Written Answers Nos. 760-778
760. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the details of the funding allocated to Irish Water in the current round of capital funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19662/21]
View answerSince 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of 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 of which €692 million is capital funding. 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. The prioritisation and progression of individual projects is a matter for determination by Irish Water.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on a dedicated number, 1890 578 578.
766. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason that agriculture marts are not eligible for a waiver in respect of commercial rates as part of Covid-19 measures; if he will review this matter with a view to applying a waiver to marts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19723/21]
View answerIn order to continue supporting ratepayers, and in recognition of the ongoing impacts of COVID 19 and the associated public health restrictions, the Government has put in place a new, more targeted commercial rates waiver for the first half of 2021. It applies to businesses most seriously affected by the restrictions. Automatic eligibility is extended to hospitality including hotels, pubs and restaurants, leisure and entertainment, personal services such as hairdressers and barbers, and various other sectors. Categories of commercial property, such as offices, industrial premises (including in this case livestock marts), banks and vacant properties are not automatically eligible, but may qualify if they can provide proof of serious impact to their local authority. As provision has been made for businesses that do not automatically qualify to apply, there are no current plans to broaden the scope of automatic eligibility.
767. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if grant-aid is available to support families to construct a granny flat for older members of their families to prolong and prevent their admission to care homes or hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19775/21]
View answerThere is no dedicated grant scheme available from my Department to provide accommodation for older people in the circumstances set out by the Deputy. However, in accordance with settled Government policy my Department is committed to supporting older people to live in their own home with dignity and independence for as long as possible, as this has the best outcomes both for the individual and for society as a whole. Where an older person has a disability they may apply to their local authority for funding to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants includes the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People, which are 80% funded by the Department, with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. The scheme is focused towards lower income households with the greatest needs and a means test applies to the scheme in order to achieve fairness and value for money in its operation.
The Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability assists people with a disability to have necessary adaptations, repairs or improvement works carried out. Grants of up to €30,000 are available for works including the provision of access ramps, stair lifts, accessible toilet and shower facilities, wheelchair access and extensions.
The Housing Aid for Older People scheme provides grants of up to €8,000 to assist older people living in poor housing conditions to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out. Grant eligible works include structural repairs or improvements, re-wiring, repairs to or replacement of windows and doors, provision of water supply and sanitary facilities, provision of heating etc.
The Mobility Aids Grant is available to fast track grants of up to €6,000 to cover a basic suite of works to address the mobility problems of a member of a household. Qualifying works include the provision of stair lifts, level access showers, access ramps, grab rails and some minor adaptation works.
The detailed administration of the grants, including the assessment, approval and prioritisation of applications, is the responsibility of the local authorities.
In addition to the above, my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Health, is developing policy options for supported housing/housing with care so that older people have a wider range of accommodation choices available to them in accordance with the principles of the joint policy statement, "Housing Options for Our Ageing Population". This policy statement was published by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Department of Health on 27th February 2019. The policy statement is available on my Department's website at:
https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/special-housing-needs/older-people/housing-options-our-ageing-population-policy-statement.
The overall aim of the 40 Actions in the Joint Statement is to put policies in place to ensure that older people have a variety of housing options available to them depending on their circumstances, including housing with supports, where they are needed as well as more independent living. An Implementation Group with an Independent Chair is tasked with oversight of the implementation.
My Department and the Implementation Group are examining these options and a number of research projects are feeding into this work. It is intended that the Implementation Group will provide its final report addressing each of the 40 actions by the end of 2021.
768. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding community funding allocated by local authorities; if such funding can be allocated by a local authority to a sports or community group including for capital works in circumstances in which all the members are residing in that local authority area but the sports grounds or premises which they own are in a different local authority area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19799/21]
View answerMy Department does not have direct involvement in the executive functions carried out by a local authority. It is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process, having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources. The elected members of a local authority have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions of the authority, which include adopting the annual revenue budget, and are democratically accountable for all expenditure by the local authority.
Neither the Local Government Act 2001, nor the Local Government (Reform) Act 2014, are prescriptive on the issue of expenditure on initiatives outside the boundary of the local authority in question.
769. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if all vacancies (details supplied) are advertised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19818/21]
View answerThe Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards (Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, November 2014) apply to the filling of vacancies on the Boards of the State bodies under the aegis of my Department.
These Guidelines state that there are a number of exceptions from the arrangements set out, including from advertising on the State Boards portal (www.stateboards.ie) operated by the Public Appointments Service, where a specific mechanism for the filling of a vacancy on a State Board is laid down in legislation requiring, for example:
- the appointment of a member to a State Board on an ex officio basis;
- a nomination by a third party organisation; or
- the appointment of worker directors.
Accordingly, not all vacancies on the Boards of the State bodies under the aegis of my Department are advertised on the State Boards portal.
770. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to sanction a post (details supplied). [19837/21]
View answerMy Department received a staffing sanction request for the post of Executive Parks and Landscape Officer in Cork City Council and a letter of approval sanctioning this post issued on 14 April 2021.
771. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if applications for data centres can go directly to An Bord Pleanála; if data centres are or will be deemed to be strategic infrastructure; if current applications still go to local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19846/21]
View answerCurrently, applications for planning permission for data centres are made under section 34 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act), to the relevant planning authority, with the possibility of subsequent appeal to An Bord Pleanala.
Section 49 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018 amended the Seventh Schedule of the Act, relating to Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID), inserting a new class of development in the Schedule - "Communications and Data Infrastructure" comprising “a facility consisting of one or more than one structure, the combined gross floor space of which exceeds 10,000 square metres, used primarily for the storage, management and dissemination of data, and the provision of associated electricity connections infrastructure.”. Under section 37A of the Act, planning applications in respect of SID proposals are made directly to the Board. However, section 49 of the 2018 Act has not yet been commenced.
772. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications submitted to planning authorities for data centres in each of the years 2010 to 2020 and to date in 2021. [19847/21]
View answerPlanning statistics are compiled by each planning authority on an annual basis for collation and publication on my Department’s website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.ie/en/service/9e4ee-get-planning-statistics/ .
However, the data collected relates to the total number of applications and decisions for all developments that require planning permission, broken down by year and planning authority but does not include specific information on data centres. Such information may be sought directly from the relevant planning authority.
773. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount he has allocated in additional funds to carry out increased cleaning and litter collection in parks and other public places; if he has allocated additional funds to local authorities to provide public toilets in parks and other public places; if so, the amount in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19848/21]
View answerI have no function in the matter raised in the question. My Department does not allocate specific funding for cleaning and litter collection purposes, nor for the provision of public toilets, as these are operational matters for each individual local authority.
The democratically elected Councillors are responsible for running the local authority in conjunction with the Chief Executive and his/her team. Under Section 149 of the Local Government Act 2001, the Chief Executive of a local authority is responsible for the executive functions of the local authority, and for that purpose to manage and control generally, the administration and business of the authority, subject to law.
Local authorities receive income from a variety of sources, including grants from Central Government, Local Property Tax (LPT), commercial rates and other locally-raised charges. Each local authority is mandated to determine its own spending priorities, while having regard to locally identified needs and available resources.
774. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will build on the current successful pilot projects of all-year-round daily seawater quality monitoring in bathing areas and improve health and safety for swimmers by mandating all of coastal county councils to promptly commence such monitoring; if he will provide these councils with the resources to carry out all-year-round daily seawater quality monitoring in bathing areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19849/21]
View answer793. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to a document published by a group (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20199/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 774 and 793 together.
I am very aware of the recent increase in people swimming, and the increase of beach users generally, outside of the traditional bathing season (in Dublin Bay and in many other areas). I have asked my Department to work with the National Bathing Water Expert Group, and with stakeholders, to specifically examine the feasibility and implications of expanding the bathing water season and / or the designation of additional bathing waters given the recent increase in sea swimming.
The Bathing Water Regulations 2008 (as amended), transpose the requirements of the 2006 Bathing Water Directive into national legislation. These regulations set the framework for the effective management of bathing waters around the country. The regulations also aim to improve health protection for bathers and ensure adequate information is disseminated in a timely manner during the bathing season.
It is important to note that in 2019 the Environmental Protection Agency found that 95% of bathing waters met or exceeded the minimum required standard. This is up from 94% in 2018 and improvements in bathing water quality are welcome and necessary.
Currently in Ireland there are almost 150 designated bathing waters identified by local authorities with the help of public consultation. The water quality in these areas is monitored during the bathing season. The regulations define the bathing season to mean the period from 1st June to 15th September in any calendar year and also set out the sampling and monitoring requirements for all designated bathing waters.
My Department chairs the National Bathing Water Expert Group which advises on the implementation of the regulations, and collaborates on addressing significant issues as they arise. The current membership of the group includes:
- Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage,
- the Health Service Executive,
- the Environmental Protection Agency,
- Water Safety Ireland,
- An Taisce,
- Coastwatch,
- Local Authorities, and
- Irish Water.
The key functions of the Bathing Water Expert Group are as follows:
- Advise me on matters relating to bathing water protection policy;
- Advise the relevant implementation bodies regarding the implementation of the Bathing Water Directive in Ireland;
- Develop guidance for the implementation of the Bathing Water Directive;
- Evaluate priority actions critical to delivering Ireland’s obligations under the Bathing Water Directive; and
- to provide a national view with respect to developments relating to the Bathing Water Directive and feed this through to the EU Commission and the EU Bathing Water Expert Group.
775. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will maintain the current restrictions on the way in which the locations and when hares can be captured for the purpose of coursing in the context of continued widespread infection of the RHD2 virus among hares in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19850/21]
View answerI have not yet received an application from the Irish Coursing Club for licenses to net hares for the forthcoming coursing season which will begin in September next. On receipt of an application, I will consider all relevant issues including the matters relating to the RHD2 virus.
776. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when a person (details supplied) will receive their annual compensation for ceasing turf cutting in a raised bog; the reason for the delay with this payment in 2021 which is normally paid at the end of March; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19859/21]
View answerI am advised that the annual payment for 2021 under the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme issued to the applicant referred to in the Deputy’s question on 12 April 2021.
Annual payments under the scheme for qualifying applicants are generally made from the second quarter of each year in order to facilitate applicants in the provision of fuel for the following winter period.
777. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if any person can apply for a position (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19873/21]
View answerAs a general rule, any suitably qualified person may apply for a position on a Board of a State body under the aegis of my Department, when a vacancy is so advertised by the Public Appointments Service. The principles underpinning the advertisement and filling of such positions are set out in the Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards (Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, November 2014).
778. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if steps have been taken to initiate the regeneration of Pearse House, Dublin 2; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19883/21]
View answerDublin City Council has submitted to my Department a Stage 1 proposal for the refurbishment of the 75 flats in the Pearse House flat complex. This proposal considers five options that include amalgamation of some of the smaller units and the possibility of some additionality.
My Department requested and received further information from the Council which is currently under review by my Department's technical advisors. As this flat complex is listed as a protected structure, this application has also been forwarded to the Built Heritage and Architectural Policy Unit of my Department for review as required under the planning acts. A follow up meeting has been held between my Department officials and the Council's housing and architecture teams to explore the options in the proposal. It is expected that my Department will issue a response to the Council in the coming weeks.
