Written Answers Nos. 2194-2206
2194. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide an update on upgrading the helipad on Inishturk Island; the stage that it is currently at; when it is likely to be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41273/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the construction of the helipad on Inishturk is being undertaken by the relevant Local Authority, Mayo County Council, with financial assistance from my Department. Officials from my Department have been in ongoing contact with the relevant officials in Mayo County Council to progress this development.
My Department provided the Local Authority with funding for the purchase of land for the purposes of this project in late 2020 and a design for the site was agreed upon. I understand that the Local Authority has completed the tender process for the project and hopes to award the contract shortly with a view to having construction of the helipad completed in 2022.
2195. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the town and village renewal scheme following recent expressions of interest submitted to local authorities; if her Department has received funding applications from local authorities; if so, the likely timeline in approving applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41274/22]
View answerIn line with the provisions of Our Rural Future, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme aims to assist with the rejuvenation of rural towns and villages throughout Ireland, making them more attractive places to live, work and visit. The Scheme has seen over 1400 projects benefit from almost €113 million in funding since its inception in 2016.
The 2022 Scheme was launched in May of this year, and I recently announced €7.5 million in funding to re-develop 36 derelict and vacant properties across rural Ireland into new community hubs under the new 2022 Building Acquisition Measure, which forms part of the overarching Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
The deadline for applications to the Department under the main measures of the Scheme was 22 July 2022. I expect to be in a position to announce successful applicants later this year.
2196. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if further funding per county will be provided for local improvement scheme roads in 2022 on top of the initial allocations; if the extraordinarily long list of roads in County Kerry will be factored in when deciding on any supplementary allocations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41293/22]
View answerThe Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities. As part of Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to ensuring that the LIS is funded into the future. The scheme makes an important contribution to connectivity in rural Ireland.
From 2017 to 2021, my Department allocated €80 million towards improvement works on over 3,000 non-public roads and lanes benefiting over 13,300 landowners and residents in these rural areas.
I was pleased, as part of Budget 2022, to announce an increase in the base funding for LIS from €10.5 million to €11 million this year. I announced details of the 2022 LIS in early April, which included an allocation of €704,030 to Kerry County Council.
Last year, I was in a position to double the initial LIS allocation to €21 million following the identification of savings in other capital areas. I am continuing to closely monitor the capital allocations in my Department, and will keep the possibility of a further allocation to LIS this year under consideration in this context.
2197. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the way that her Department and public bodies and agencies under her remit met their obligations under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 in 2021, including the way that relevant policies and actions are monitored and the way that the obligation is reflected in their annual reports. [41376/22]
View answerThe Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty places a statutory obligation on public bodies, in the performance of their functions, to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and protect the human rights of those to whom they provide services and staff when carrying out their daily work.
My Department is strongly committed in its work to promote equality, to prevent discrimination and to protect the human rights of employees, customers, service users and others affected by our policies and strategies. This is in recognition of the legal obligations conferred on the Department by section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act, 2014.
All internal and external stakeholders can be confident that their rights under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014 are guaranteed and that no one will receive less favourable treatment by my Department because of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community. Many of the work areas of my Department specifically address issues such as marginalisation including providing targeted supports for the Traveller community and other disadvantaged groups.
It should be noted that my Department’s Statement of Strategy states that it will meet its obligations under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 by performing its Public Sector Duty and report on the progress of these actions in its Annual Report.
The Department's annual report for 2021, which has been finalised, specifically records the work of the Community Development Pilot Programme. The aim of the pilot programme is to use community development as an approach to address poverty, social exclusion and inequality, and promote human rights within marginalised communities. My Department is also considering how it can further report on progress as part of future annual reports
There are 4 agencies under the aegis of my Department: the Charities Regulatory Authority, Pobal, Water Safety Ireland, and the Western Development Commission. Obligations under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 are a matter for the relevant boards and management of those agencies as they are independent entities who manage their own corporate compliance and staffing issues.
2198. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of State boards under the remit of her Department or its agencies; the total number of members of each board; the numbers on each board broken down according to gender; and the number of persons with a declared disability on each board in tabular form. [41394/22]
View answerThere are currently 4 State boards under the remit of my Department; the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA), Pobal, Water Safety Ireland (WSI) and the Western Development Commission (WDC). The details the deputy has requested are set out in the table below.
|
Board |
Number of members |
Female |
Male |
Declared disability |
|
CRA |
13 |
7 |
6 |
0 |
|
Pobal |
16 |
9 |
7 |
0 |
|
WSI |
13 |
6 |
7 |
0 |
|
WDC |
12 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
2199. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will publish the template used by local authorities for the collection of data at local authority dog pounds; and if she will provide a breakdown of the surrender fees, if any, at each local authority dog pound. [41504/22]
View answerUnder the Control of Dogs Acts, local authorities have responsibility for operating and managing dog control and licensing services in their administrative areas. This includes responsibility for the management of dog pounds or shelters, and my Department has no involvement in this process.
Local authorities finance their dog control service from general income, including income accruing through dog licence fees, on-the-spot fines and pound fees. The information requested on pound fees is not collected by my Department.
2200. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development further to Parliamentary Question No. 7 of 31 June 2022, the status of the development of Caladh Mór on Inis Meáin; the status of the bathymetric survey and if it has been completed to-date; the status of the preparation of the draft business case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41599/22]
View answerThe Development of Caladh Mór Pier on Inis Meáin is included in the National Development Plan. As the Deputy will be aware, Galway County Council is responsible for the development of stage 3 of this project.
As part of the preparatory works, the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) was instructed by Galway County Council to develop a model simulation for the harbour. Galway County Council has collated the technical specifications of the key vessels that use the harbour and this data will be fed into the simulation.
To feed into this process, additional bathymetric studies were also carried out in the harbour to gather further data. This was a multi-beam mapping survey, which is highly detailed.
Galway County Council advised my Department at a meeting between officials recently that the bathymetric survey has been completed and that the data has been forwarded to the NMCI for use in the model simulation. It is hoped that the simulation will be completed, and tested with feedback given, by the end of August.
Once this work has been completed, Galway County Council will incorporate the findings into a draft business case. Following on from this, my Department will be in a position to evaluate the next steps in the process.
2201. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development further to Parliamentary Question No. 26 of 31 May 2022, the status of the development of the pier on Inis Oírr; the expected timeline for the completion of the updated and additional environmental reports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41600/22]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, Galway County Council is the responsible authority for the maintenance and development of pier infrastructure on the Aran Islands.
The development of the pier on Inis Oírr is listed amongst the strategic objectives set out in Project Ireland 2040. A steering committee consisting of representatives from my Department, Galway County Council and the Consulting Engineers meet regularly to monitor progress.
I understand that Galway County Council submitted a pre-application, with supporting documents, for a foreshore licence in July 2021. They subsequently held a meeting with the Foreshore Unit in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, where they were advised that the environmental reports they had submitted required updating and additional reports were needed.
Further to that meeting, Galway County Council sought quotations from environmental consultancies to carry out a Gap Analysis Study. This was to review the environmental information available and to compile recommendations for the extent of further studies required which would form a part of the supporting materials for the Foreshore Licence.
The Gap Analysis study has now been completed and was submitted to my Department recently. The consultancy firm are compiling a list of required works that will need to be undertaken to update the environmental reports to the standard required. Additionally, Galway County Council is in regular contact with the Foreshore Unit of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local
Government and they have agreed to assist the local authority with mapping the area where the licence will apply.
2202. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development further to Parliamentary Question No. 45 of 30 June 2022, the status of the new policy for the Islands; if they are on track to complete the initial draft of the policy document by the end of summer 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41601/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Government is committed to publishing a 10 year policy on island development with associated three year action plans.
The most recent meeting of the Interdepartmental Committee for the Islands was held on 22 June 2022, where it was agreed that committee members would review their Department’s draft input and revert with revised actions.
I understand that, based on the development work to date, an initial draft is expected for my consideration before the end of the summer.
The next meeting of the Inter-Departmental Committee is scheduled for September, where it is expected Committee members will be able to share their feedback, observations and recommendations regarding the initial draft of the policy.
2203. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the dividends paid by State-owned enterprises under the remit of her Department in each of the past five years; the projected dividends to be received in 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41657/22]
View answerI can confirm that there are no State-owned enterprises under the remit of the Department of Rural and Community Development, and therefore no such dividends have been paid in previous years, or will be paid for 2022.
2204. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if her attention has been drawn to the issue regarding the sustainability and accessibility of e-books; if her Department is examining legislation to ensure that e-books are made available to libraries under reasonable terms and conditions as called for by an organization (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41821/22]
View answerDemand for eBook and eAudiobook services increased substantially in March 2020 due to the closure of public libraries in response to the pandemic. My department responded to the growth in demand for these services by providing funding of €400,000 for eBook and eAudiobooks.
However, libraries cannot generally buy eBooks and eAudiobooks. They can only licence them which means they must accept the restrictions that publishers place on these items, something they do not have to do with print books. Bolinda are the current provider of eBook and eAudiobook services for our public library service but it is the publishers, who set the terms and conditions under which the majority of popular titles can be licensed. This results in a lot of funding going into re-purchasing bestsellers and popular titles, and there is less money available to grow the collection.
My department is aware that the cost of eBooks is also an issue for the academic library sector, and through the Libraries Development Unit in the LGMA, has been fully engaged with the president of the LAI, Cathal McCauley, since last year on this issue. We brought the matter to the attention of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in 2021 and continue to explore all options, including those at European level, to improve the situation for our libraries and their users.
2205. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the total budget allocated for libraries for the purpose of e-books from 2011 to 2021, in tabular form. [41822/22]
View answerThe provision of library services, including the provision of eBooks, is primarily a matter for local authorities in their capacity as library authorities under the Local Government Act 2001. Accordingly, the total budget allocated for the provision of eBooks is managed by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) in their capacity as the contracting authority for the provision of eBook services.
My department previously provided funding to the LGMA for the provision of eBooks and eAudiobooks in public libraries. €168,000 was provided for this purpose in 2018 and €400,000 in 2020. These amounts do not include funding provided by local authorities for the provision of eBooks.
2206. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide details of all properties in cases in which they were leased by State bodies under her aegis; the list of all State bodies under her aegis that are or could be currently acting independently of the OPW to acquire their own property; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42029/22]
View answerMy Department occupies offices in Trinity Point, Dublin 2 and Government Buildings in Ballina, Co. Mayo. Our offices in Trinity Point are leased on our behalf by the Office of Public Works (OPW) while the building we occupy in Ballina is in the ownership of the OPW.
In terms of the agencies under my Department's aegis, the position is as set out below.
Water Safety Ireland leases its headquarters building located in the Long Walk, Galway City.
The Charities Regulator leases its headquarters located in George's Dock, IFSC, Dublin 1.
The Western Development Commission leases an office space in NUIG in Galway City. Its headquarters in Dillon House in Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon is provided under an arrangement with Roscommon County Council.
The position in relation to Pobal is set out in the table below and all refer to lease agreements unless stated as a licence:
|
Location |
Number of Leases/Licences |
|
Adelaide Road, 5th Floor Marsh House |
1 |
|
Holbrook House – Ground, 1st, 2nd & 4th Floor (3 Leases) |
3 |
|
Ormond Buildings , 2nd Floor |
1 |
|
Forest Park Mullingar, Unit C |
1 |
|
Desart House Unit 110 Kilkenny – (2 leases for separate parts of 2nd Floor) |
2 |
|
City Gate, 2nd Floor Mahon Point Cork. |
1 |
|
Mtek 2 Monaghan |
1 |
|
Mtek 1 – 10e & 10f (both licence agreements) |
2 |
|
Millar Building Clifden |
1 |
|
Cathedral Square Galway City |
1 |
|
LEDP Limerick (Licence) |
1 |
|
Harbour View Sligo |
1 |
|
Letterkenny – PSC (Licence) |
1 |
