Thursday, 3 Mar 2022

Written Answers Nos. 101-120

Greenways Provision

Questions (101, 105)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

101. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport if funding will be provided to build the South Kerry Greenway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12094/22]

Brendan Griffin

Question:

105. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport if he has engaged with Transport Infrastructure Ireland in relation to the South Kerry Greenway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12095/22]

Written answers

Minister for Transport

I propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 105 together.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) became the Approving Authority for Greenways in September 2021 and have allocated €1.7m to progress the South Kerry Greenway in 2022.

I understand that discussions are ongoing between TII and Kerry County Council to progress this iconic route through the Public Spending Code and the implications of the planning permission granted for the majority of the route. Some elements remain without planning permission and this will be addressed over the coming months. I would not imagine that funding would be an issue, once the Public Spending Code and TII Project Management Guidelines are followed, as my Department is providing significant funding for Greenways through TII.

I have not personally engaged with TII in relation to this specific project but am updated on progress on Greenways by officials in my Department who engage with TII on a regular basis.

Transport Policy

Questions (102)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh

Question:

102. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Transport the position regarding the Sustainability Mobility Policy to help enable persons to choose healthy and sustainable modes of transport over private car journeys; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12129/22]

Written answers

Minister for Transport

I will shortly publish the new Sustainable Mobility Policy which will set out a strategic framework to 2030 for active travel and public transport to support Ireland's overall requirement to achieve a 51% reduction in carbon emissions by the end of this decade.  The policy will primarily focus on measures to promote and facilitate active travel and public transport for all and, in doing so, encourage less private car journeys nationally to support our climate commitment.  It will replace the existing active travel and public transport policy as set out in the 2009 policy documents: Smarter Travel, A Sustainable Transport Future and the National Cycle Policy Framework. 

A collaborative approach has been taken by my Department in developing the Sustainable Mobility Policy through public consultation and extensive stakeholder engagement.  The policy will include a comprehensive set of actions to be completed by 2025 to increase walking and cycling infrastructure provision and improve public transport capacity and services across the country.  These will be supported by behavioural change and demand management measures to make sustainable modes the preferred choice for as many people as possible.  Transport needs are not uniform across the country and we recognise that tailored solutions will be needed for both urban and rural areas. A further action plan will then be developed to cover the remaining period of the policy out to 2030.

The new policy will be underpinned by capital funding under the National Development Plan which provides €35 billion for transport over the next decade.  This will enable significant investment in active travel, bus and rail infrastructure and expand sustainable mobility options in our cities, towns and villages. This will be complemented by expanded public transport services throughout the country as supported by the Public Service Obligation programme.

The targets of the policy will be aligned with the transport target metrics in the Climate Action Plan 2021 of 500,000 additional daily active travel and public transport journeys and a 10% reduction in kilometres driven by fossil fuelled cars by 2030. 

Road Projects

Questions (103)

Pauline Tully

Question:

103. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Transport the status of the Carrickmacross to Ardee and the Clontibret to the Border road schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10490/22]

Written answers

Minister for Transport

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. This is also subject to the Public Spending Code and the necessary statutory approvals.

Approximately €615 million of exchequer capital funds have been provided for national roads through TII to local authorities in 2022. The 2022 funding allocations are made having regard for the NDP, which balances investment in transport against other priorities of Government, such as housing and health over the lifetime of the Plan. It was necessary to prioritise projects for funding in a manner which seeks to achieve key outcomes in line with the NDP. Resulting from this, while a large majority of the projects under the NDP were issued a funding allocation in 2022, TII were unable to provide an allocation for the N2 Clontibret to the Border project. The delivery programme for this project will be kept under review for next year and considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to TII.

Funding of €1 million has been allocated by TII for the progression of the N2 Ardee to south of Castleblayney project. TII is best placed to advise on the current status and funding of this proposed project.   

Noting the above position, I have referred your question to TII for a direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days. 

A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51

Question No. 104 answered with Question No. 49.

Question No. 105 answered with Question No. 101.

Question No. 106 answered with Question No. 34.

Road Projects

Questions (107)

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

107. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Transport the status of discussions or plans that have taken place further to his meeting with this Deputy on 7 December 2021 regarding a key strategic road infrastructure project for Drogheda; and his views on the matter. [11802/22]

Written answers

Minister for Transport

As indicated previously, Louth County Council is the statutory planning and road authority in its functional area. In this context the first section of the Port Access Northern Cross Route (PANCR) which is under consideration is aimed at facilitating housing development and contacts since the meeting with the Deputy in December indicate that the Council is engaging with developers with a view to advancing this element of the scheme.  My Department has no role in that process.

I should again mention, as I said to the Deputy at our meeting, that there is a limited budget available for projects under the Regional and Local Road Strategic Grant Programme and that the implementation of a number of the larger NDP schemes which are now at construction stage will absorb much of the funding available in the period to 2025.  It should also be noted that, under the Public Spending Code, a Strategic Assessment Report (SAR) is required for all projects which are estimated to cost in excess of €10 million. To date no SAR report has been received by my Department for this proposed project.

Road Network

Questions (108)

Seán Canney

Question:

108. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Transport if his Department will provide funding to support the local improvement scheme which is presently funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12070/22]

Written answers

Minister for Transport

Since the post 2008 recession a substantial backlog of works on regional and local roads has built up in all local authority jurisdictions across the country. The estimated cost of the backlog is in excess of €5 billion. For this reason, grant assistance from the Department continues to be focussed on the protection and renewal of the public road network. 

It bears restating that the public regional and road network is over 96,000 kilometres in size and while there has been significant increases in grant funding in recent years, it has not been possible to address the backlog of works across the country even with 90% of available funds being directed to protection and renewal works.  For this reason and in view of the funding being provided under a Local Improvement Scheme by the Department of Rural and Community Development, I consider that I need to continue to concentrate funding on public roads.

If I were to consider allocating funding for non-public roads this would reduce the funding available for public roads.  In this context one initiative taken since the Department of Rural and Community Development's introduction of a Local Improvement Scheme is the provision by my Department of ring-fenced funding for the Community Involvement Scheme (CIS).  This scheme is designed to provide for the repair of more lightly trafficked public rural roads, which tend to be considered only towards the end of road authorities’ annual roadworks programmes.  Under this scheme, €29 million approximately was paid to local authorities over the 2 year 2020-2021 period and this year's grants include funding of a further €15.2 million for the CIS.  

All available grant funding for 2022 has been allocated.

Questions Nos. 109 to 113, inclusive, answered orally.

Housing Provision

Questions (114, 143)

Neale Richmond

Question:

114. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of commencements of new homes in 2021, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11833/22]

Alan Farrell

Question:

143. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of commencements in 2021 on new homes. [12143/22]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

I propose to take Questions Nos. 114 and 143 together.

Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. Over 300,000 new homes will be built by the end of 2030, including a projected 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes.

Indications of increased construction activity are becoming evident which will help increase the supply and availability of housing.

There is a strong supply pipeline, with Commencement Notices data showing a total number of 30,724 residential dwellings commenced in 2021. This is a 42% increase when compared to the number of residential dwellings commenced in 2020 (21,686). The 2021 total is almost equal to the combined totals for 2016 and 2017 (30,816).

New figures shows that in the past twelve months (February 2021 to January 2022), Commencement Notices for 31,201 new homes were received. This is the highest rolling 12-month total since comparable data was first published. The breakdown, by local authority area, is published on the Housing for All campaign page of gov.ie.

With regard to the number of homes built, there were 20,433 new dwellings completed in 2021. Completions for 2022 and 2023 are projected to exceed the Housing for All targets of 24,600 and 29,000 respectively. The Central Bank forecasts that some 27,000 and 31,000 homes will be completed in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Increasing the supply of housing as set out in Housing for All is the top priority for me and the Government and we have made a good start on our path towards this goal. However, I acknowledge that we are coming from a low base of supply and that it will take some time before the full benefits of the strategy are tangible to our citizens.

The housing challenge remains immense, and continues to be affected by ongoing challenges including COVID-19 related delays, supply chain difficulties and inflationary pressure. The cost of housing – for those buying or renting - will continue to be a challenge in the short-term and, while we do not underestimate the difficulties this is causing for our citizens, I am confident that the delivery of Housing for All will create a sustainable housing system into the future.

 

Questions Nos. 115 to 117, inclusive, answered orally.

Housing Schemes

Questions (118)

Mick Barry

Question:

118. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will ensure there are no barriers in relation to waiting lists for social housing that pressure persons to remain in abusive relationships in order to maintain their position on waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12110/22]

Written answers

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

To  qualify for social housing support and be placed on a housing list, an applicant household must be assessed by the local authority concerned as meeting all of the eligibility and need criteria set down in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations.

Local authorities may prioritise certain classes of households for allocation on the basis of severity of need. They may also reserve a certain proportion of dwellings for, among other things, allocation to particular categories of households, particular forms of tenure, and households transferring from other forms of social housing support.

Local authorities may also provide for exceptional or emergency cases, allowing immediate housing outside of normal waiting lists priorities, should circumstances require. As an immediate and short term response, a local authority may provide short-term emergency housing to persons forced to leave their homes because of domestic violence, without having to assess their eligibility for social housing support.

A new protocol was also established in 2020 when the Minister for Social Protection agreed to make rent supplement more accessible to victims of domestic violence, ensuring they would not be prevented from leaving their homes because of financial or accommodation difficulties.

Questions Nos. 119 and 120 answered orally.