Written Answers Nos. 147-168
147. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the paper outlining costs that was presented at the high level forum on 23 November 2017 relating to a pension scheme for community employment supervisors has been published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17694/18]
View answerThe paper in question has not as yet been published.
148. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if necessary financial assistance will be provided to Fingal County Council to tackle the alarming rate of coastal erosion that is occurring at The Burrow, Portrane, County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17716/18]
View answerI fully appreciate the serious concerns of the local people in relation to the problem of erosion at Portrane. I have visited the area and seen the problem at first hand. While addressing the problem is a matter for Fingal County Council (FCC), the Office of Public Works (OPW) is working with the Council to assist it in finding a proper long term solution to the problems at Portrane.
The key objective is for FCC and its engineering advisers, following a full assessment of the situation, to develop and implement an effective management plan to address the erosion issues at Portrane.
On 16th March 2018, my officials met with FCC where this issue was discussed. Following this meeting the Council with its engineering advisers is working to finalise its assessment with a view preparing a management plan which will include workable near term measures to address the problem and a sustainable long term solution.
Any viable solution identified may be undertaken by the local authority using its own resources or, if necessary, through funding under the OPW Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme on application by FCC.
149. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the preparation of a national coastal erosion strategy or plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17717/18]
View answerThe Office of Public Works (OPW) is not responsible for the preparation of a national coastal erosion strategy or plan.
The OPW has undertaken a national assessment of coastal erosion (including erosion rates) under the Irish Coastal Protection Strategy Study (ICPSS) and the results of this study have been published on the OPW website. This Study assists Local Authorities (LA’s) to meet their statutory obligations in relation to coastal erosion and to develop appropriate plans and strategies for the sustainable management of the coastline in their counties.
The LA’s may carry out coastal erosion works using their own resources. Where coastal erosion could give rise to a coastal flood risk, the OPW operates the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme, under which applications for funding from LA’s are considered for measures costing up to €750,000 in each instance. In that context, funding for coastal erosion risk management studies may also be applied for under this scheme. Funding of up to 90% of the cost is available for projects which meet the eligibility criteria including a requirement that the proposed measures are cost beneficial.
The OPW has published guidelines for coastal erosion risk management measures and funding applications under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme, available on the OPW website.
I will next week be announcing the Flood Risk Management Plans with the proposed measures to protect 90 coastal communities from their assessed flood risk, in the coming years. These Flood Risk Management Plans were developed through the OPW’s Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme.
150. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he will take to address the issue of flooding at the R551 road at Ballyheigue, County Kerry (details supplied). [17833/18]
View answerLocal flooding issues are, in the first instance, a matter for each local authority to investigate and address.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) carries out a programme of Arterial Drainage Maintenance to a total of 11,500 km of river channel and approximately 730 km of embankments nationally. These maintenance works relate to arterial drainage schemes completed by the OPW under the Arterial Drainage Acts 1945 and 1995. The OPW has a statutory duty to maintain the completed schemes in proper repair and effective condition. Maintenance of all drainage schemes carried out under earlier Acts, known as Drainage Districts, is the responsibility of the relevant Local Authority.
The area mentioned in the deputy’s question Akeragh Lough Drainage District is a Drainage District and it is the responsibility of Kerry County Council (KCC) to maintain all channels and structures in this scheme in good repair and working order. The OPW has no responsibility for the maintenance of the drainage network in this area.
In relation to coastal erosion and flooding, it is the responsibility of KCC to assess the local erosion problems in this area and to develop and implement a management plan and any viable measures to address the erosion issues there.
KCC applied for and was approved funding of €150,000 in March 2018 under the Office of Public Works' Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme to carry out a Coastal Erosion Risk Management Study of Ballyheigue as part of the Ballyheigue-Banna-Carrahare and Brandon Bay Maherees study.
A single study was approved given the proximity of these locations. The final study extent will be updated and agreed in advance with OPW.
KCC is currently progressing this study.
152. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the process of establishing a framework under which service providers provide a range of third party investigations and recipient services to public bodies seeking to meet their obligations under the Data Protection Acts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17894/18]
View answerProcurement is a key element of the Government's Reform agenda. The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) was established to drive the reform agenda, adopt a strategic approach to public procurement, leverage the State's spending power and deliver savings for the State.
Framework agreements are one of a number of ways in which the OGP engages with the market to achieve value for money in the delivery of much-needed public goods and services. Framework agreements are established through competitive procurement processes and are agreements with suppliers or service providers which set out terms and conditions under which specific contracts can be made during the term of the agreement.
There is ongoing engagement between the OGP and our public sector clients so that the necessary contracts and frameworks are put in place to meet their requirements.
The OGP has not been asked to provide a framework under which service providers provide a range of third party investigations and recipient services to public bodies seeking to meet their obligations under the Data Protection Acts
There is, however, a Framework Agreement for Receipt and Investigation of Protected Disclosures which was established this month. This framework includes service providers that can provide third party investigative and recipient services to public bodies seeking to meet their obligations under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014.
153. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the form, date and amount of all invoices issued to his Department by a company (details supplied) in each of the years 2007 to 2017, in tabular form. [17911/18]
View answerSince it was established in 2011, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has not received any invoices from the company in question.
154. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the schedule to fully restore the pensions of retired public servants having regard to previous deductions under FEMPI legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17917/18]
View answerOn 1 January 2018, public service pensions impacted by the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR) qualified for an effective increase by way of a lessening or amelioration of PSPR, as required under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015. I understand that such increases have, in general, been implemented through pension payrolls across the various public service sectors.
In addition to this, the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 provides for the significant further lessening of PSPR, occurring by way of threshold and rate changes to apply on 1 January 2019 and 1 January 2020.
This scheduled further lessening of the PSPR impact on pensions will mean that from 1 January 2019 all pensions up to €39,000 per annum will be exempt from PSPR, removing some 12,000 pensioners from the impact of PSPR.
From 1 January 2020, further PSPR amelioration will mean that all pensions up to €54,000 per annum will be exempt from PSPR, removing some 10,500 additional pensioners from the impact of PSPR.
When fully in place from the beginning of 2020, these changes will mean that the vast majority of public service retirees - approximately 97% - comprising everyone with occupational pension values up to at least €54,000, will be entirely free of PSPR. For those who retired since end-February 2012 that threshold will be even higher at €60,000.
155. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he will meet with an organisation (details supplied) regarding the provision of a pension scheme for community employment scheme supervisors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17932/18]
View answer160. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he plans to meet the trade unions representing community employment scheme supervisors and assistant supervisors regarding the introduction of a pension scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17983/18]
View answer162. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason he has failed to meet personally with the unions representing community employment scheme supervisors and assistant supervisors; the reason the high level forum set up under the Lansdowne Road agreement has failed to meet as mandated to do so with a view to implementing the thrust of the Labour Court recommendation made in 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18095/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 155, 160 and 162 together.
I would refer the Deputy on my response to PQ 13684/18 of 27 March 2018.
156. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to upgrade the 15 acres sports pitches in the Phoenix Park and the adjacent car park. [17934/18]
View answerThe Commissioners of Public Works plan to upgrade the car parks at the 15 acres pitches. There are no immediate plans to upgrade the football pitches.
158. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when legislation will be passed to facilitate the extension of the retirement age by choice for persons working in the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17956/18]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 53517/2017 on 14 December 2017.
The legislation is on the list of priority legislation for publication in the Spring/Summer Session 2018.
159. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of houses used as official accommodation by An Garda Síochána that are within the remit of the OPW by county and exact location; the number that are fully occupied and empty, respectively; and his plans to return empty dwellings to full occupancy. [17981/18]
View answer161. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of houses used as official accommodation for An Garda Síochána within the remit of the Office of Public Works by county and location in tabular form; the number that are fully occupied; the number that are unoccupied; and if he plans to return empty dwellings to full occupancy. [18003/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 161 together.
The Commissioners of Public Works have advised me that the following table sets out, by county, the number of residences under the remit of the Office of Public Works (OPW) that are currently available to An Garda Síochána for official accommodation.
The Commissioners further advise that the occupancy and assignment of these residences is an operational matter for An Garda Síochána.
Number of Official Garda Residences by County
|
County |
Residences |
County |
Residences |
|
Carlow |
7 |
Longford |
3 |
|
Cavan |
7 |
Louth |
7 |
|
Clare |
13 |
Mayo |
13 |
|
Cork |
34 |
Meath |
6 |
|
Donegal |
19 |
Monaghan |
3 |
|
Dublin |
14 |
Offaly |
10 |
|
Galway |
34 |
Roscommon |
9 |
|
Kerry |
17 |
Sligo |
6 |
|
Kildare |
7 |
Tipperary |
25 |
|
Kilkenny |
9 |
Waterford |
9 |
|
Laois |
9 |
Westmeath |
5 |
|
Leitrim |
3 |
Wexford |
8 |
|
Limerick |
15 |
Wicklow |
10 |
163. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will publish the reports proposed and finalised by his Department in November 2017 dealing with the potential costs of implementing the claim for pension provision for community employment supervisors and assistant supervisors in line with the 2008 Labour Court recommendation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18096/18]
View answerThe paper in question will be published in due course.
164. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Education and Skills if funding has been approved for the construction of an engineering building at Waterford Institute of Technology, WIT; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17639/18]
View answerAn Engineering, Computing, and General Teaching Building in WIT is included in the Higher Education PPP Programme announced on 16th October last. Technical, legal and other advisors for this programme will be appointed shortly and an announcement in this respect can be expected in the coming weeks.
In parallel, officials from the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the NDFA and my Department have engaged with the Higher Education Institutions included in the programme, including WIT, with a view to agreeing schedules of accommodation for each individual project . This work is almost complete. The resulting schedules of accommodation will be provided to the advisors and will form the basis of the next stage of development of these projects (i.e. the design and planning application process).
It should be noted that all projects in the programme are subject to ongoing technical appraisal and economic analysis to ensure value for money is achieved.
165. Deputy Shane Cassells asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an application by a person (details supplied) under the school transport scheme will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17799/18]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently over 116,000 children, including over 12,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,500 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually at a total cost of almost €190 million in 2017.
Changes to the Post Primary School Transport Scheme mean that from the 2012/13 school year, eligibility for all children newly entering a post primary school is determined by reference to the distance they reside from their nearest Post-Primary Education Centre having regard, as heretofore, to ethos and language.
Bus Éireann has advised that the child in question is not attending his nearest post primary centre and is therefore not eligible for school transport.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only. Concessionary transport is subject to a number of terms and conditions including the availability of spare seats on an existing service and payment of the annual charge.
Seats for concessionary applicants are allocated after all eligible children have been accommodated on school transport services. This exercise normally takes place after the closing date for receipt of payments. Where seats are limited a random selection process is used.
The family in question should liaise with their local Bus Éireann office regarding the availability of concessionary seats for the 2018/19 school year.
The terms of the Post Primary School Transport Scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.
166. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of temporary or prefabricated classrooms and schools in use by county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17399/18]
View answer167. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the cost per annum of the temporary prefabricated classrooms and schools in use by county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17400/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 166 and 167 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that the information requested is currently being compiled by my Department and will be furnished to him shortly.
168. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools awaiting the construction of new classrooms or extensions by county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17401/18]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that details of school projects included in the current Construction Programme, together with projects that have been approved for funding under the Additional Accommodation Scheme, are available in the format requested on my Department’s website www.education.ie – Building Works.
