining its delivery potential for future years, as well as whether additional financial resources are required in that context.
The Repair and Leasing Scheme is one of a number of initiatives in Rebuilding Ireland to address vacant properties around the country. Other initiatives include the Buy and Renew Scheme. The full details of this scheme are being finalised and will be communicated to local authorities shortly. I have made an initial €25 million available for this initiative this year and propose to increase this to as much as €50 million in 2018, depending on the uptake. I expect this investment to deliver between 400 and 500 renewed houses for social housing use.
The initiative may present opportunities for local authorities and approved housing bodies to tackle dereliction in towns and urban areas, but prospective housing units will always need to be suitable for social housing use, in an area of need and to represent reasonable value for money.
189. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will make changes to the rural water multi-annual programme to allow for the funding of two demonstration group sewerage schemes per municipal area in County Westmeath; and if he will advance an application for such a scheme in the Coosan area of Athlone. [10570/17]
View answerMy Department’s new Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2016-2018 was developed through a working group of key stakeholders involving local authorities, the Water Services Transition Office, Irish Water, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes as well as my Department.
The programme provides for the funding of demonstration Group Sewerage Schemes, through Measure 4(d), where clustering of households on individual septic tanks is not a viable option, particularly from an environmental perspective.
Local authorities were invited in January 2016 to submit bids under the programme. The invitation envisaged no more than two demonstration group sewerage projects being brought forward under the measure in any one year of the three year programme. The demonstrations will allow my Department, over the course of the programme, to determine the appropriate enduring funding levels and relationship with the current grant scheme. A Group Sewerage Scheme, for the Coosan area of Athlone, was not included by Westmeath County Council in its bids under Measure 4(d) of the Programme.
Under the new multi-annual funding framework, an Expert Panel was convened by my Department to examine proposals from local authorities for projects under a number of the programme’s measures, including Measure 4(d), and to make recommendations to the Department on funding. The Expert Panel recommended a priority list of demonstration schemes under this measure to my Department which accepted the recommendations in full when approving the 2016 rural water allocations.
As new demonstration group sewerage schemes have been identified for the duration of the programme, and as only two demonstration projects can be advanced in any given year, my Department does not propose to modify the programme at this point to allow the entry of any additional schemes.
A copy of the Expert Panel's report and consideration of all proposals under the Programme is available on my Department’s website at:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/water/water-services/rural-water-programme/group-water-schemes-and-rural-water-issues.
190. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if the marine licence vetting committee has been convened regarding a 35-year foreshore lease application (details supplied); if so, the names of all the members of the committee and their qualifications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10581/17]
View answer191. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if the marine licence vetting committee has been convened regarding a foreshore licence application (details supplied); if so, the names of all the members of the committee and their qualifications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10582/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 190 and 191 together.
I will be writing to the Deputy shortly regarding details of the role, operation and membership of the MLVC.
For all applications, the application form and supporting documentation, together with all the submissions received from both the prescribed bodies and the public and the applicant’s responses to these submissions, as well as the Minister’s determination and the MLVC report, are available on my Department’s website.
192. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the names of the members of the marine licence vetting committee, and their qualifications, who assessed the ten-year foreshore lease 2006 to 2016 application granted to the Marine Institute for a wave energy test site in Galway Bay (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10583/17]
View answerAs I indicated previously in my response to parliamentary question No 198 on 8 November 2016, in 2006 the then Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources was responsible for the regulation of the foreshore under the 1933 Foreshore Act. The application for the original 10 year lease was processed by that Department and I had no role in this decision.
Following a search of the relevant files, my Department was unable to locate records which indicated the officials involved in the Marine Licence Vetting Committee (MLVC) at that time.
193. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government when the scheme to assist in the renovation of old buildings as announced in 2016 will be enacted. [10615/17]
View answerPillar 5 of the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness is specifically focused on Utilising Existing Housing Stock, with a key objective of ensuring that the existing vacant housing stock throughout the country and across all forms of tenure, in both the public and private sectors, is used to the optimum degree possible. In this regard, Action 5.1 of Rebuilding Ireland commits to the development of a National Vacant Housing Re-Use Strategy by the first quarter of 2017, informed by Census 2016 data, to
- inform the compilation of a register of vacant units across the country,
- identify the number, location and reasons for longer-term vacancies (i.e. over 6 months) in high demand areas, and
- set out a range of actions to bring vacant units back into reuse.
To this end, the Housing Agency, which has lead responsibility for coordinating the development of the Strategy, established a working group in September 2016 comprising of senior representatives from my Department, local authorities and from the Housing Agency itself to inform the Strategy. The Group is due to report by the end of the first quarter of 2017.
An important action that would have a significant impact in the regeneration of vacant properties is the Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS), which has been developed to assist private property owners and local authorities or Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to harness the accommodation potential that exists in certain vacant properties across Ireland. The scheme is targeted at owners of vacant properties who cannot afford or access the funding needed to bring their properties up to the required 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 an Approved Housing Body (AHB). This allows for the property owner to sign-up to a lease arrangement for a length that is linked to the value of the repairs, subject to a minimum of 10 years. The value of the repairs will then be offset incrementally against the agreed rental payment over a defined period within the lease.
Following on from the success of the initial pilot in Waterford and Carlow local authorities, last week I announced that the pilot Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) was being rolled out on a national basis from 23 February 2017.
I am making an additional €26m available to fund this scheme in 2017, which brings the total amount available this year to €32m. This additional investment in 2017 means that delivery under the scheme can be accelerated and up to 800 vacant properties can be brought back into use as new homes for families on local authority waiting lists this year. This funding represents a frontloading of the €140m being made available for the scheme over the next 5 years. Over the period 2016 to 2021, it is anticipated that up to 3,500 units will be secured for social housing under this scheme.
I will be carefully monitoring the scheme in 2017 to ensure that it works and is cost effective. Likewise, this analysis will assist in determining its delivery potential for future years, as well as whether additional financial resources are required in that context.
The Repair and Leasing Scheme is one of a number of initiatives in Rebuilding Ireland to address vacant properties around the country. Other initiatives including the Buy and Renew scheme will operate in parallel to harness the maximum potential of vacant properties available for social housing. The full details of the Buy and Renew Scheme initiative are being finalised and will be communicated to local authorities shortly. I have made an initial €25 million available for this initiative this year and propose to increase this to as much as €50 million in 2018, depending on the uptake. I expect this investment to deliver between 400 and 500 renewed houses for social housing use. The initiative may present opportunities for local authorities and approved housing bodies to tackle dereliction in towns and urban areas, but prospective housing units will always need to be suitable for social housing use, in an area of need and represent reasonable value for money.
194. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his Department is considering proposals to restrict legally the requesting of booking deposits from potential tenants by letting agents for private rented accommodation; and his views on whether it should be permitted for letting agents or landlords to accept booking deposits for accommodation and then choose an alternative tenant. [10641/17]
View answerThe Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented residential sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.`
The requesting and acceptance of booking deposits by letting agents from potential tenants of private rented accommodation, and any related rights and obligations, are not part of a tenancy and do not come within the remit of the Residential Tenancies Act. I have no plans to amend the Act in this regard at this time but will keep the matter under review.
195. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reasons given for the 25,000 households that were removed from social housing lists as part of the social housing assessments 2016, in tabular form. [10643/17]
View answer196. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if all households that have been removed from social housing lists as a result of the social housing assessment 2016 were notified. [10644/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 196 together.
Detailed and complete data on the total number of households removed from all housing authority lists as part of the process for the Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA) 2016, and the reasons for such removal, is not yet available. Once compiled, the data will be published on my Department’s website, www.housing.gov.ie.
However, provisional figures based on replies from 25 of the 31 housing authorities indicate that in excess of 28,000 households were removed from lists as part of the 2016 SSHA process. More than 50% of these households were removed following a failure to engage with their housing authority.
Under the SSHA 2016 process, all housing authorities were required to review those households who were on their housing list but were not then in receipt of housing support. This was to ensure that the details of the applicant households were up to date and accurate and that they remain eligible for, and in need of, social housing support in accordance with the criteria set down in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations. As part of this assessment, all local authorities wrote to relevant households during 2016 informing them of the assessment process and seeking updated information where necessary. All households were advised that if they failed to engage with the authority during this process that their application could be closed.
Where a household responded and was found to no longer meet the qualification criteria for social housing support in light of their updated details, they were removed from the list. Households in this category were informed by their housing authority of their removal from the list and the reason for the removal.
In the event of an initial non-response by a household to a request for updated information, guidance issued by the Housing Agency advised housing authorities to contact the household again and to use all reasonable means of communication available to them in contacting the applicant. Authorities were also advised to undertake local advertising campaigns informing households about the Summary. Where a number of attempts to contact a household failed to elicit a response, authorities were advised that it was not unreasonable to then close the household’s application. However, housing authorities were also advised that should the household subsequently respond with the information required within a reasonable time, then the application could be re-activated.
