Written Answers Nos. 272-286
272. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will remove the household means assessment from the housing adaptation grants for persons with a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18983/22]
View answerMy Department provides funding to local authorities for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme. These schemes assist eligible applicants living in privately owned homes to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs.
The grants available operate on a sliding scale with the highest percentage grants available to those with the lowest incomes. The schemes are means tested and grant assistance is not available to applicants whose household income, after disregards and deductions, exceeds €60,000 per annum. The household income approach is intended to spread the benefits of the grant scheme as widely as possible and to ensure fairness and value for money in operation of the scheme towards those with the greatest needs. Local authorities, in administering the scheme, work with qualifying applicants to secure the most beneficial outcome possible in line with the applicants' financial circumstances and within the parameters of the Grant Scheme.
Housing for All commits to undertaking a review of the range of housing grants available to assist with meeting specific housing needs both for our ageing population and people with a disability. An initial element of this review has begun and is currently focused on the existing grant limits and income thresholds applicable to the Grant Scheme. The wider scope of the review, to be completed this year, is also under consideration and is being informed by ongoing engagement with local authorities and external stakeholders.
273. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of staff within his Department who are based and working with the European Union in Brussels; their present roles and responsibilities; the posts and responsibilities that are presently vacant; the corresponding figures on 23 June 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19037/22]
View answerThere are currently three staff of my Department who are based and working with the European Union in Brussels. One member of staff is seconded to the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union and their role is to represent my Department across a range of functions pertaining to my ministerial responsibilities. Two members of staff are seconded to the European Commission. One of those staff members is a policy expert seconded to the International Cooperation and Development Policy Directorate of the European Commission’s DG-DEVCO, working on development effectiveness. The third member of staff is seconded to the European Commission's DG Human Resources and Security and has responsibilities relating to Health & Wellbeing. There are no vacancies relating to my Department's Brussels-based posts.
There was just one member of staff based and working with the European Union in Brussels on 23 June 2016. That staff member was seconded to the European Commission's DG ENV.
274. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will extend the repair and lease housing scheme in which up to €60,000 is made available to repair houses to make them available to council housing applicants to cover persons being housed under the Community Sponsorship Programme of the Department of Justice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19045/22]
View answerThe Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) brings vacant properties in need of repair back into use for social housing. The Local Authority or Approved Housing Body pays for the repairs upfront and the home is taken into social housing stock by way of lease for at least 5 years. Before approving a unit for the scheme, local authorities must determine that the property meets the terms of the scheme, including that there is a social housing need for the unit and that the unit has been vacant for more than one year.
If a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the suite of social housing supports available, including allocation of a property that has been brought back into use under the RLS, to determine the most appropriate form of social housing support for that household in the administrative area of that local authority. Accordingly, the determination of allocation of RLS properties, is governed by the same arrangements as for other social housing supports.
275. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable homes delivered in Q1 2022; and the number to be delivered in Q2. [19080/22]
View answerThe Housing for All Strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and put affordability at the heart of the housing system, with an ambitious target of 300,000 homes over the next decade for social, affordable and cost rental, private rental and private ownership housing.
Measures to deliver this housing are supported by over €4 billion in funding annually, representing the highest ever level of Government investment in building social and affordable housing. 54,000 affordable home interventions will be delivered between now and 2030 to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, the Land Development Agency and through a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.
Delivery of affordable housing, in accordance with the schemes set out in the Affordable Housing Act, 2021 and the funding being made available, will be underpinned by local authorities' Housing Delivery Action Plans. Local authorities submitted initial affordable plans to me in December 2021. Preparation of these Plans allowed each local authority to assess the level of demand with affordability constraint in their area based on the Housing Need and Demand Assessment and plan provision accordingly. The Plans are being revised and updated by local authorities in the light of ongoing engagement and clarifications, and I expect that they will be ready for publication by local authorities before the Summer. They will provide a comprehensive overview of projected delivery of affordable housing nationally.
In Q1 of this year, 50 affordable units were delivered at Enniskerry Road in Stepaside. These homes were completed as part of the new Cost Rental tenure, and rents are set at €1,200 per month for the two bed apartments, a reduction of approximately 40% on comparable market rents in this area.
In Q2 2022, affordable purchase homes are expected to be delivered in the following areas: 22 two and three bed homes at Boherboy and 15 two, three and four bed homes at Tower in Cork City, 14 two and three bed homes at Dun Emer in Lusk, and 16 three bed homes at Kilcarbery Grange in Clondalkin.
Cost Rental projections for delivery in Q2 2022 will see completion of 44 homes at Parklands, Citywest. These homes are two-bedroom apartments and two-bedroom duplexes, with starting cost rents projected to range from €1,200 to €1,300, representing a discount of approximately 30% on comparable market rents in the area. 74 Cost Rental units will be completed by the Tuath AHB at Kilcarbery Grange, Clondalkin and a further 16 Cost Rental units will be tenanted by Clúid at the Barnhall Meadows project in Leixlip, Co. Kildare. First phases of two further schemes in Newcastle, Dublin and in Newbridge, Co. Kildare are expected to see 57 new cost rental homes completed later this quarter with details to be made available shortly.
Other measures to allow buyers to access newly-constructed housing affordably such as the Help to Buy Scheme and the Local Authority Home Loan (formerly the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan), are also available to eligible purchasers nationally to make home ownership more affordable. Information on these schemes is available at the following links:
www.revenue.ie/en/property/help-to-buy-incentive/index.aspx, and localauthorityhomeloan.ie/.
276. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of cost rental homes delivered in Q1 2022; and the number to be delivered in Q2. [19081/22]
View answerUnder the Government's Housing for All strategy, 10,000 Cost Rental homes will be delivered from 2021 to 2026 by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), Local Authorities and the Land Development Agency (LDA). AHBs will be supported by Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) funding and Local Authorities will be able to avail of funding for Cost Rental delivery through the Affordable Housing Fund. The LDA will also deliver Cost Rental on its own portfolio of sites or through acquisitions under Project Tosaigh.
The first 65 CREL-funded Cost Rental homes were tenanted by the Clúid AHB in 2021, with 25 at Taylor Hill in Balbriggan and a further 40 at Barnhall Meadows in Leixlip. Both developments delivered cost-covering rents at least 40% below comparable open-market prices.
The first quarter of 2022 has seen tenants being allocated homes in a further 50 Cost Rental dwellings at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside. These homes were delivered by the Tuath and Respond AHBs, in a collaboration with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and supported by Serviced Site funding from my Department. The cost-covering rent for these two-bedroom apartments is €1,200 per month, which represents a very significant discount on market prices in the area (c. €2,000).
Tenants were also been selected by the Tuath AHB for 44 Cost Rental homes at Parklands, Citywest. Cost Rental homes there are two-bedroom apartments and two-bedroom duplexes, with starting cost rents projected to range from €1,200 to €1,300, representing a discount of approximately 30% on comparable market rents in the area.
Projections for Q2 2022 indicate that 74 Cost Rental units will be completed by the Tuath AHB at Kilcarbery Grange, Clondalkin and a further 16 Cost Rental units will be tenanted by Clúid at the Barnhall Meadows project in Leixlip, Co. Kildare. The first phases of schemes in Newcastle, Dublin and in Newbridge, Co. Kildare will see a further 57 new homes completed in Q2 2022 with full details to be released shortly.
277. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will ensure that sufficient funding is allocated to local authorities in 2022 to continue the Housing Voids Programme at the same rate as in 2021 to bring back to habitable use as many vacant local authority homes as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19090/22]
View answerThe management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966.
Since 2014, Exchequer funding has also been provided through my Department's Voids Programme to supplement the local authority funding available for the preparation of vacant properties for re-letting. The funding was introduced originally to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authority's to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock.
From 2014 to 2021, expenditure of some €261 million was recouped to local authorities under the Voids Programme which funded the return to productive use of 18,527 properties nationwide. Local authorities also provide significant funding from their own resources to address the level of vacancy within the social housing stock.
My Department will continue to support local authorities in their work in this area. Continuing on from the process commenced in 2021, all local authorities were asked earlier this year to provide information on their level of vacancy as at 1 January 2022. This information has been received and reviewed and will help inform this years’ Voids Programme. Funding allocations under the Programme will be announced shortly.
Given the very significant investment into the Voids Programme over recent years, particularly in 2020 and in 2021, local authorities should now be in a strong position to begin the transition to a strategic and informed planned maintenance approach to stock management and maintenance. To that end, my Department and local authorities are working to transition from a largely response and voids based approach to housing stock management and maintenance, to a planned maintenance approach as referenced in Housing for All, policy objective 20.6. This will require the completion of stock condition surveys by all local authorities and the subsequent development of strategic and informed work programmes in response. My Department will support these work programmes by ensuring that the funding available under the various stock improvement programmes is aligned with this approach.
278. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding allocated to date on a project (details supplied); the level of expenditure in 2021; the funding allocated for 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19091/22]
View answerThe project referred to in the Question is a significant one and comprises three phases.
Phase 1 was completed in late 2019 and the expenditure on this phase was €3,200,000 between 2015 and 2019.
Delivery of Phase 2 involves total funding of c. €12,200,000 over a number of years. Expenditure for 2021 stood at €400,000. Funding allocated in 2022 is €6,000,000, with the balance of expenditure to take place in 2023 and 2024.
In relation to Phase 3, in 2021 the expenditure on this phase was c. €310,000. Funding of €1,000,000 has been allocated for preparatory work in this phase in 2022.
279. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if further consideration will be given in 2022 to the allocation of funding for a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19140/22]
View answerIn November 2021 I announced €4m in funding for the Historic Structures Fund (HSF) 2022. The HSF is a competitive grant scheme for conservation works to heritage structures in both private and public ownership. Grants of between €15,000 and €50,000 are available under Stream 1, and of between €50,000 and €200,000 under Stream 2.
Applications are made in the first instance to the local authorities, who send a shortlist to my Department for assessment by an expert panel which makes its recommendations to me for my final approval. Applications are assessed under a series of clearly-defined criteria, the details of which may be found in the HSF circular on my Department’s website at www.gov.ie/en/publication/32ae3-financial-assistance-for-architectural-heritage/.
Under HSF 2022, a total of 129 applications were received by my Department for assessment. While this year’s fund of €4m represents an increase of 33% on 2021, HSF2022 was heavily over-subscribed and it was unfortunately not possible to make awards to all applications that met the minimum assessment criteria. This includes the structure in question.
While further consideration cannot be given to unsuccessful applications, officials in my Department can, at the request of the local authority, provide feedback in respect of an individual application should the applicant wish to apply to the scheme again the following year. It is intended to run the HSF again in 2023 and details of the scheme will be made available this November.
280. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which a person can correct a mapping error by the Land Registry in respect of the map digitised in respect of their lands and or property. [19152/22]
View answerThe Property Registration Authority (PRA) maintains a title register and the Land Registry map is not, except as provided by legislation, conclusive as to boundaries or extent. A specific note to that effect appears on the National Land Register, and this has been the position since the inception of the title registration system in 1891.
The registration mapping framework maintained by the PRA is underpinned by its link to Ordnance Survey Ireland topographical data. However, all registrations effected in the PRA are based on the original documents and application map lodged for registration by the applicant’s solicitor.
The digitisation of the PRA map record, which was completed in 2010, revealed rather than caused non-conformities which were already on the original paper-based mapping system.
The PRA receives ongoing enquiries about mapping issues, and each query brought to its attention is investigated fully. The PRA has established a dedicated and robust process for the ongoing evaluation of all mapping and other queries. Such enquiries, together with supporting documents, should be forwarded by post to Priority Customer Reviews, Property Registration Authority, Chancery Street, Dublin 7, or by email to QAexternal@prai.ie.
Once an enquiry is received, original legal deeds and documents of title (including the original map lodged) are retrieved and reviewed to establish if an actual error arises and its origins. If the review identifies that an error was made in registration, the PRA will move to rectify in accordance with the statutory provisions governing the correction of errors.
It is the PRA’s consistent experience, however, that for 50 per cent of the enquiries received, correct registration was effected based on the documents lodged by the applicant’s solicitor and that the Land Registry map accurately reflects the map lodged for registration. Should the PRA review reveal that no error was made in registration, then a Deed of Rectification or Court Order can be lodged to effect a change to the Land Registry map.
281. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if defibrillators are installed in all offices and buildings accessible by the public in his Department and public bodies and agencies that operate under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19174/22]
View answerDefibrillators are installed in all departmental offices and buildings accessible by the public.
The information requested in relation to bodies under the aegis of my Department is a matter for the individual bodies concerned. Arrangements have been put in place by each Agency to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. The contact email address for each agency is set out in the following table:
|
State Body |
Contact eMail |
|
An Bord Pleanála |
oireachtasqueries@pleanala.ie |
|
An Fóram Uisce (the Water Forum) |
info@nationalwaterforum.ie |
|
Approved Housing Body Regulatory Authority |
oireachtasqueries@ahbregulator.ie |
|
Docklands Oversight and Consultative Forum |
infodocklands@dublincity.ie |
|
Ervia |
oireachtas@ervia.ie |
|
Gas Networks Ireland |
oireachtas@ervia.ie |
|
Heritage Council |
oireachtas@heritagecouncil.ie |
|
Housing Finance Agency |
oireachtas.enquiries@hfa.ie |
|
Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency |
publicreps@housingagency.ie |
|
Irish Water |
oireachtasmembers@water.ie |
|
Land Development Agency |
oireachtas@lda.ie |
|
Local Government Management Agency |
corporate@lgma.ie |
|
National Oversight and Audit Commission |
info@noac.ie |
|
National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee |
ntacc@housing.gov.ie |
|
Office of the Planning Regulator |
oireachtas@opr.ie |
|
Ordnance Survey Ireland |
Oireachtas@osi.ie |
|
Property Registration Authority |
reps@prai.ie |
|
Pyrite Resolution Board |
oireachtasinfo@pyriteboard.ie |
|
Residential Tenancies Board |
OireachtasMembersQueries@rtb.ie |
|
Valuation Office |
oireachtas.enquiries@VALOFF.ie |
|
Valuation Tribunal |
info@valuationtribunal.ie |
|
Water Advisory Body |
info@wab.gov.ie |
|
Waterways Ireland |
ceoffice@waterwaysireland.org |
282. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage the total value of consultancy contracts awarded to an organisation (details supplied) for work with his Department and bodies under auspices of his Department in each of the years 2017 to 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19193/22]
View answerAn examination of records indicates that no expenditure was incurred, by my Department, in relation to consultancy services provided by the organisation concerned, in the years 2017 to 2021.
283. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a passport application for a child (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18918/22]
View answer285. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a passport will issue for a child (details supplied) for a school trip; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18972/22]
View answer286. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a passport will issue in the case of a person (details supplied); the progress to date in the processing of the application for renewal; if all efforts will be made to ensure that the passport issues in time for travel on 13 April 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18992/22]
View answer288. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a passport will issue on time for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19073/22]
View answer289. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will ensure that the passport application by a person (details supplied) will be processed urgently by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19078/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 283, 285, 286, 288 and 289 together.
With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputies have enquired, the Passport Service has given an update on the status of the application to the applicant or their parent.
284. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the appropriate section in the Passport Office will make contact with the appropriate personnel in Tallaght Garda station to confirm that details have been reported in the logbook as submitted for a passport application in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18960/22]
View answerWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has verified parental consent and the passport application has been approved.
