Written Answers Nos. 703-719
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Written Answers Nos. 703-719
703. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding that has been allocated by his Department for projects and initiatives in County Tipperary over the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40500/21]
View answerMy Department has a wide and diverse business agenda, covering a broad range of functions, including local authority housing, voluntary housing, homeless services, estate regeneration, energy efficiency retrofitting, housing grants, rural water schemes, urban regeneration, peatlands conservation, national parks & wildlife services and fire services. In order to achieve its business objectives, the Department provides significant resources to an extensive range of organisations, including local authorities, dedicated agencies, and other bodies; some allocations, depending on the programmes concerned, are made on a national or other non-county basis. In these circumstances, the information requested is not readily available in my Department and its compilation would involve a disproportionate amount of time and work.
If the Deputy is interested in a more specific issue concerning funding from my Department, and tables a Parliamentary Question in that regard, I will endeavour to provide the information sought.
704. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of houses that have been allocated to persons in County Cavan since March 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40527/21]
View answerThe allocation of dwellings is a matter for the local authority concerned, in accordance with their allocation scheme made under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Regulations. This legislation requires all local authorities, as a reserved function, to make an allocation scheme determining the order of priority to be accorded in the allocation of dwellings to households qualified for social housing support and to households approved for a transfer, the allocation of which would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the accommodation needs and requirements of the households.
The oversight and management of the lists of qualified households awaiting accommodation, including the allocation and transfer of tenancies, is a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with Sections 20 and 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Assessment and Allocation Regulations, respectively.
The data requested by the Deputy is not held by my Department.
705. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of local government funding granted to Meath County Council by his Department in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40559/21]
View answer706. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of local government funding granted to Westmeath County Council by his Department in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40560/21]
View answer707. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of local government funding granted by his Department to each local authority nationwide by county excluding counties Meath and Westmeath in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [40561/21]
View answer713. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the allocations granted from local government funding to Meath County Council for each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40600/21]
View answer714. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the allocations granted from local government funding to Westmeath County Council for each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40601/21]
View answer715. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the allocations granted from local government funding to each local authority in each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form. [40602/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 705, 706, 707, 713, 714 and 715 together.
The funding system that applies to local authorities is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of local sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government.
Central Government funding of local authorities similarly presents a complex picture, with transfers, both current and capital, coming from a wide range of Departments and Offices, not solely from my Department, for a variety of purposes. Some streams of funding are delivered directly from funding departments to local authorities, while others are routed through departmental agencies.
Most of the funding sourced from Central Government and provided to local authorities must be used for specified services. These can be grouped into 5 broad programme categories: recreational, education, environment, housing and transport.
Additional detail on Central Government funding of local authorities is provided in the Comptroller and Auditor General's Annual Report, the most recent of which is accessible at the following link:
www.audit.gov.ie/en/find-report/publications/2020/2019-annual-report-chapter-2-central-government-funding-of-local-authorities.pdf
The attached sheet details funding provided by my Department, as it was then configured, across all schemes and funding sources between the years 2016 - June 2021.
708. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of the allocated local government funding that was not used by each local authority in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40562/21]
View answer716. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the allocations from local government funding not used by each local authority in the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [40603/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 708 and 716 together.
The funding system that applies to local authorities in Ireland is a complex one, as those authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government including my Department but also other government departments and state agencies. Most of the funding from Central Government to local authorities must be used for specified services. These can be grouped into 5 broad programme categories: housing, transport, recreational, education and environment.
My Department has a wide and diverse business agenda, covering a broad range of functions, including local authority housing, voluntary housing, homeless services, estate regeneration, energy efficiency retrofitting, housing grants, rural water schemes, urban renewal/regeneration, and fire services. In order to achieve its business objectives, my Department allocates significant resources to an extensive range of organisations, including local authorities, dedicated agencies, and other bodies; some allocations, depending on the programmes concerned, are made on a national or other non-county basis in the form of grant funding.
Grant funding is provided primarily on the basis of vouched expenditure, as opposed to specific up front annual allocations, once all necessary requirements as detailed in grant assistance schemes are met by the bodies/organisations concerned and that appropriate systems and procedures are in place to ensure the exercise of proper financial controls. Accordingly, the circumstances of funding being returned to the Exchequer generally do not arise.
Local Property Tax allocations to Local Authorities are paid out of the Local Government Fund and have always been paid in entirety to all Local Authorities. Other payments from the LG Fund are provided on the basis of vouched expenditure so returning funding does not arise.
709. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total capital budget for 2021 for his Department; the way this total is broken down; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40585/21]
View answerThe capital expenditure provision for my Department in 2021 as set out in the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2021 published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) and available at www.per.gov.ie/en/rev/ is €2,762m.
The breakdown of this capital allocation by Programme is set out below:
|
PROGRAMME |
2021 GROSS CAPITAL PROVISION €m |
|
A - Housing |
1,837 |
|
B - Water |
722 |
|
C - Local Government |
15 |
|
D - Planning |
130 |
|
E - Met Éireann |
13 |
|
F - Heritage |
44.5 |
|
TOTAL |
2,762 |
In addition, deferred surrender amounting to €214m has been carried forward from 2020 for expenditure in 2021 bringing the Exchequer funding total this year to just under €3 billion which is supplemented also by LPT.
These funding allocations will be used to advance capital investment across a range of programme areas within my Department’s remit, including local authority housing, voluntary housing, estate regeneration, urban regeneration and development, water and wastewater services, peatlands restoration and conservation, national parks and wildlife services and fire and emergency services.
710. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social houses in County Kerry that have lead pipes which have been identified as in need of replacement. [40587/21]
View answerLead in drinking water is both the responsibility of water suppliers and property owners. Irish Water is responsible for lead pipework in the public water distribution network. This is known as public-side lead. Lead plumbing in buildings and within property boundaries is a matter for the property owner. This is known as private-side lead.
While there are no lead water mains in Ireland, service connections within properties can contain traces of lead. The vast majority of lead pipes are contained within properties built up to and including the 1970s.
The Government published a National Strategy to Reduce Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water in June 2015. In response to the recommendations of this strategy, Irish Water prepared a detailed Lead in Drinking Water Mitigation Plan to identify measures to mitigate the risks to human health posed by the presence of lead in drinking water. The Plan proposes to remove all public lead service connection pipes over a ten year programme (i.e. by the end of 2026).
The Lead Mitigation Advisory Group, which is chaired by officials from my Department, meets regularly to consider and make recommendations on the broader Irish Water Lead Mitigation Strategy, and to consider appropriate guidelines and criteria for Irish Water’s decision-making process for lead mitigation measures. The most recent of these meetings took place on 9th June 2021.
There are approximately 140,000 local authority social housing properties in the State. It is important that local authorities ensure the optimum management and maintenance of this valuable State asset, that the homes comply with relevant standards, and that vacancy and letting turnaround times are kept to a minimum. My Department is committed to supporting local authorities in the optimum management and maintenance of their housing stock and is working with them to transition from a largely response based approach to a strategic planned maintenance approach based on stock condition surveys.
A national standardised stock condition survey template has been agreed, as has the implementation of a centrally hosted ICT system to support asset management. The ICT system is currently being procured by the Local Government Management Agency. The stock condition surveys will begin once the ICT system is in place, and will be completed over a four to five year period. The start has been delayed somewhat during Covid restrictions and it is likely to be 2022 when surveys commence.
Once completed, it is anticipated that this survey will quantify the number of local authority housing stock that may have lead pipes.
711. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider developing a grant scheme for CO2 monitors in private homes. [40588/21]
View answerMy Department provides exchequer funding to local authorities to support the Housing Adaptation Grant for Older People and People with a Disability scheme, in respect of private houses. These grants are available to assist in the carrying out of works which are reasonably necessary for the purposes of rendering a house more suitable for the accommodation of a person with a disability who has an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual impairment.
The detailed administration of the grants, including the assessment, approval and payment of individual grants to applicants, is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. The types of works allowable under the scheme include the provision or adaptation of rooms, for example downstairs toilet facilities or a sensory space, and the provision of stair-lifts, access ramps, accessible showers, adaptations to facilitate wheelchair access or other works which are reasonably necessary. The scheme also provides grant funding for the installation of smoke/heat and carbon monoxide detectors.
Funding is not currently available for the provision of CO2 monitors. My Department has no immediate plans to develop a grant scheme for the provision of CO2 monitors but will keep the matter under review.
712. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider the development of a multi-year plan for the elimination of rhododendrons and other invasive species within Killarney National Park. [40589/21]
View answerA programme such as the one described is already long established and underway within Killarney National Park.
717. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has conducted regular reviews of local government funding in the past; if so, when such reviews took place; the frequency of reviews; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40604/21]
View answer718. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way his Department determines the local government funding each local authority receives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40605/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 717 and 718 together.
My Department conducts annual reviews of funding as part of the Estimates Process in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER). In addition to these reviews, we engage in monthly reporting to DPER on both current and capital expenditure. We also conduct reviews of capital expenditure in the form of a management report for Government.
Through the Local Government Fund, my Department also provides local authorities with their Local Property Tax (LPT) payments, a contribution towards their pay and pension costs and support for a number of smaller schemes including part of their fire and emergency services.
Local retention of LPT began in 2015 and since then the overall principles and allocation methodology have broadly remained the same. 80% of LPT is retained in the area it is collected, with the other 20% supporting equalisation for local authorities with LPT bases lower than their funding baseline. Baselines are linked for the most part to funding previously allocated to local authorities as General Purpose Grants; LPT allocations replaced these grants from 2015 on.
719. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of allocated local government funding that was spent in each local authority area per capita of its population in tabular form. [40606/21]
View answerThe funding system that applies to local authorities is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of local sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government.
Central Government funding of local authorities similarly presents a complex picture, with transfers, both current and capital, coming from a wide range of Departments and Offices, not solely from my Department, for a variety of purposes. Some streams of funding are delivered directly from funding departments to local authorities, while others are routed through departmental agencies.
Most of the funding sourced from Central Government and provided to local authorities must be used for specified services. These can be grouped into 5 broad programme categories: recreational, education, environment, housing and transport
Local authorities vary significantly from one another in terms of size, population, population distribution, public service demands, infrastructure and other income sources including commercial rates - all factors which should be taken into account when comparing levels of funding in different local authority areas.
Additional detail on Central Government funding of local authorities is provided in the Comptroller and Auditor General's Annual Report, accessible at the following link:
www.audit.gov.ie/en/Find-Report/Publications/2020/2019-Annual-Report-Chapter-2-Central-government-funding-of-local-authorities.pdf
The attached sheet details the total 2020 expenditure from my department only and the results of the 2016 census.
