Written Answers Nos 134-153
136. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons with a diagnosis of autism who would benefit from attending an ASD unit at primary level and at secondary level by county; the number of ASD units at primary level and secondary level in each county; the number of places available at primary and secondary level in each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23893/17]
View answerThis Government is committed to ensuring that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network.
Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully qualified professional teachers, with the support of Special Needs Assistants and the appropriate school curriculum.
This policy has been informed by published research, including the Report of the Task Force on Autism (2001), the Evaluation of Educational Provision for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (2006) and the NCSE’s policy advice on Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (2016).
Almost 18,000 students in schools have been diagnosed with autism. The Department of Education and Skills invests over €300m annually in providing additional resources specifically to support students with autism in schools enabling:
- 63% of students to attend mainstream schools
- 26% to attend special classes in mainstream primary and post-primary schools, and
- 11% to attend special schools.
Some students, although academically able to access the curriculum in mainstream, may find it too difficult to manage full-time placement there. This can be due to significant difficulties in areas such as behaviour or sensory needs which have not been ameliorated, even with appropriate intervention, in mainstream.
Enrolment in an ASD special class should only be considered where it has been demonstrated that a student requires the support of a special class because he/she is unable to learn effectively in a mainstream class for most or all of the school day even with appropriate supports.
Students enrolling in ASD Special Classes must have a report from a relevant professional or team of professionals (for example, psychologist, speech and language therapist, psychiatrist) stating that:
- She/he has ASD
- She/he has significant learning needs that require the support of a special class setting and the reasons why this is the case.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), in consultation with the relevant education partners, is responsible for the establishment of special classes in various geographical areas where there is an identified need.
The NCSE continues to establish additional special classes to support children with Special Educational Needs including Autism as required. Since 2011 the NCSE has increased the number of such classes by over 50% from 548 in 2011 to 1153 across the country now, of which 889 are Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) special classes.
The NCSE has informed the Department of Educational and Skills that, in general, they are satisfied that there are sufficient ASD special class placements to meet existing demand.
The NCSE, in looking to open special classes, must take into account the present and future potential need for such classes, taking particular account of the educational needs of the children concerned. The NCSE will also take account of location and sustainability in looking to establish special classes in certain areas.
The NCSE has informed my Department that it intends to establish an additional 162 ASD Special Classes for the 2017/18 school year increasing the number of ASD Special Classes by 18% from 888 to 1,050.
My Department will continue to support the NCSE in providing ASD special class placements for students where there is an identified need.
137. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a resource room for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23902/17]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is not in receipt of an application under the Additional School Accommodation scheme, the appropriate scheme in this instance, from the school referred to in respect of its accommodation needs.
It is open to any school to submit an application to my Department if they have identified a deficit of classroom accommodation to meet increasing enrolments or to accommodate an additional teacher appointment. Application forms can be accessed on my Department's website www.education.ie.
138. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on a document (details supplied) from the Court of Justice of the European Union, regarding the Flemish decree on land and real estate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23589/17]
View answerI am aware of the Press Release from the European Court of Justice referred to in the Question and the Judgment to which it relates.
The present position in this matter is set out in the reply to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 128 and 130 of 11 May 2017.
139. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will amend legislation to make grant support available to all persons who need to replace their septic tanks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23646/17]
View answerThe Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2013, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas library, brought into operation a grant scheme to assist with the cost of remediation of septic tanks and domestic waste water treatment systems which are deemed, following inspection under the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Inspection Plan, to require repair or upgrading. The grant scheme ensures that the limited financial resources available are targeted towards householders, particularly those on lower incomes, who incur expenditure directly as a result of the implementation of the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012.
The Regulations provide that, subject to the applicant meeting all qualification criteria, a local authority may pay a grant to a person who is required, following an inspection, to undertake repairs or upgrades to, or replacement of, a septic tank or other domestic waste water treatment system. Applications for grant aid are administered by the local authorities in whose functional area the particular domestic waste water treatment system requiring remediation is situated. Where a local authority pays a grant under the scheme, my Department will recoup 100% of the amount paid by the local authority. Full details of the scheme, including eligibility criteria, are set out in the explanatory leaflet and application form published on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/water/water-quality/domestic-waste-water-systemsseptic-tanks/domestic-waste-water-treatment-0.
It is not proposed to make any changes to the grant scheme at this time.
More generally, householders who do not meet the eligibility criteria for the grant under the aforementioned Regulations and who wish to remediate or upgrade their on-site treatment systems may qualify for relief under the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) Scheme introduced pursuant to Section 5 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2013. The HRI Scheme covers main residence repairs, renovations and improvements, including the repair or replacement of septic tanks. The Scheme is administered by the Revenue Commissioners and full details are published on the Revenue Commissioner’s website at www.revenue.ie.
140. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to facilitate the building of local authority houses in sufficient numbers to meet the current and emerging situation, in view of the fact that other governments throughout the EU are doing so; the optimum expenditure for such a programme within the confines of fiscal stability regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23856/17]
View answerTo support the implementation of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, I have secured €5.35 billion in investment to deliver 47,000 social housing units through build, refurbishment, acquisitions and leasing, over the period to 2021. Within the 47,000 social housing units to be delivered it is estimated at this stage that approximately 26,000 will be delivered from construction activity while 11,000 will be acquired by local authorities and approved housing bodies (AHBs) directly from the market or from the Housing Agency, with a portion of these latter units also being newly built. A further 10,000 units will be leased by local authorities and AHBs. The €5.35 billion investment comprises some €4.5 billion in capital funding and €844 million in support of programmes funded from current expenditure. In addition, €200 million is being provided for the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund through investment in key enabling infrastructure.
Under Rebuilding Ireland, the needs of over 19,000 households were met in 2016 through a range of housing programmes, supported by expenditure of over €935 million. Under the Plan, an additional €1.3 billion has been provided for 2017; this funding will support the accelerated delivery of social housing and ensure that the 2017 target to meet the needs of over 21,000 households will be achieved. Within the overall 21,000 target, some 4,500 will be delivered through new builds/acquisitions and a significant proportion of these will involve new construction.
I have published a comprehensive status list of social housing construction schemes that are advancing nationwide, which can be accessed at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/social-housing-developments/. This status report, which sets out the position at end 2016, lists the 504 approved social housing construction projects and their locations and contains a range of information relating to their advancement, including those delivered in 2016 and those progressing through planning, design and construction. These 504 projects, when completed, will deliver circa 8,430 new social houses, some of which were completed in 2016, with the others in the pipeline being completed in 2017 and subsequent years. These projects are funded under a range of different initiatives such as local authority construction/turnkey developments, rapid delivery, regeneration programmes and construction and turnkey developments by Approved Housing Bodies under the Capital Assistance Scheme and the Capital Advance Leasing Facility. The precise timing for the advancement of each of these projects, including completion dates, is a matter for the relevant local authorities and AHBs concerned, in the first instance.
Further project approvals are being added to the pipeline as they are developed by local authorities and AHBs; an updated construction project status report, setting out the position at end Q1 2017, will be published shortly. I am keen that all local authorities advance their social housing projects as speedily as possible and I have assured them that funding is in place to support their activity in this regard.
141. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the amount of revenue collected by Irish Water for commercial rates in 2016, in counties Roscommon, Galway, Leitrim, Longford and Westmeath, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23660/17]
View answerThe information requested is not available in my Department. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels, including non-domestic billing. Prior to this, non-domestic water charging and billing were matters for the relevant local authority.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on a dedicated number, 1890 578 578.
142. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the amount of revenue collected by Irish Water for new connections in 2016 in counties Roscommon, Galway, Leitrim, Longford and Westmeath, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23661/17]
View answerThe information requested is not available in my Department. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. Connections to the public water or waste water network are a matter for the utility and I have no function in the matter.
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.
143. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to develop official national planning guidelines to regulate for large-scale solar developments or solar farms. [23693/17]
View answerThere are no specific planning guidelines in place in respect of solar farms. Proposals for individual solar farm developments are subject to the statutory requirements of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, in the same manner as other proposed developments. Planning applications are made to the relevant local planning authority with a right of appeal to An Bord Pleanála.
Under the Planning and Development Act, each planning authority's development plan must set out an overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of the area concerned. Section 10 of the Act requires a development plan to include, inter alia, objectives for the provision or facilitation of the provision of infrastructure, including energy facilities, and many local authorities have developed renewable energy strategies for their areas in this context.
In making decisions on planning applications, planning authorities and the Board must consider the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, having regard to the provisions of the local development plan, any submissions or observations received and relevant Ministerial or Government policies, including any relevant guidelines issued by my Department. Planning authorities must then make their own decisions based on the specific merits or otherwise of individual planning applications.
I am satisfied that the planning code is sufficiently robust to facilitate the assessment of individual planning permission applications for solar farm developments. However, I am keeping the matter under review, in consultation with my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, and his Department - which leads on renewable energy policy - in the context of the Government's White Paper on Energy Policy, published in December 2015, the development of a Renewable Electricity Policy and Development Framework, as well as the finalisation of a new support scheme for renewable electricity by that Department, expected in late 2017.
144. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the staffing levels of each local authority compared to 2012. [23698/17]
View answerMy Department is responsible for workforce planning for the local government sector, including monitoring of local government sector employment levels. Staffing numbers for the local authority sector are available on the Public Service Numbers Databank which is hosted and maintained by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and is available at the following link: http://databank.per.gov.ie/. The Databank provides access to information from 1980 onwards.
I understand that March 2017 data will be uploaded to the Databank shortly.
145. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to change the planning status of large-scale peat extraction; and the public consultation he plans to undertake on proposed changes. [23699/17]
View answerMy Department is currently progressing draft Regulations under the European Communities Act 1972 that will establish a new regulatory regime for large-scale peat extraction. Under the new regime, the Environmental Protection Agency will be required to carry out an environmental impact assessment as part of its examination of licence applications for existing and new peat extraction of 30 hectares or more and that activity will be exempted from the requirement to obtain planning permission.
The preparation of the Regulations has been the subject of focused stakeholder input from relevant Government Departments and State bodies, industry representatives and environmental groups last October. A detailed review of the proposals is on-going in light of stakeholder input, with a view to finalising the Regulations by the end of June.
146. Deputy Frank O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on whether there are significant problems with section 28(2) of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 which only allows for a second extension for housing developments that commenced on site before the original planning permission expired, most of which would have been before 2012. [23705/17]
View answer147. Deputy Frank O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the advice which can be given to developers whose planning permission, and a section 42 extension, has expired and is awaiting section 28(2) commencement to apply for a second extension; if in the intervening period all construction work should cease until such a time as he decides to commence section 28 and the developer can apply for an extension; if such developers should reapply for planning permission; and his views on whether this is acceptable. [23706/17]
View answer148. Deputy Frank O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the specific amendments he plans to make to section 28(2) of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016; and his views on whether the non-enactment of section 28(2) could have very serious consequences in delaying housing developments for which the planning permission has expired. [23707/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 146 to 148, inclusive, together.
The present position in this matter is set out in the reply to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 152, 153, 154, 155, 156 and 157 of 17 May 2017.
149. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of persons who presented as homeless and were placed in emergency accommodation on a quarterly basis by county in 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23765/17]
View answer152. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of persons who presented as homeless and were placed in emergency accommodation per county, on a quarterly basis in 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23834/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 152 together.
Official homeless reports are published on my Department's website 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 & Support System (PASS), the single integrated national data information system on State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements overseen by housing authorities.
These reports are published on a monthly basis capturing details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities and include a county level breakdown of the homeless adult population. Reports for the entire of 2016 and up to March 2017 are currently available.
150. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of persons and households that presented as homeless and were not placed in emergency and-or temporary accommodation due to lack of supply on a quarterly basis by county in each of the years 2015 and 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23766/17]
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 & 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 is not available in my Department, and is a matter for the relevant housing authorities.
151. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of houses that were purchased on the open market by local authorities for the provision of social housing by each local authority by county in each of the years 2015 and 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23778/17]
View answerDetails on the number of properties 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: http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision. Information on quarter one of 2017 is currently being finalised and will be published shortly.
153. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of units of accommodation which are now in full-time use for a company (details supplied) in the greater Dublin area; his views on whether at a time of severe housing crisis he should curb the number of units being used for this purpose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23889/17]
View answerMy Department does not collate data in relation to accommodation let on a short term basis for tourism purposes.
Article 10(4) of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001-2015, dealing with change of use exemptions for planning purposes, provides that development consisting of the use of not more than 4 bedrooms in a house, where each bedroom is used for the accommodation of not more than 4 persons as overnight guest accommodation, shall be exempted from the requirement to obtain planning permission under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, provided that such development would not contravene a condition attached to a permission under the Act or be inconsistent with any use specified or included in such a permission.
The interpretation and application of provisions relating to exempted development in any particular case is in the first instance a matter for the local planning authority concerned, or An Bord Pleanála on appeal or referral. Similarly, responsibility for enforcement action in relation to any breach of the planning code is a matter for individual planning authorities, under Part VIII of the 2000 Act. Under section 30 of the Act, I am specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case, including enforcement, with which a planning authority is or may be concerned.
It should be noted that a recent determination by An Bord Pleanála in a particular case has determined that the exclusive use of a residential apartment for short-term holiday lettings is a material change of use requiring planning permission. Therefore, the continued operation of the apartment in question without such planning permission could be considered to be unauthorised development and subject to enforcement proceedings by the relevant local authority under the Planning Act.
In this connection, my Department has, by way of Circular letter PL12/2016 of 22 December 2016, brought this determination to the attention of all planning authorities to ensure that they are aware of:
- the grounds on which the Board reached its decision,
- the planning implications in terms of the requirement for such commercial use of residential units to be the subject of an application for planning permission, and
- the importance of a pro-active approach to planning enforcement generally in this regard.
A copy of the Circular letter is available on my Department’s website at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/pl_12-16_aph_6-16_recent_an_bord_pleanala_decision_on_short_term_lettings.pdf.
In the wider context, in December 2016, Government approved the publication of a Strategy for the Rental Sector. In terms of rental accommodation supply, the focus in the Strategy is on maintaining existing levels of rental stock and encouraging investment in additional supply, reflecting the shortages in the supply of rental accommodation in key locations, particularly in urban areas. In some of these areas, there is also significant demand for transitory short-term accommodation. In this context, providing short-term rentals at higher prices may be an attractive option for landlords.
The implications of the above mentioned determination by An Bord Pleanála has raised a number of regulatory and other related issues, such as tax liability, residential tenancy regulation, support for tourism, and planning. The Strategy for the Rental Sector provides for the establishment by my Department of a working group, comprising representatives of relevant stakeholders including local authorities, relevant Departments, public bodies and other interests in the area, with a view to providing more information on the scale and nature of the issue and full clarity regarding the appropriate regulatory approach to be adopted in relation to short-term tourism-related lettings. The working group is due to report in Quarter 2 2017.
