Written Answers Nos. 112-129
112. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of funding allocated and drawn down by Kildare County Council for re-let works on council properties for each of the years from 2018 to 2021 and date in 2022, in tabular form. [23639/22]
View answer113. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the funding deficit for 2022 in relation to local authority property re-let works in County Kildare; if his Department is planning to provide increased funding to Kildare County Council to deal with this shortfall; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23640/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 112 and 113 together.
The 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.
Local authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties are compliant with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations, 2019. Local authority officials and elected members have a very important role to play in this regard by making adequate budgetary provision for housing repairs and cyclical maintenance utilising the significant housing rental income available to them as part of the annual budgetary process.
Notwithstanding the legal obligations on local authorities to manage and maintain their housing stock, my Department does provide annual funding to local authorities to support their work in this area through the Voids Programme. 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. The Voids Programme is grant funded at 100% of costs where local authorities take a pragmatic approach and complete only works necessary to comply with the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. This will also ensure that the property is re-let as quickly as possible.
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.
An annualised breakdown of the funding provided and the number of properties remediated under the Voids programme for the years 2014-2021 is available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/0906a-other-local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics/#voids-programme
My Department will continue to support local authorities in their work in this area. Funding allocations under the 2022 Programme will be announced shortly.
114. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing allocations made by Kildare County Council to persons who were on the housing list for less than two years in 2019, 2020 and 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23643/22]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is not held by my Department.
The oversight and practical management of housing waiting lists, including the allocation and transfer of tenancies, is solely a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations.
115. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are any circumstances in which a late appeal will be accepted by An Bord Pleanála; if the time limit for appeals will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23649/22]
View answerAppeals to An Bord Pleanála are made under section 37 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act). An applicant for permission and any person who made submissions or observations in writing in relation to the planning application to the planning authority in accordance with the permission regulations and on payment of the appropriate fee, may, at any time before the expiration of the appropriate period, appeal to the Board against a decision of a planning authority made under section 34 of the Act. Section 37(1)(d) states that “the appropriate period” means the period of four weeks beginning on the day of the decision of the planning authority. Section 37(3) states that an appeal received by the Board after the expiration of the appropriate period (4 weeks) shall be invalid as not having been made in time. In effect, there is no provision for the acceptance of late appeals by the Board for any reason outside the appropriate period mentioned.
Housing for All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland sets out a number of objectives with the aim of improving the functioning of the planning system including the comprehensive review and consolidation of planning legislation. This review is being led by the Attorney General and he has established a working group of professionals with planning law expertise to assist him in this work. All provisions of the Act will be examined in the context of this review, which is due to be finalised by September 2022 to allow any updated legislation to be enacted by December 2022.
116. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the planning requirements that are in place in terms of solar farm development with respect to environmental impact studies and environmental impact assessments; if such studies are required for the granting of planning permission for solar or wind farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23712/22]
View answerThe Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive specifies projects which, by virtue of their nature, size or location are likely to have significant effects on the environment and should be subject to EIA. The Directive requires projects listed in Annex I of the Directive to be subject to mandatory EIA and provides that Member States may determine whether projects listed in Annex II of the Directive shall be subject to EIA. Solar farm developments are not listed in either Annex I or II of the EIA Directive.
Projects requiring an EIA by a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála (the Board), as appropriate, in respect of an application for planning consent are listed in Part 1 and Part 2 of Schedule 5 of the Planning and Developments Regulations 2001 (the Regulations), which transpose the list of projects in Annex I and II of the EIA Directive into planning legislation.
Proposals for individual renewable energy development projects may be subject to EIA as part of the planning process. Part 2 of Schedule 5 of the Regulations includes certain renewable energy development projects, such as wind energy and, in accordance with the Directive, certain thresholds have been set below which certain developments need not necessarily be subject to EIA. EIA is also required in the consideration of planning applications, other than in the circumstances referred to above, where a development that is under the threshold in Part 2 of Schedule 5 of the Regulations (sub-threshold development) is likely to have significant effects on the environment, having regard to the criteria set out in Schedule 7 of the Regulations. Schedule 7 criteria include assessment of the characteristics of the proposed sub-threshold development having regard to its size, its cumulation with other development, pollution and nuisances, and the risk of accidents as well as the location of the proposed development having regard to the existing land use, the environmental sensitivity of the geographical area and the absorption capacity of the natural environment in the area of the proposed development.
Two High Court judgments issued on separate judicial review cases in 2020, provide further clarification on the scope of the EIA Directive as it applies to solar farm developments. The judicial review case references are as follows:
1. Sweetman v. An Bord Pleanála & Ors [2020] IEHC 39 Judgment delivered by Mr. Justice McDonald on 31 January 2020
2. Kavanagh v. An Bord Pleanála & Ors [2020] IEHC 259 Judgment delivered by Mr. Justice O’Moore on 29 May 2020
The implications of the two judgments are of significance in that they affirm the understanding that solar farm developments of the nature of those the subject matter of these judicial reviews do not fall within the classes of projects in either Part 1 or Part 2 of Schedule 5 to Regulations that transpose the Annex I and II of the Directive.
However, it is not necessarily the case that solar farm projects could never require EIA. Circumstances may arise in which a solar farm project may be subject to a requirement for EIA if, for example, one or more aspects of the project potentially comes within the scope of any of the project classes listed in Annex I or Annex II of the Directive and consequently, Part 1 and Part 2 of Schedule 5 to the Regulations, also noting the criteria for sub-threshold development as set out in Schedule 7 of the Regulations.
It would be a matter for a Planning Authority or An Bord Pleanála to assess a planning application for a solar farm development in accordance with the requirements of the EIA Directive, as transposed in the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the Regulations, and to determine if an EIA is required or not.
117. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of HAP properties; and the number of new HAP agreements signed for counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23725/22]
View answer118. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of RAS properties; and the number of new RAS properties that were signed in each year for counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23726/22]
View answer119. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of leased properties; and the number of new leases signed for counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23727/22]
View answer127. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number who entered the repair-and-lease scheme in counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23735/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 117 to 119, inclusive, and 127 together.
The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and leasing agreements, which include the Repair and Leasing scheme (RLS), are all forms of social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need.
The table below shows the number of:
- HAP active tenancies at year end as well as the number of new tenancies in 2020 and 2021;
- RAS active tenancies at year end as well as the number of new tenancies in 2020 and 2021; and
- Leasing agreements (under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme) at year end as well as the number of new agreements in 2020 and 2021.
Please note there were no new RLS agreements in either local authority area during 2020 and 2021.
|
Year |
Local Authority Area |
Leasing Agreements* |
HAP Tenancies |
RAS Tenancies |
|
2020 |
Longford |
26 New and 122 Active |
110 New and 379 Active |
1 New and 200 Active |
|
Westmeath |
54 New and 386 Active |
255 New and 1,014 Active |
22 New and 539 Active |
|
|
2021 |
Longford |
18 New and 144 Active |
79 New and 377 Active |
2 New and 186 Active |
|
Westmeath |
77 New and 433 Active |
158 New and 975 Active |
22 New and 507 Active |
*The values provided include properties leased by AHBs directly, leased by Local Authorities from private owners under long term and short term agreements, Enhanced leasing, Mortgage to Rent, NARPS, the Repair and Leasing Scheme and Unsold Affordables.
Data for Q1 2022 is currently being compiled and will be available in the coming weeks.
Under the Housing for All strategy, the Government plans to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 homes per year over the next decade, including an average of 10,000 new build social homes. As new build supply of social housing ramps up, there will be reducing reliance on the HAP and RAS schemes. Long term leasing will be phased out by 2025 and my Department is continuing to engage with local authorities in this regard.
120. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing starts and completions by approved housing body for counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23728/22]
View answer121. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing starts and completions by local authority for counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23729/22]
View answer129. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of new acquisitions in counties Westmeath and Longford in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23738/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 120, 121 and 129 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. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes by 2030. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5bn funding through the Housing Finance Agency. Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity, including details by individual local authority, approved housing body delivery and acquisitions. This data is available to the end of 2021, and 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/.
The Breakdown of Social Housing Activity by Local Authority provides detail on local authority and Approved Housing Body social housing construction and acquisitions. Data for 2020 data is available at the following link: assets.gov.ie/126033/0b870a09-0fe1-4877-9a57-cfa06f7779e5.xlsx. The 2021 data are available at: assets.gov.ie/206447/c30e859a-04d2-4051-8909-9f7b60a60405.xlsx.
My Department also published the Quarter 4 2021 Social Housing Construction Status Report, which provides details of all social housing developments, which are under construction, have been completed or are at various stages of the design and pre-tender process in each local authority, including Westmeath and Longford, at the end of 2021. The report is available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/af746-social-housing-construction-projects-status-report-q4-2021/.
A version of this file can also be downloaded at the following link: opendata.housing.gov.ie/dataset/social-housing-construction-status-report-q4-2021.
In relation to broader housing supply, there is a strong supply pipeline, with Commencement Notices data showing a total number of 30,724 residential dwellings commenced in 2021. The breakdown, by local authority area, is available on my Department's website at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/a5cb1-construction-activity-starts/.
Data in relation to new dwelling completions by local authority area is published by the Central Statistics Office on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via the following link: www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/ndc/newdwellingcompletionsq42021/.
122. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount allocated by his Department under the housing grants for local authority housing; and the amount drawn down for counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23730/22]
View answerManagement and maintenance of the approximate 140,000 local authority owned social homes is an important issue. In accordance with section 58 of the Housing Act, 1966 local authorities are legally responsible for the management and maintenance of these homes. Local authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties are compliant with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations, 2019. Local authority officials and elected members have a very important role to play in this regard by making adequate budgetary provision for housing repairs and cyclical maintenance utilising the housing rental income available to them as part of the annual budgetary process.
Notwithstanding the legal obligation on local authorities to manage and maintain their own stock, my Department does provide annual funding support to local authorities for management and maintenance under a number of funding programmes.
Under the Voids Programme, my Department has supported local authorities in refurbishing vacant social homes and returning them to productive use. 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.
Full published details in relation to output up to and including the 2021 programme are available at this link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/0906a-other-local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics/#voids-programme.
Under the Energy Efficiency Programme, my Department funds the carrying out of retrofitting works to local authority dwellings. Since the programme commenced in 2013 over 75,000 homes have received retrofit works with a total exchequer spend of €184 million under the scheme.
The newly revised ten year Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme launched in 2021 is designed around the Programme for Government commitment to retrofit 500,000 homes to a B2/Cost Optimal BER standard by 2030, of which approximately 36,500 of those homes are expected to be local authority homes.
In 2020 funding of €20 million was made available to allow for upgrades to approximately 750 dwellings in the midlands, under the 'Just Transition' programme, as part of the Programme for Government and Climate Action Plan.
An annualised breakdown of the units retrofitted under both the Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme and Midlands Retrofit Programme, is available on my Department's website at the following links: www.gov.ie/en/publication/668c1-energy-efficiency-retrofitting-programme-expenditure-output/ and www.gov.ie/en/publication/b86b3-midlands-energy-retrofit-programme-expenditure-and-units/.
Under the Disabled Persons Grant Scheme, my Department funds local authorities in carrying out necessary adaptation works to local authority properties to cater for the needs of elderly and disabled tenants and/or those people living in overcrowded conditions in local authority properties.
My Department's approach every year is to issue a single full year allocation to each local authority, so they can plan, prioritise and implement the programme to carry out the varying works necessary to meet the needs of their tenants. The programme is 90% funded by the Department with a 10% contribution from the Local Authority.
The allocation and drawdown of funding for each local authority for the period 2011-2021 for the Disabled Persons Grant, which incorporates Improvement Works in Lieu, is available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/061cd-disabled-persons-grant-and-improved-works-in-lieu-schemes-allocation-and-drawdown/?referrer=http://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c472d-disabled-persons-grant-and-improved-works-in-lieu-schemes-allocation-and-drawdown-2011-2020/.
The Department is committed to putting in place structures to ensure the effective and efficient management of the local authority housing stock and is working with the Local Government Management Agency and the local authorities to transition from a largely response based approach to housing stock maintenance to a strategic and informed planned maintenance approach, informed by stock condition surveys. This will see all 140,000 local authority social housing properties surveyed to determine their condition so as to inform future work programmes and ensure the available funding is spent in a strategic and focused way.
Statistical data for 2022 will be published in early 2023.
123. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount allocated by his Department under the housing grants for private dwellings; and the amount drawn down for counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23731/22]
View answerMy Department provides funding under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People, each of which are 80% funded by my Department, with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. The administration funding of the schemes, including assessment, approval and prioritisation, is the responsibility of local authorities. Local authorities receive an overall allocation, with the responsibility for the apportionment between the three schemes being a matter for each authority given their knowledge of local need.
Funding of €81.25 million is available nationally in 2022 for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability scheme. The 2022 funding allocation for all local authorities is also available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/press-release/32a48-improved-homes-for-older-people-and-those-with-a-disability-as-ministers-obrien-and-burke-announce-over-80m-in-funding/.
Details of the allocations and drawdowns for all local authorities up to 2021, including Westmeath and Longford, are available on my Department's website at the following link: www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/social-and-affordble/other-local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics.
124. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of persons on housing waiting lists in counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23732/22]
View answerDetails on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area are published by my Department in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). See below for links to the 2020 and 2021 summaries.
SSHA 2021
www.gov.ie/en/publication/f6119-summary-of-social-housing-assessments-2021-key-findings/
SSHA 2020
www.gov.ie/en/publication/970ea-summary-of-social-housing-assessments-2020-key-findings/#:~:text=The%20Summary%20of%20Social%20Housing,is%20not%20currently%20being%20met.
The SSHA exercise for 2022 will take place later in the year and the summary published in 2023.
125. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of persons on housing transfer lists in counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23733/22]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is not held by my Department.
The oversight and practical management of housing waiting and transfer lists is a matter for each local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations.
126. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount spent each year on emergency accommodation for counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23734/22]
View answerMy Department's role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services rests with individual housing authorities.
My Department does not fund any homeless service directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under Section 10 of the Housing Act, 1988. Under Exchequer funding arrangements, housing authorities must provide at least 10% of the cost of services from their own resources. Furthermore, housing authorities may also incur additional expenditure on homeless related services outside of the Exchequer funding arrangements provided by my Department. Therefore, the exact amounts spent by housing authorities on homeless services, as well as the type and operation of homeless services including emergency accommodation are a matter for individual housing authorities in consultation with the Management Group of the relevant regional joint Homelessness Consultative Forum.
Exchequer funding for homeless services is provided through my Department to housing authorities on a regional basis. Counties Westmeath and Longford are included in the Midlands region for the purposes of homeless administration, along with Laois and Offaly. The table below sets out the Exchequer funding provided to the Midlands region for the years 2020 to 2022(to date).
|
Exchequer funding provided to the Midlands Region |
|
|
2020 |
€2.5 m |
|
2021 |
€2.4 m |
|
2022 (to date) |
€0.706 m |
Financial reports from each of the homeless regions including the Midlands region, setting out expenditure on homeless accommodation and related services are published on my Department's website at the following link: www.housing.gov.ie/housing/homelessness/other/homelessness-data.
128. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of capital applications submitted for approval; the number that were approved; and the value of same for counties Westmeath and Longford, respectively, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [23736/22]
View answerThe details of all approved social housing construction programmes are published quarterly in the Social Housing Construction Status Report. This report provides details of all social housing developments, which are under construction, have been completed or are at various stages of the design and pre-tender process in each local authority at the end of 2021. The report is available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/af746-social-housing-construction-projects-status-report-q4-2021/. A version of this file can also be downloaded at the following link: opendata.housing.gov.ie/dataset/social-housing-construction-status-report-q4-2021.
Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) are making an important contribution to social housing delivery, as envisaged under current Government policy. My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with AHBs to construct or purchase new homes and make them available for social housing. One such programme that AHBs progress projects through is the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF).
CALF funding is capital support provided to AHBs by local authorities to facilitate the funding of construction, acquisition or refurbishment of new social housing units. This loan facility can support up to 30% of the eligible capital cost of the housing project, with the housing units provided to local authorities for social housing use under long-term lease arrangements known as Payment and Availability Agreements. A nominal interest rate of 2% fixed per annum is charged by the local authority on the initial capital amount. Repayments on either the capital or interest are not required during the term of the loan (between 10 and 30 years), although where an AHB chooses to, repayments can be made during the term. At the end of the term, the outstanding capital amount plus the interest accrued, is owed and repayable to the local authority. The local authority issues the CALF monies to the AHB and the local authority, in turn, recoups same from the Department.
Eight CALF applications in total were received and approved by my Department for projects in County Westmeath between 2020 and 2022 to date, with a total of €24,657,493 in capital funding approved. My Department did not receive any CALF applications for County Longford during this period.
My Department also provides capital funding to both Westmeath and Longford County Councils under the Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) and the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) for the construction and acquisition of houses and apartments for social housing use.
My Department has two proposals from Westmeath County Council for the delivery of 3 homes under SHIP in Athlone and 55 homes under CAS also in Athlone and these are currently being assessed by my Department. The total value of all of these construction schemes for Westmeath is c.€181m. My Department also has three proposals from Longford County Council for the delivery 55 homes under SHIP. The total value of these construction schemes in Longford is c.€85m.
In addition, my Department has also supported the acquisition of 34 homes for Westmeath by providing c.€9.5m and 53 homes for Longford by providing c.€8m since 2020 under SHIP. I have also supported the acquisition of 4 units of accommodation for Westmeath by providing some €0.5m and 11 units for Longford by providing c.€0.5m since 2020 under CAS.
Under Housing for All, the funding is in place to support both local authorities, including approved housing bodies with whom they work, and I'm keen that they progress their social housing schemes as quickly as possible.
