Wednesday, 24 Mar 2021

Written Answers Nos. 683-707

Pyrite Remediation Programme

Questions (683)

Darren O'Rourke

Question:

683. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is satisfied with the quality of work being conducted under the pyrite remediation scheme; the quality guarantee that residents receive for works carried out under the scheme; if his attention has been drawn to many or any homes which have had works completed under the scheme only to notice cracks, movement and other problems afterwards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15021/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Pyrite Resolution Act 2013 provides the statutory framework for the establishment of the Pyrite Resolution Board and for the making of a pyrite remediation scheme to be implemented by the Board with support from the Housing Agency.

The provisions of the Act apply only to dwellings affected by significant damage attributable to pyritic heave consequent on the presence of reactive pyrite in the subfloor hardcore material and not to damage arising in any other circumstance, e.g. such as pyrite in concrete blocks.

The pyrite remediation scheme is a scheme of “last resort” for affected homeowners who have no other practical option to obtain redress and is limited in its application and scope. The full conditions for eligibility under the scheme are set out in the scheme which is available on the Board’s website, www.pyriteboard.ie.

All works under the pyrite remediation scheme are completed, by competent builders, to the requirements of I.S. 398-2:2013 - Reactive pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material - Part 2: Methodology for Remediation Works, and are overseen by design professionals in accordance with the requirements of the Board and the Housing Agency.

Once the Remedial Works are complete, an engineer inspects the dwelling for snags, which are then addressed by a contractor. The Scheme Participant is invited to visit and view the dwelling both before and after this snag list stage.

Where a dwelling has been remediated under the pyrite remediation scheme, a certificate of remediation is provided to the scheme participant in respect of the relevant dwelling.

Post the return of the property, an engineer will assess defects associated with the Remedial Works which are notified to the Housing Agency in writing by the Scheme Participant within a period of 11 months from the date of the Certificate of Remediation. The Housing Agency agrees to repair any defect which arise, within this period, as a result of the Remedial Works only.

Following this period, at the Application Closure stage, there is a further opportunity for the Scheme Participant to notify the Housing Agency of any outstanding defects. Such issues will be investigated and resolved, where appropriate, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Scheme.

The Board, the Housing Agency and their representatives’ endeavour, at all times to keep Scheme Participants informed of progress at every stage of the Pyrite Remediation process.

My Department is in regular contact with the Board and the Housing Agency in relation to the implementation of the scheme and is satisfied with the arrangements that are currently in place.

It is important to note that, in accordance with the provisions of the Act, the Board is independent in the performance of its functions, and as Minister, I have no role in the operational matters relating to the implementation of the scheme.

I would encourage any homeowner with concerns regarding the remediation of their dwelling to fully engage with the Board as early as possible to facilitate the process. The Board may be contacted by phone at Lo call 1890 252842 or by email to: [e-mail], or alternatively at: [e-mail].

Repair and Leasing Scheme

Questions (684)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

684. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has considered revising upwards the terms of the repair and leasing scheme to provide a greater incentive to property owners to convert derelict houses into available homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15075/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) was developed to assist private property owners and local authorities or approved housing bodies (AHBs) to harness the accommodation potential that exists in vacant dwellings across Ireland. Subject to the suitability of the dwelling for social housing, the cost of the necessary repairs will be met upfront by the local authority or an AHB with the cost of the repairs being recovered from the property owner by offsetting it against the lease payment.

At end 2020, a total of 234 dwellings had been brought back into use under the scheme across a range of dwelling types, including over the shop properties, former bedsits, city centre terraced houses, and one off rural dwellings. Data in relation to dwellings delivered by each local authority under RLS are available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/#repair-and-leasing-scheme-rls.

Given the value of the scheme to local authorities and its role in tackling vacancy, it is a key objective to increase delivery under the scheme. Therefore, I increased the RLS funding limit of €40,000 to €60,000 for all properties in November 2020. I am confident that the increase in the maximum funding available will result in additional output under the scheme, as well as having additional benefits in terms of regeneration, employment and investment in local areas. The budget allocation for RLS in 2021 is €11 million, targeting the delivery of 170 homes.

Water and Sewerage Schemes

Questions (685)

Robert Troy

Question:

685. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will sign off on the decommissioning of a group water scheme (details supplied). [15081/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

My Department officials met with the local authority on 18 March 2021 to discuss the options for the group water scheme named in the details supplied.

The local authority will now consider the matter of the scheme further and will revert to my Department by 9 April 2021 regarding proposed next steps.

Wildlife Protection

Questions (686)

Duncan Smith

Question:

686. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the legislative framework adopted in Ireland to implement the objectives of the Birds Directive, as set out in 2009/147/EC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15105/21]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

My Department has responsibility for the implementation of a range of national and EU legislation in relation to nature and biodiversity including the EU Birds and Habitats Directives.

The European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (SI 477/2011) are the key legislative instrument, transposing both the Birds and Habitats Directives in Ireland. Together with the Planning and Development Acts and the Wildlife Acts, they provide the main framework for compliance with the Nature Directives in Ireland.

Departmental Transport

Questions (687)

Duncan Smith

Question:

687. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vehicles owned or leased and operated by his Department and agencies and semi-State companies under his remit, broken down by the number of internal combustion engine, ICE, and non-ICE vehicles and fuel category, that is, petrol, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric and so on. [15123/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The information requested in respect of my Department is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.

My Department does not maintain the requested information in respect of the State bodies under its aegis. These State bodies may be contacted directly by e-mail by members of the Oireachtas, as set out in the table below.

State Body	Contact E-mail Address
An Bord Pleanála	[e-mail]
An Fóram Uisce (the Water Forum)	[e-mail]
Docklands Oversight and Consultative Forum	[e-mail]
Ervia	[e-mail]
Gas Networks Ireland	[e-mail]
Heritage Council	[e-mail]
Housing Finance Agency	[e-mail]
Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency	[e-mail]
Irish Water	[e-mail]
Land Development Agency	[e-mail]
Local Government Management Agency	[e-mail]
National Oversight and Audit Commission	[e-mail]
National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee	[e-mail]
Office of the Planning Regulator	[e-mail]
Ordnance Survey Ireland	[e-mail]
Property Registration Authority	[e-mail]
Pyrite Resolution Board	[e-mail]
Residential Tenancies Board	[e-mail]
Valuation Office	[e-mail]
Valuation Tribunal	[e-mail]
Water Advisory Body	[e-mail]
Waterways Ireland	[e-mail]

Vacant Properties

Questions (688)

Thomas Gould

Question:

688. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding provided to Cork City Council for voids refurbishment in each of the years 2010 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [15136/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Since 2014, Exchequer funding has been provided through my Department's Voids Programme to support local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-letting. This funding was initially introduced to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted at ensuring minimal turnaround and re-let times for local authority vacant stock. Consequently, the table below provides the breakdown by year and funding support provided by my Department to Cork City Council since 2014.

Year	Exchequer Funding
2014	€2,872,028
2015	€4,522,819
2016	€6,812,333
2017	€1,485,357
2018	€820,190
2019	€586,109
2020	€5,872,791
Total	€22,971,628

The breakdown of funding for the return of vacant units in relation to 2021 will be finalised once the 2021 programme is rolled out.

Traveller Accommodation

Questions (689)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Question:

689. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is satisfied that the delivery of housing allocations for the Traveller community in County Clare is adequate; if he has followed up with Clare County Council in relation to the return of €2.2 million to his Department in unspent funds for Traveller accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15142/21]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

In accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, the role of my Department is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist housing authorities in providing accommodation for Travellers, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding.

The vast majority of Travellers live in standard housing. The allocations and recoupment profiles for capital funded Traveller accommodation projects are shaped by the local priorities, circumstances and project timelines as set out in the Traveller Accommodation Programmes (TAPs) prepared by local authorities, in this case Clare County Council, under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998. Funding is recouped to local authorities on eligible expenditure incurred under these programmes. Since the beginning of its first TAP in the year 2000, Clare County Council has recouped some €26.5 million for Traveller accommodation,

Following a review of the arrangements for the disbursement of funding for the provision and related supports of Traveller specific accommodation a new allocation process was implemented for 2020. My Department has ceased the practice of allocating specific budgets to individual local authorities. Instead, it is open to all local authorities to apply for and drawdown funds at any time throughout the year and this is actively encouraged by my Department. My Department’s capital budget of €14.5m for Traveller-specific Accommodation was drawn down in full in 2020. Officials from my Department will continue to make regular contact with each local authority throughout 2021 to support and facilitate the development of effective Traveller accommodation projects.

Land Issues

Questions (690)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Question:

690. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will address a matter regarding development on lands (details supplied). [15143/21]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The zoning of land for particular uses is an exercise undertaken as part of the overall statutory development plan function under sections 9-13 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended). Under this legislation, the decision to zone land for development is specifically a reserved function of the elected members of the planning authority, in this case Clare County Council, and this includes the zoning of lands for residential development in order to meet the identified housing needs of the local authority.

In preparing the development plan, the consideration and decision on what particular lands to zone is therefore taken by the elected members and is required to be consistent with national and regional planning policy and legislation, including as identified in the National Planning Framework, Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies and Ministerial planning guidelines.

In order to ensure that development can take place on lands that are zoned for development, national policy is that planning authorities would identify and zone lands that are serviced, and, lands that are considered serviceable within the life of the plan. It follows that lands that cannot be serviced within the life of a development plan, should not be zoned for development.

This is supported by the provision in the planning act that there shall be no presumption that any land zoned for development in a development plan shall remain so zoned in any subsequent plan. It is important that zoned land can be developed as intended, as planning authorities must ensure that there is sufficient residential land available to meet identified housing needs.

While I am supportive of measures to facilitate the servicing and development of zoned land within the life of the relevant development plan, that may be taken locally and that can meet all required planning and environmental standards with the agreement of the relevant agencies, the Water Services Acts 2007-2017 set out the arrangements in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services by Irish Water. 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 and it is not possible to revert such functions on a case-by-case basis.

Ministerial Meetings

Questions (691)

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Question:

691. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the meetings he has held or correspondence he has had with banks and financial institutions in Ireland since assuming office. [15199/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 provides that the Standards in Public Office Commission, an independent body, is the Registrar of Lobbying. The Act is designed to provide information to the public about who is lobbying whom about what. It also provides for the establishment and maintenance of a register of persons who carry on lobbying activities and for a code of conduct relating to carrying on such activities. Banks and financial institutions as commercial organisations which have more than 10 full time employees must, under the Act, report any engagement with me. Details of any correspondence, contact or meetings with me are published on www.lobbying.ie. In addition, details of my engagements and meetings are published on my Department's website at: www.gov.ie/en/collection/5f6f1-ministers-diaries/#minister-darragh-obriens-diaries.

Owing to the scope of my remit as Minister, I receive representations from a wide range of parties, including public representatives, local and voluntary groups as well as private individuals and organisations. Thus, a detailed search of a significant volume of records would be necessary to identify any correspondence relevant to the Deputy’s question resulting in a disproportionate use of time and resources. However, if the Deputy has a specific issue in mind, he might forward the details to me and I will respond to him directly.

Special Protection Areas

Questions (692)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

692. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the details of the compensatory measures that are available to farmers who have had their lands designated as special protection areas under the EU birds directive; the number availing of such measures; and the amount of funding provided by her Department for same. [15206/21]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Subject to the provisions of regulation 41 of the European Communities (Bird and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011, where the Minister refuses to give consent to an activity requiring consent within a special protection area, in accordance with regulation 30 of the regulations, a person (owner or occupier or user) may be eligible to compensation of an amount equal to the loss suffered by him/her by the depreciation of an interest in the land to which he or she was entitled.

In this context, where a person makes an application for consent and the Minister refuses to give consent, he or she may make an application for compensation.

In 2020, the Department made two compensation payments totalling €4,278, arising from the refusal of the Minister to give consent to an activity requiring consent within a special protection area.

My Department’s National Parks and Wildlife Service also administers a farm plan scheme. This scheme provides payments for voluntary commitments by farmers above and beyond statutory requirements. While this is not a compensatory measure, commitments and actions undertaken as part of the scheme may occur on designated land.

Special Protection Areas

Questions (693)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

693. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the system that is in place to facilitate objections by persons affected by having lands designated as SPAs in view of the significant impact on land valuations on designated lands; and if there is an independent arbitration process available to enable farmers to be recompensed for the depreciation in land values. [15208/21]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Ireland, like all Member States, is bound by the requirements of the EU Nature Directives. The Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive aim to ensure the protection of habitats and species which have been selected for conservation within special areas of conservation and special protection areas. The Directives have been transposed into national law under the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011, the Planning Acts and the Wildlife Acts.

When lands are being proposed for inclusion within a special protection area, identified landowners are notified of the proposed designation and are sent an information pack on the relevant site. The information pack explains the scientific reasons for the proposed designation, sets out the activities requiring the prior consent of the Minister or of another public authority for that site and includes information on how to appeal against the proposed designation. A map showing the boundaries and extent of the site is also sent to landowners to help them to determine whether or not their land is located within the site proposed for designation.

Notice of the proposed designation is also published in at least one newspaper with circulation covering the area in which the site is located, in one national newspaper and on the website of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department. Adverts are broadcast on a radio channel generally available in the area in which the site is located and provided for display in local Garda stations, local authority offices, public libraries, local offices of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and offices of Teagasc.

A three-month period is provided for lodging an appeal against the inclusion of land within a site proposed for designation. Initially a Departmental review is undertaken in respect of an appeal. Where an appeal is unsuccessful/partly unsuccessful at the Departmental review stage, an appeal may be made to the Designated Areas Appeals Advisory Board. This board is comprised of representatives of landowners and of Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations, under an independent chairperson.

Following an appeal hearing, the board makes a recommendation to the Minister. This recommendation is based on scientific grounds as to whether the land should be included in the site proposed for designation. The recommendation of the Designated Areas Appeals Advisory Board may be accepted in full, in part or rejected and the appellant is informed of the decision of the Minister.

All deadlines for appeals, against the inclusion of lands within special protection areas, have passed.

Subject to the provisions of regulation 41 of the European Communities (Bird and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011, where the Minister refuses to give consent to an activity requiring consent within a special protection area, in accordance with regulation 30 of the regulations, a person (owner or occupier or user) may be eligible to compensation of an amount equal to the loss suffered by him/her by the depreciation of an interest in the land to which he or she was entitled.

In this context, where a person makes an application for consent and the Minister refuses to give consent, he or she may make an application for compensation.

In the event that agreement cannot be reached on the amount of compensation between the Minister and the applicant, either party may apply to have the matter determined by an independent arbitrator.

Water Services

Questions (694)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

694. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of wastewater treatment plants that have an amber or red capacity loading in each county; the percentage of water pipes being fixed each year by Irish Water for the past five years; the amount Irish Water has spent fixing water pipes in each of the past five years; and the percentage of the water produced and number of litres of water that have leaked from water pipes in each of the past five years. [15232/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of public water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels.

As part of Budget 2021, I secured funding of over €1.4 billion to support water services. This includes €1.3 billion in respect of domestic water services provision by Irish Water. This overall investment will deliver significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services, support improved water supplies right across Ireland, including rural Ireland, and support a range of programmes delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine area.

Irish Water publishes annual reports and financial statements which are comprehensive reports on its activities and developments annually, including information relevant to that sought, and are available on its website, www.water.ie/about-us/our-company/annual-reports/. Irish Water has also established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via email to [e-mail] or by telephone on a dedicated number, 1890 578 578.

Urban Regeneration and Development Fund

Questions (695)

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

695. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the members of the project assessment board for assessing and allocating funding for the urban regeneration and development fund; the process of selection for the board; the qualifications required for membership; the renumeration provided for each of the positions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15239/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

All applications received under Call 2 of the URDF were assessed in terms of their alignment with the intended purpose of the URDF programme and also their viability before being considered for approval. As part of this process, and in line with a Government Decision of May 2018, the assessment process included consideration by a Project Advisory Board (PAB) consisting of relevant Government departments, State agencies and independent experts from relevant sectors.

The composition of the PAB for Call 2 of the URDF is set out in the following table.

Remuneration provided for the three independent expert members, in respect of their time spent on preparation for and attendance at meetings, was €450 each per meeting amounting to €3,150 for the seven meetings that took place.

Government Department/State Agencies and National and International Experts	Name
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage	Lisa Clifford (Chair)
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage	Martin Colreavy
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage	Colin Ryan
Department of the Environment, Climate Action and Communications	John O’Neill
Department of Rural and Community Development	Eddie Forsyth
Department of Transport	Garret Doocey
Land Development Agency	Phelim O’Neill
TU Dublin Environment and Planning, City Campus – Bolton Street	Dr Conor Norton
Ireland Strategic Infrastructure Fund	Donal Murphy
Project Capital-Cost Appraisal expert	Maura Connolly
Strategic Spatial Planning expert	Jim MacKinnon
Urban Development – Design and Placemaking expert	Bob Allies

Urban Regeneration and Development Fund

Questions (696)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

Question:

696. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the breakdown of funds applied for and subsequently allocated to the urban regeneration and development fund by county in each of the years 2018 to 2020, in tabular form; when the next round of applications under the fund will open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15241/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

There have been two calls for proposals under the URDF. In 2019, approval in principle together with provisional funding allocations issued in respect of the 87 projects approved under the first call which was launched in 2018.

The Table below lists the 87 projects approved under Call 1 together with up-to-date provisional URDF funding allocations. With regard to the difference between the current provisional allocations and the URDF support initially sought by applicants at application stage it should be noted that in some cases proposals were not sufficiently developed to warrant the allocations sought or contained project elements that would not attract URDF support. In other cases allocations have since been increased beyond what was initially sought in order to respond to more refined and updated project budgets.

A second call for proposals was launched last year, and following a rigorous assessment process I have only recently approved a further 45 projects for URDF support. There are no plans at the present time to announce any further calls for proposals under the URDF.

Table - Projects approved under URDF Call 1

County	Applicant	Project	URDF support sought at application stage	Current Provisional Allocation
Carlow	Carlow County Council	Carlow Town Master Plan	15,579,011.03	580,000
Cavan	Cavan County Council	Abbeylands Redevelopment -Cavan Town Centre	2,550,000	262,500
Clare	Clare County Council	The Venue Shannon	8,219,788.00	250,000
Clare	Clare County Council	Parnell Street and the Lanes and Bow-Ways	2,441,276	3,665,339
Clare	Clare County Council	Barrack Square and Old Barrack Street and O’Connell Square and High Street	2,642,455	189,000
Cork City	Cork City Council	Beamish and Crawford / Grand Parade Quarter	10,382,376	916,000
Cork City	Cork City Council	Cork City Docklands	57,075,000	450,000
Cork City	Port of Cork	Tivoli Docks	337,500	1,312,500
Cork City	Irish Rail	Kent Station Yard (Site enabling)	3,750,000	750,000
Cork County	Cork County Council	Carrigaline Western Relief Road	6,150,000	6,400,208
Cork County	Cork County Council	Midleton Main Street Public Improvements	1,921,985.20	1,921,985
Cork County	Cork County Council	Midleton Permeability Package of Proposals	20,600,000	187,500
Cork County	Cork County Council	Cobh UEA - Public Realm - Diaspora Centre	1,402,500	277,500
Cork County	Cork County Council	Carrigaline Public Realm	112,500	112,500
Cork County	Cork County Council	Carrigtwohill – Design and Planning works	562,500	562,500
Cork County	Cork County Council	Mallow Town Regeneration	1,480,500	1,480,500
Donegal	Donegal County Council	Letterkenny 2040 (Public Realm and Site Acquisition)	5,814,075	1,942,536
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Santry River Restoration Project	9,375,000	750,000
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Artists' Workspaces	4,000,000	200,000
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Inchicore - St Michael's Estate & Environs Regeneration	150,000	150,000
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Rutland Street NEIC	8,969,460	8,969,460
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Park West/Cherry Orchard Industrial Lands Analysis	150,000	150,000
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Naas Road LAP lands	15,350,000	200,000
Dublin City	Trinity College Dublin	Campus at Grand Canal Quay (Public Realm Re-use)	15,000,000	1,500,000
Dublin City	Dept of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Redevelopment and repurposing of the historically significant No. 11 Parnell Square	3,862,500	3,862,500
Dublin County	Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council	Stillorgan (Public Realm works)	8,700,000	7,658,379
Dublin County	Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council	Dundrum Community, Cultural and Civic Action Plan	75,000	65,679
Dublin County	Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council	Spatial and Economic Action Plan for Dun Laoghaire	75,000	75,000
Dublin County	Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council	Cherrywood Public Parks, Greenways & Attenuation	13,358,100.80	13,358,102
Dublin County	Fingal County Council	Balbriggan Planning and Design Works	17,159,625	2,125,000
Dublin County	Fingal County Council	Sustainable Swords	1,125,000	375,000
Dublin County	South Dublin County Council	Tallaght Town Centre (Civic Plaza/Link Road)	21,150,000	31,894,325
Dublin County	South Dublin County Council	Naas Road/Ballymount	350,000	200,000
Galway City	Galway City Council	Ardaun Upgrade of Martin Roundabout	2,703,473	2,703,000
Galway City	Galway City Council	Sandy Road Liosbán – Funding is to support the preparation of a Development Feasibility Study	7,437,000	187,500
Galway City	Galway City Council	Cycling and Walking – Initial funding for new/upgrade cycleways	19,576,253	2,900,000
Galway City	National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG)	Nuns Island Master Planning	322,500	236,000
Galway City	Galway Harbour Company	Regeneration of Galway City Inner Harbour	67,037,000	285,000
Kerry	Kerry County Council	Phase I Tralee Town Centre - Rock Street, Russell Street and Bridge Street	2,256,700	2,606,511
Kerry	Kerry County Council	Smarter Travel Killarney (Link & Public Realm)	2,747,000	1,000,000
Kerry	Kerry County Council	Áras Phádraig Masterplan	112,500	112,500
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Naas Library (including Public Realm works)	4,445,243	4,445,243
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Celbridge Southern Relief Road & Second Liffey Crossing	10,500,000	400,000
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Newbridge Cultural and Civic Quarter	15,097,482.47	492,000
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Canal Quarter Naas	945,000	195,000
Kilkenny	Kilkenny County Council	Abbey Quarter (Public Realm enabling)	6,154,000	6,154,000
Laois	Laois County Council	Portlaoise - A Cultural Quarter	7,028,640	7,028,640
Laois	Laois County Council	Portlaoise - A Low Carbon Town	2,026,372	2,026,372
Leitrim	Leitrim County Council	Public Realm Improvement Scheme for the town of Carrick on Shannon	6,502,500	6,502,500
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	O’Connell Street Urban Centre Revitalisation Project	10,500,000	4,500,000
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	Digital Collaboration and Virtual Reality Centre	4,000,000	937,500
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	Worldclass Waterfront	1,312,500	350,000
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	Social and Economic Model	110,000	110,000
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	Living Georgian City Programme	5,083,502	1,200,000
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	Opera Project (Site enabling)	36,775,297	1,839,000
Limerick	University of Limerick	Digital District (Inner City Digital Hub)	14,938,201	750,000
Longford	Longford County Council	Longford Connected (Public Realm Marketsquare)	2,990,335	2,990,355
Louth	Louth County Council	Long Walk Quarter Dundalk	1,546,588	533,000
Louth	Louth County Council	Westgate Vision Drogheda	5,353,234	476,000
Mayo	Mayo County Council	Ballina Innovation Quarter	5,361,004	5,361,004
Mayo	Mayo County Council	Castlebar Urban Greenway Link	1,875,000	1,875,000
Mayo	Mayo County Council	Castlebar Military Barracks	14,392,500	141,391
Meath	Meath County Council	Ashbourne Road and Public Realm Improvement	11,349,206	6,376,050
Meath	Meath County Council	Flowerhill Regeneration Project	75,000	75,000
Meath	Meath County Council	Navan Active Land Management Project	3,675,000	3,683,000
Meath	Meath County Council	Railway Street Regeneration and County Archive	187,500	187,500
Monaghan	Monaghan County Council	Dublin Street Regeneration Monaghan	11,955,505	1,285,108
Offaly	Offaly County Council	Tullamore Urban Area (Public Realm)	6,500,794	3,000,000
Roscommon	Roscommon County Council	Public Realm Plan - Market Square & Main Street	4,411,326	4,775,075
Roscommon	Roscommon County Council	Roscommon Town Centre	352,500	350,000
Sligo	Sligo County Council	Eastern Garavogue Bridge & Approach Roads Scheme	2,400,000	6,000,000
Sligo	Sligo County Council	O'Connell Street Enhancement	1,236,035	2,134,332
Sligo	Sligo County Council	Sligo Cultural Plaza	750,000	750,000
Sligo	Sligo County Council	Sligo Public Realm	6,193,630	560,000
Tipperary	Tipperary County Council	Liberty Square Enhancement	4,390,000	5,390,291
Tipperary	Tipperary County Council	Clonmel 2030 Transformational Regeneration	4,828,865	10,594,961
Waterford	Waterford City & County Council	Waterford City and Environs - North Quays (Infrastructure enabling)	104,500,000	80,618,212
Waterford	Waterford City & County Council	Tramore Town Centre	2,172,500	2,172,500
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Loughanaskin Masterplanning	2,500,000	750,000
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Canal Avenue & Environs Regeneration Project	1,706,250	1,706,250
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Athlone Tourism Cultural Quarter	4,500,000	750,000
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Blackhall, Mullingar	3,270,000	2,452,500
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Athlone Town Centre Regeneration and Enhancement	3,740,000	750,000
Wexford	Wexford County Council	Trinity Wharf Project	19,018,983	2,028,000
Wicklow	Wicklow County Council	Bray Public Transport Bridge	6,450,000	6,450,000
Wicklow	Wicklow County Council	Arklow Historic Town Core	2,351,013.24	2,351,013
Wicklow	Wicklow County Council	Wicklow Town - Relocation and upgrading of the library and Fitzwilliam square upgrade and street improvement.	3,724,914	4,627,409
Total			731,239,998	300,948,730

Question No. 697 answered with Question No. 616.

Urban Regeneration and Development Fund

Questions (698, 732)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

698. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a schedule of works and-or projects granted funding under the urban regeneration and development fund 2021, by county. [15264/21]

Alan Kelly

Question:

732. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the allocations that have been made under the urban regeneration and development fund. [15895/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

I propose to take Questions Nos. 698 and 732 together.

The Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), which was launched in 2018 to support more compact and sustainable development, is one of four funds established under the National Development Plan 2018-2027.

The URDF supported capital programme is applicant led and all applications for URDF support are assessed in terms of their alignment with the intended purpose of the URDF programme and also their viability before being considered for approval.

There have been two calls for proposals under the URDF. In 2019, approval in principle together with provisional funding allocations issued in respect of the 87 projects approved under the first call which was launched in 2018. The second call for proposals was launched last year, and following a rigorous assessment process I have recently approved a further 45 projects for URDF support. My Department will soon be in contact with the local authorities involved concerning the arrangements and conditions attached to this URDF support.

In this regard, it should be noted that responsibility for the advancement of URDF supported projects through the various stages of development and completion is, in the first instance, a matter for the relevant successful applicant, the Sponsoring Agency. Each URDF supported project is unique as each addresses location specific issues, and many are of significant scale, complexity, and cost. As is normally the case, such projects must be carefully developed and managed by the Sponsoring Agency in accordance with the normal conditions and arrangements that apply to public sector managed projects including exercising appropriate cost control and delivering each project as approved and in full compliance with the Public Spending Code.

Table 1 lists the 87 projects approved under Call 1 together with provisional URDF funding allocations. Table 2 lists the 45 projects recently approved under Call 2 together with provisional URDF funding allocations.

TABLE 1 - Projects Approved under URDF Call 1

County	Applicant	Project	Provisional Allocation
Carlow	Carlow County Council	Carlow Town Master Plan	580,000
Cavan	Cavan County Council	Abbeylands Redevelopment -Cavan Town Centre	262,500
Clare	Clare County Council	The Venue Shannon	250,000
Clare	Clare County Council	Parnell Street and the Lanes and Bow-Ways	3,665,339
Clare	Clare County Council	Barrack Square and Old Barrack Street and O’Connell Square and High Street	189,000
Cork City	Cork City Council	Beamish and Crawford / Grand Parade Quarter	916,000
Cork City	Cork City Council	Cork City Docklands	450,000
Cork City	Port of Cork	Tivoli Docks	1,312,500
Cork City	Irish Rail	Kent Station Yard (Site enabling)	750,000
Cork County	Cork County Council	Carrigaline Western Relief Road	6,400,208
Cork County	Cork County Council	Midleton Main Street Public Improvements	1,921,985
Cork County	Cork County Council	Midleton Permeability Package of Proposals	187,500
Cork County	Cork County Council	Cobh UEA - Public Realm - Diaspora Centre	277,500
Cork County	Cork County Council	Carrigaline Public Realm	112,500
Cork County	Cork County Council	Carrigtwohill – Design and Planning works	562,500
Cork County	Cork County Council	Mallow Town Regeneration	1,480,500
Donegal	Donegal County Council	Letterkenny 2040 (Public Realm and Site Acquisition)	1,942,536
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Santry River Restoration Project	750,000
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Artists' Workspaces	200,000
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Inchicore - St Michael's Estate & Environs Regeneration	150,000
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Rutland Street NEIC	8,969,460
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Park West/Cherry Orchard Industrial Lands Analysis	150,000
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	Naas Road LAP lands	200,000
Dublin City	Trinity College Dublin	Campus at Grand Canal Quay (Public Realm Re-use)	1,500,000
Dublin City	Dept of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht	Redevelopment and repurposing of the historically significant No. 11 Parnell Square	3,862,500
Dublin County	Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council	Stillorgan (Public Realm works)	7,658,379
Dublin County	Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council	Dundrum Community, Cultural and Civic Action Plan	65,679
Dublin County	Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council	Spatial and Economic Action Plan for Dun Laoghaire	75,000
Dublin County	Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council	Cherrywood Public Parks, Greenways & Attenuation	13,358,102
Dublin County	Fingal County Council	Balbriggan Planning and Design Works	2,125,000
Dublin County	Fingal County Council	Sustainable Swords	375,000
Dublin County	South Dublin County Council	Tallaght Town Centre (Civic Plaza/Link Road)	31,894,325
Dublin County	South Dublin County Council	Naas Road/Ballymount	200,000
Galway City	Galway City Council	Ardaun Upgrade of Martin Roundabout	2,703,000
Galway City	Galway City Council	Sandy Road Liosbán – Funding is to support the preparation of a Development Feasibility Study	187,500
Galway City	Galway City Council	Cycling and Walking – Initial funding for new/upgrade cycleways	2,900,000
Galway City	National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG)	Nuns Island Master Planning	236,000
Galway City	Galway Harbour Company	Regeneration of Galway City Inner Harbour	285,000
Kerry	Kerry County Council	Phase I Tralee Town Centre - Rock Street, Russell Street and Bridge Street	2,606,511
Kerry	Kerry County Council	Smarter Travel Killarney (Link & Public Realm)	1,000,000
Kerry	Kerry County Council	Áras Phádraig Masterplan	112,500
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Naas Library (including Public Realm works)	4,445,243
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Celbridge Southern Relief Road & Second Liffey Crossing	400,000
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Newbridge Cultural and Civic Quarter	492,000
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Canal Quarter Naas	195,000
Kilkenny	Kilkenny County Council	Abbey Quarter (Public Realm enabling)	6,154,000
Laois	Laois County Council	Portlaoise - A Cultural Quarter	7,028,640
Laois	Laois County Council	Portlaoise - A Low Carbon Town	2,026,372
Leitrim	Leitrim County Council	Public Realm Improvement Scheme for the town of Carrick on Shannon	6,502,500
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	O’Connell Street Urban Centre Revitalisation Project	4,500,000
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	Digital Collaboration and Virtual Reality Centre	937,500
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	Worldclass Waterfront	350,000
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	Social and Economic Model	110,000
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	Living Georgian City Programme	1,200,000
Limerick	Limerick City & County Council	Opera Project (Site enabling)	1,839,000
Limerick	University of Limerick	Digital District (Inner City Digital Hub)	750,000
Longford	Longford County Council	Longford Connected (Public Realm Marketsquare)	2,990,355
Louth	Louth County Council	Long Walk Quarter Dundalk	533,000
Louth	Louth County Council	Westgate Vision Drogheda	476,000
Mayo	Mayo County Council	Ballina Innovation Quarter	5,361,004
Mayo	Mayo County Council	Castlebar Urban Greenway Link	1,875,000
Mayo	Mayo County Council	Castlebar Military Barracks	141,391
Meath	Meath County Council	Ashbourne Road and Public Realm Improvement	6,376,050
Meath	Meath County Council	Flowerhill Regeneration Project	75,000
Meath	Meath County Council	Navan Active Land Management Project	3,683,000
Meath	Meath County Council	Railway Street Regeneration and County Archive	187,500
Monaghan	Monaghan County Council	Dublin Street Regeneration Monaghan	1,285,108
Offaly	Offaly County Council	Tullamore Urban Area (Public Realm)	3,000,000
Roscommon	Roscommon County Council	Public Realm Plan - Market Square & Main Street	4,775,075
Roscommon	Roscommon County Council	Roscommon Town Centre	350,000
Sligo	Sligo County Council	Eastern Garavogue Bridge & Approach Roads Scheme	6,000,000
Sligo	Sligo County Council	O'Connell Street Enhancement	2,134,332
Sligo	Sligo County Council	Sligo Cultural Plaza	750,000
Sligo	Sligo County Council	Sligo Public Realm	560,000
Tipperary	Tipperary County Council	Liberty Square	5,390,291
Tipperary	Tipperary County Council	Clonmel 2030 Transformational Regeneration	10,594,961
Waterford	Waterford City & County Council	Waterford City and Environs - North Quays (Infrastructure enabling)	80,618,212
Waterford	Waterford City & County Council	Tramore Town Centre	2,172,500
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Loughanaskin Masterplanning	750,000
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Canal Avenue & Environs Regeneration Project	1,706,250
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Athlone Tourism Cultural Quarter	750,000
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Blackhall, Mullingar	2,452,500
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Athlone Town Centre Regeneration and Enhancement	750,000
Wexford	Wexford County Council	Trinity Wharf Project	2,028,000
Wicklow	Wicklow County Council	Bray Public Transport Bridge	6,450,000
Wicklow	Wicklow County Council	Arklow Historic Town Core	2,351,013
Wicklow	Wicklow County Council	Wicklow Town - Relocation and upgrading of the library and Fitzwilliam square upgrade and street improvement.	4,627,409
Total			300,948,730

TABLE 2 - Projects approved under URDF Call 2

County	Applicant	Project	Provisional Allocation
Carlow	Carlow County Council	Public Realm and Pedestrian Linkage Project in Carlow Town	9,789,861
Cavan	Cavan County Council	Abbeylands Regeneration Project	14,493,750
Clare	Clare County Council	Ennis Town Centre Public Realm Regeneration	4,042,771
Cork County	Cork County Council	Mallow Town Centre Regeneration.	4,706,700
Cork County	Cork County Council	Passage West - Ringaskiddy - Carrigaline Harbour Cluster	817,500
Cork City	Cork City Council	Cork City Docklands	353,407,500
Cork City	Cork City Council	Grand Parade Quarter	46,050,000
Donegal	Donegal County Council	Letterkenny 2040 Phase 1: Re-Energise and Connect the Historic Town Centre	13,599,433
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	North Inner City	121,285,388
Dublin City	Dublin City Council	South Inner City	53,015,166
Dublin County	Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council	Cherrywood Public Access, Permeability and Amenity	40,361,115
Dublin County	Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council	Dundrum Community, Cultural and Civic Hub	4,000,000
Dublin County	Fingal County Council	Balbriggan Rejuvenation	25,438,875
Dublin County	Fingal County Council	Dunsink Feasibility Study - Transportation and Surface Water Assessments	41,250
Dublin County	South Dublin County Council	Adamstown SDZ	9,725,000
Dublin County	South Dublin County Council	Clonburris	176,598,057
Galway County	Galway County Council	Oranmore Railway Station	9,281,250
Galway City	Galway City Council	Galway City Council Transport Connectivity Project	40,304,000
Galway City	Galway City Council	Galway Public Spaces and Streets project	8,635,000
Galway City	Galway City Council	Galway – Innovation and Creativity District	4,300,000
Kerry	Kerry County Council	Destination Killarney	16,068,429
Kerry	Kerry County Council	Positioning Tralee as a Regional Economic Driver and Destination Town	15,936,717
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Maynooth Town Centre Renewal	1,908,750
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Naas Town Renewal Masterplan	3,496,374
Kildare	Kildare County Council	Celbridge to Hazelhatch Link Road	10,237,500
Kilkenny	Kilkenny County Council	Abbey Quarter Phase 2 Advancement Project	11,460,000
Kilkenny	Kilkenny County Council	Kilkenny City Enhanced Liveability Project	6,641,000
Laois	Laois County Council	Portlaoise - Placemaking for a Low Carbon Town	9,000,000
Limerick	Limerick City and County Council	Living Limerick City Centre Initiative	42,616,690
Limerick	Limerick City and County Council	Worldclass Waterfront	73,400,000
Longford	Longford County Council	Camlin Quarter Regeneration	10,440,941
Louth	Louth County Council	St. Nicholas Quarter and Backlands Regeneration	7,487,771
Mayo	Mayo County Council	Castlebar Historic Core Reactivation Initiative	8,527,500
Mayo	Mayo County Council	Castlebar Military Barracks	2,500,000
Meath	Meath County Council	Flowerhill	7,661,250
Monaghan	Monaghan County Council	Dublin Street Regeneration Project	13,113,557
Offaly	Offaly County Council	Tullamore Urban Regeneration and Development 2020	2,245,407
Roscommon	Roscommon County Council	Roscommon Town	9,198,484
Sligo	Sligo County Council	Implementation of Sligo City Public Realm Plan	19,157,330
Sligo	Sligo County Council	City Campus - Sligo Cultural and Learn Hub	28,683,673
Tipperary	Tipperary County Council	A Pathway to a Low-Carbon Society: A Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Energy driving the transformational urban regeneration of Nenagh Town Centre	9,525,000
Waterford	Waterford City and County Council	Waterford City Centre Regeneration	27,661,564
Westmeath	Westmeath County Council	Athlone Town Centre Regeneration and Enhancement	4,125,000
Wexford	Wexford County Council	Trinity Wharf	18,485,000
Wicklow	Wicklow County Council	Bray Harbour Area Integrated Regeneration	7,140,000
	Total		1,306,610,553

Urban Regeneration and Development Fund

Questions (699, 711)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

699. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason funding under the urban regeneration and development fund 2021 has not been granted to Kildare County Council in respect of a second bridge in Newbridge, County Kildare. [15265/21]

Duncan Smith

Question:

711. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason a project (details supplied) in County Kildare did not receive funding under the recently announced urban regeneration and development fund; if the project will be considered under future funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15419/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

I propose to take Questions Nos. 699 and 711 together.

The second call for proposals under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund was launched in January 2020. A copy of the circular setting out the objectives of the Fund together with the application form and assessment criteria have been available on my Departments website since then, and can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/908737-how-to-apply-for-the-urban-regeneration-and-development-fund/.

The primary focus of Call 2 of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is on supporting projects that will contribute to compact growth and that will improve the liveability of our cities and towns. In total, my Department received 76 project proposals (with a total URDF ask in excess of €2bn) with every local authority submitting at least one proposal, and all of which required rigorous assessment.

The quality of proposals submitted under Call 2 was generally very high, demonstrating the commitment of local authorities to avail of the opportunities provided through the URDF. Most applications were well aligned with the objectives set out in local Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSES) and Metropolitan Area Strategic Plans (MASP) where relevant, demonstrating local authorities’ evident ambition to effect impactful regeneration and rejuvenation of urban areas and in that context local authorities’ clear understanding of and commitment to implementation of the National Planning Framework.

Generally, proposals were deemed suitable for URDF support for the following reasons:

(i) Proposal is the right project in the right place, addresses the particular location specific requirements and aligns well with the objectives of NPF (City/Regional Drivers);

(ii) Proposal itself is a good response to the core assessment criteria;

(iii) Proposal represents a strategic and integrated approach to Urban Regeneration (has the potential to act as a catalyst for wider advancement of the regeneration agenda)

(iv) Proposal represents a viable option for investment (viable, deliverable and sustainable)

Generally, proposals were deemed unsuitable for the following reasons:

(i) Proposal did not respond to core assessment criteria of Fund or the quality of the proposal was low;

(ii) Proposal was a routine standalone capital project more related to other capital funding sources available by another Department or Agency;

(iii) Proposal did not demonstrate value for money or was not considered deliverable or sustainable in the context of the URDF programme.

The proposal in question was one of four submitted by Kildare County Council under Call 2 of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund. While this proposal was unsuccessful, the Council was very successful in securing €15,642,624 in URDF support which has been provisionally approved in respect of its other three proposals.

A copy of the detailed assessment of this project will soon be provided to Kildare County Council following which my officials will be available to engage with Council officials to provide any further feedback/information required.

Road Network

Questions (700)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

700. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the date on which the works on the second bridge linking Celbridge to Hazelhatch, County Kildare, will commence; the status of the design detail of the bridge; and if he engaged the National Transport Authority on the granting of funding. [15266/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) was launched in 2018 to support more compact and sustainable development. The URDF is one of four funds established under the National Development Plan 2018-2027 and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has responsibility for its implementation.

The Fund is providing part-funding for applicant led projects that will enable a greater proportion of residential and mixed-use development to be delivered within the existing built-up footprints of our cities and large towns, while also ensuring that more parts of our urban areas can become attractive and vibrant places in which people choose to live and work, as well as to invest and to visit.

The URDF, as a key activator of the National Planning Framework (NPF) and Project Ireland 2040, is supporting a programme of significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s five cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the NPF and PI2040.

All applications for URDF support are assessed in terms of their alignment with the intended purpose of the URDF programme and also their viability before being considered for approval.

With regard to the approved proposal in question, Kildare County Council’s proposal for the Celbridge to Hazelhatch Link Road, the recently announced provisional allocation of €10,237,500 for this project under Call 2 of the URDF is to support substantive capital works subsequent to a related planning and design project that was allocated support of €400,000 under Call 1. This means that to date a total of €10,637,500 in URDF funding has been provisionally allocated to this project.

In the coming weeks, my Department will issue a formal approval in principle letter in respect of this successful proposal to Kildare County Council, which will set out the arrangements and conditions attached to URDF support.

While my Department works closely with the successful applicants in respect of project funding, responsibility for the advancement of URDF supported projects through the various stages of planning, development and completion is, in the first instance, a matter for the Sponsoring Agency, in this case Kildare County Council.

In this regard, it should be noted that all URDF supported projects must be carefully developed and managed by the Sponsoring Agency in accordance with the normal conditions and arrangements that apply to public sector managed projects including, exercising appropriate cost control and delivering projects as approved, and in full compliance with the Public Spending Code.

Private Rented Accommodation

Questions (701)

Duncan Smith

Question:

701. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of inspections of private residential tenancies in County Cork in each of the years 2018 to 2020 and to date in 2021, by local electoral area in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15305/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Strategy for the Rental Sector set out a series of measures to be introduced to ensure the quality of private rental accommodation by strengthening the applicable standards and improving the inspection and enforcement systems.

The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light and the safety of gas, oil and electrical supply.

All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations and responsibility for the enforcement of the Regulations rests with the relevant local authority.

The Rental Strategy recognises the need for additional resources to be provided to local authorities to aid increased inspections of properties and ensure greater compliance with the Regulations. Provision was made for €2.5 million to be made available to local authorities in 2018, increasing to €4.5 million in 2019 with corresponding inspection rate targets of 10% and 15% respectively. This has enabled local authorities to build inspection capacity incrementally. Significant progress was made across the sector. The number of inspections more than doubled from 19,645 in 2017 to 40,998 in 2019.

The 2020 inspection rate target was 20% and €6 million of Exchequer funding was made available to local authorities. An increased budget of €10 million has been approved to facilitate a targeted inspection rate of 25% in 2021. However pandemic restrictions have severely impacted on both inspections and enforcement activity since March 2020.

In response to the pandemic some local authorities have been piloting virtual inspections. Dublin City Council have led this initiative, which entails landlords receiving a checklist for self-assessment and being required to submit photographic/video evidence by email, tenants being invited to raise any non-compliance issues they are aware of and the Council reserving the right to conduct a physical on-site inspection when it is safe to do so.

While virtual inspection systems present certain challenges and limitations, they do offer a way of improving the standard of rental accommodation despite the pandemic. My Department is encouraging local authorities not involved in the pilots to consider adopting them and providing Exchequer funding to those that do. Cork County Council joined the pilot in January and Cork City Council are currently considering participation.

Annual data in respect of the level of inspections carried out by each local authority are available on my Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/publication/da3fe-private-housing-market-statistics/.

The information requested is not available in the precise format sought. Data in respect of the number of inspections carried out in 2018, 2019 and 2020 by both Cork City and Cork County Councils are, for convenience, set out in the table below.

Local Authority	2018	2019	2020
Cork City Council	698	1,042	488
Cork County Council	898	1,410	611

Inspection data are collected on a quarterly basis and Q1 2021 data are not yet available.

The Deputy will be aware that the Cork council boundaries changed on 31 May 2019. As a result any direct comparisons of year on year performance for the two councils would need to be cognisant of this fact.

Housing Data

Questions (702)

Duncan Smith

Question:

702. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average period of time it takes for public housing projects to go from initial design stage funding to completion, by local authority in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15306/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Programme for Government commits to increasing the supply of public, social, and affordable homes, supported with funding of €3.3 billion in Budget 2021. In progressing this major construction programme it is important to pursue timely delivery while at the same time, local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) must also ensure value for money in line with the Government’s Public Spending Code.

For public housing construction projects, the period of time from initial design to completion varies greatly depending on many factors including:

- Scale of development (number of housing units)

- Type of development (apartment blocks, housing estates, mixed)

- Contract type (design/build, traditional)

- Construction methodology (modular/off-site construction, traditional)

- Site conditions and accessibility (e.g. city centre brownfield sites generally have longer construction contract programmes)

There is also a range of delivery programmes utilised by local authorities and AHBs to deliver new public housing, with different timelines and funding arrangements. For traditional public housing developments greater than €6m in value, local authorities work to a pre-construction programme of 59 weeks from initial approval to starting on site. This time period compares favourably with the delivery of private housing and it includes all local authority activities such as:

- Initial Design

- Professional services tendering (for design and project management)

- Public Consultations

- Statutory approvals including Part 8 process, Fire Safety, etc.

- Detailed design and costing development

- Tender documentation preparation

- Tendering

- Tender reports and contract award

The 59 week timeline includes 15 weeks for Department funding assessments and approvals, some of which occur in parallel with local authority activities.

Local authorities and AHBs can also use a Design & Build approach or the ‘Volumetric Framework’ established by Dublin City Council which can shorten their lead-in time to start on site due, for example, to Design & Build projects using off-site modular construction methodologies. For housing developments up to €6m, a process for a Single-Stage assessment and approval by my Department is available to the local authorities.

Local authorities and AHBs also deliver public housing via turnkey contracts with private developers where the delivery times can vary significantly depending on factors such as whether a project has planning permission and whether design work is already complete.

My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on all social housing delivery activity. This is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/. These data are complete to the end of Q4 2020.

To provide transparency on the new social housing projects being advanced, my Department publishes a Social Housing Construction Status Report each quarter with details of all social housing developments completed or under construction in each local authority area. The report for 2020 is available at the following link: https://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-obrien-publishes-2020-social-housing-statistics/. These quarterly reports provide details of the social housing construction schemes completed, under construction or in the pre-construction for all local authority areas. I am keen to ensure that local authorities are proactive in adding to this pipeline and, working with the Approved Housing Bodies, in advancing their existing projects as speedily as possible.

The quarterly publication of the Social Housing Construction Status Report can also give Councillors and public representatives the opportunity to work with the local authority officials to press the advancement of these social housing delivery projects.

Question No. 703 answered with Question No. 619.

Housing Assistance Payment

Questions (704)

Duncan Smith

Question:

704. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the recipients of HAP in each local authority; if they are deemed to be housed once in receipt of HAP; if they are taken off the local authority housing list once in receipt of HAP; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15308/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) HAP is a form of social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need. In order for a household to qualify for HAP, they must first be assessed as eligible for social housing support by their local authority. Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for HAP and those households must source their own accommodation in the private rental sector.

As HAP is a social housing support, households in receipt of HAP are not eligible to remain on the main housing waiting list. However, acknowledging that some households on the waiting list, who avail of HAP, have expectations that they would receive a more traditional form of social housing support, recipients can avail of a move to other forms of social housing through a transfer list.

The practical operation of transfer lists is a matter for each local authority to manage, on the basis of their own scheme of letting priorities. The number of persons on the housing transfer list is also a matter for each individual local authority.

HAP continues to be an effective and secure form of social housing support, and remains a significant part of the suite of social housing options currently available across the country.

Private Rented Accommodation

Questions (705)

Robert Troy

Question:

705. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if eviction proceedings can advance in relation to tenants who have not paid rent since before the period of Covid-19 restrictions; if special arrangements have been made to assist landlords in cases in which tenants have made no effort to contribute to rental agreements, have ignored orders to vacate and are in effect squatting; and if he has considered introducing financial supports for landlords in such circumstances. [15352/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Residential Tenancies Act 2020 was enacted and came into operation on 24 October 2020. The Act aims to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on tenants and to support the Government's efforts to restrict the movement of people in order to suppress the spread of this virus.

The Act modifies the operation of the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2020 to prevent any notices of termination served by landlords, in all but limited cases such as anti-social behaviour, from taking effect in geographical locations and during periods specified by the Minister for Health in Regulations made by him under section 31A of the Health Act 1947 in respect of which a restriction applies on the movement of people outside a 5 km radius of their place of residence. These tenancy protections also apply during the 10 days directly following the period specified by the Minister for Health in the aforementioned Regulations.

Once the Minister for Health makes regulations restricting movement outside a 5 km radius of one's place of residence, the moratorium on evictions taking place takes effect under the Residential Tenancies Act 2020.

A moratorium on evictions taking place is currently in operation throughout the country from 31 December 2020 to 15 April 2021, with limited exceptions. The provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2020 have been reinstated on foot of the 5km restrictions on people’s movements under the following regulations:

- the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 10) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 701 of 2020);

- the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 10) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 – (S.I. No. 29 of 2021); and

- the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 10) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2021 - (S.I. No. 95 of 2021).

Tenants are required to continue to observe the normal terms and conditions of their lease including paying rent to their landlord during the COVID-19 emergency period and, in the event of tenants having difficulty doing so, they are encouraged to engage with their landlords at the earliest opportunity. They should also engage with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (www. MABS.ie) and the Department of Social Protection (D/SP) as income supports such as Rent Supplement are available to assist them. Further information on these supports can be found by calling the D/SP Income Support Helpline for Covid-19 on 1890 800 024 or by visiting the D/SP website at: www.gov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-social-protection/.

Section 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2020 provides that where a valid termination notice was served before the commencement of an emergency period under that Act (i.e. before 31 December 2020, in the context of the current emergency period), and the notice period has expired by that date but the tenant remains in occupation, he or she is entitled to remain in occupation during the emergency period and for 10 days following the expiry of the emergency period (i.e. up to and including 15 April 2021), subject to any further extension to the emergency period in line with any extension to the 5 km travel restriction under Section 31A Health Regulations. The usual terms and conditions of the tenancy apply during such a period of occupation.

On 9 March 2021, the Government approved the publication of the Residential Tenancies Bill 2021 with a view to early enactment before 13 April 2021. Section 2 of this Bill provides that the Residential Tenancies Act 2020 does not protect tenants in breach of their obligation to pay rent.

Part 3 (Residential Tenancies) of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 (the PDRTA) was enacted on 19 December 2020 to provide for temporary modifications to the operation of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to provide, subject to certain conditions, that during the period from 11 January to 12 April 2021 a 90 day (rather than the usual 28 days) termination notice period applies, where a tenant is in rent arrears due to Covid-19 and is at risk of losing their tenancy. The earliest termination date allowed in such circumstances is 13 April 2021. Rent increases are also prohibited for relevant tenancies until 13 April 2021, with no back-dating allowed. These protections are designed to better balance the legal rights of landlords and tenant; a guidance document on the PDRTA is available on the RTB's website - www.rtb.ie.

The protections under the PDRTA do not apply to a tenant who owed an amount of rent equal to 5 or more months’ rent on 10 January 2021. The PDRTA provides for a number of scenarios, set out at the weblink below - in which a landlord can make a declaration to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) and to the tenant with the effect that the PDRTA protections cease to apply in respect of the tenant - www.rtb.ie/emergency-measures-ended-new-protections-introduced-for-the-rental-sector/latest-rent-arrears-procedures-requirements-and-protections.

Section 1 of the Residential Tenancies Bill 2021 proposes to extend the application of the PDRTA protections until 12 July 2021.

Hedge Cutting

Questions (706)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

706. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of exemptions in relation to the ban on hedge cutting during nesting season applied for and granted by each local authority in 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and the reason for the exemption in each case. [15353/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The dates for the cutting of hedges are set down in primary legislation. Section 40 of the Wildlife Acts Act prohibits the cutting of vegetation, with certain strict exemptions, from 1 March to 31 August.

There is provision in the legislation for certain exemptions in respect of cutting vegetation in the ordinary course of agriculture or forestry, for health and safety reasons, the destruction of noxious weeds and for cutting roadside hedges for road safety reasons. I do not have information on the extent to which public bodies may have used any such exemptions.

Water Services

Questions (707)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Question:

707. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of grants paid for the upgrade of private wastewater systems and septic tanks in each year since the scheme's inception in 2013, by county; the expenditure in each year, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15368/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The tables below set out the number of grants and the amounts recouped by my Department for the upgrade of domestic waste water systems by local authority each year since 2013. No recoupments were made by my Department in 2013.

	2014		2015		2016
Local authority	No. of Grants Recouped	Amount Recouped €	No. of Grants Recouped	Amount Recouped €	No. of Grants Recouped	Amount Recouped €
Clare			7	21,270.53	3	10,500.00
Cork			6	10,098.98	12	27,132.56
Donegal			6	15,281.26
Fingal			1	2,951.20
Galway	4	15,300.06	8	28,912.20	2	6,744.00
Kerry			4	9,359.06	5	16,542.38
Kildare			2	8,000.00
Laois					1	4,000.00
Leitrim	1	2,500.00
Limerick	4	14,500.00	6	17,661.60	5	17,238.72
Longford	1	4,000.00	2	6,500.00
Louth	1	4,000.00
Mayo			6	23,818.60	7	19,538.56
Meath	9	30,476.00	4	12,536.20	11	41,000.00
Monaghan			5	17,053.00	4	12,837.00
Offaly			4	12,126.51
Roscommon	1	4,000.00	12	40,251.28	4	16,000.00
Sligo	3	11,161.75	6	22,106.00	4	8,821.74
Tipperary	4	9,741.25			3	10,290.78
Waterford					2	4,903.20
Westmeath	1	2,896.20	1	150.00	1	3,690.89
Wexford			5	8,482.45	8	12,760.00
Totals	29	98,575.26	85	256,558.87	72	211,999.83

	2017		2018		2019
Local authority	No. of Grants Recouped	Amount Recouped €	No. of Grants Recouped	Amount Recouped €	No. of Grants Recouped	Amount Recouped €
Cavan	1	2,370.95	1	8,000.00	1	2,500.00
Clare	4	11,700.00	3	9,954.40	3	12,000.00
Cork	3	6,276.34	6	15,385.59	3	3,404.52
Donegal					45	125,987.50
Dublin Sth					1	4,000.00
Galway	9	26,199.44	6	22,500.00	11	35,772.87
Kerry	3	9,581.18	3	6,526.39	7	22,119.46
Kildare	1	4,000.00	3	9,000.00	3	8,089.00
Kilkenny					1	4,000.00
Laois	3	9,448.00	1	4,000.00
Leitrim			1	1,203.10	4	14,500.00
Limerick	2	6,500.00	8	28,250.00	4	14,931.86
Longford			1	4,000.00	2	6,500.00
Mayo	12	36,923.14	10	31,501.20	21	67,786.64
Meath	8	29,000.00	5	30,500.00	16	58,560.49
Monaghan			6	20,448.60	1	2,500.00
Offaly			2	8,000.00
Roscommon	7	25,000.00	4	15,296.00	4	16,000.00
Sligo	1	4,000.00	1	4,000.00	1	1,788.76
Tipperary	1	4,000.00	2	6,500.00	2	8,000.00
Waterford					3	4,488.00
Westmeath			3	6,354.77	2	7,861.08
Wexford	6	17,822.63	17	58,078.50	23	69,297.11
Wicklow	1	6,500.00			2	7,632.00
Totals	62	199,321.68	83	289,498.55	160	497,719.29

	2020		2021 (up to 22/3/2021)
Local authority	No. of Grants Recouped	Amount Recouped €	No. of Grants Recouped	Amount Recouped €
Carlow	1	4,584.49
Cork	2	5,395.01
Donegal	6	14,519.85
Dublin Sth	1	4,000.00
Galway	8	24,036.18
Kerry	6	23,860.56	1	4,000.00
Kildare	3	10,000.00
Kilkenny	1	4,000.00
Laois	1	4,630.80
Limerick	4	13,000.00
Longford	3	9,989.83
Mayo	19	62,634.75	19	75,326.27
Meath	21	80,822.45
Offaly	1	3,810.76
Roscommon	6	26,323.75
Sligo	2	5,469.80
Tipperary	1	4,000.00
Westmeath	3	8,607.93
Wexford	23	79,296.57
Totals	112	388,982.73	20	79,326.27