Written Answers Nos. 833-847
833. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated cost of increasing part V to 25% social and 25% affordable over the next five years and in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41810/22]
View answer834. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated cost of purchasing 50% rather than the minimum of 10% under the part V requirements or 20% under the new part V requirements of all residential units targeted for completion in 2023 and 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41811/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 833 and 834 together.
It is not possible to provide details of average unit costs or the total cost of future social or affordable homes delivered through Part V due to a number of factors. These factors include variables such as unit type, land cost, development and construction costs, cost and source of finance, together with ongoing maintenance and management fees, etc. Further details of the cost of units delivered through Part V will be available following the completion of projects.
My Department publishes statistics of housing delivered through Part V on a quarterly basis. This data is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/fd048-affordable-housing-and-part-v-statistics/#part-v-scheme
My Department does not hold any information relating to the cost of increasing the Part V contribution and due to the range of issues outlined above, it is not possible to provide such an estimate.
837. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of direct-build or directly build by contract houses, by each local authority in each of the past three years to date, excluding approved housing bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41852/22]
View answerHousing 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, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. 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; 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing and 28,500 new affordable homes in the period 2022-2026.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity. This includes statistics on houses built by local authorities for use as social housing. This data is available to the end of Quarter 1 2022 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/
838. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the resources that are available to the National Parks and Wildlife Service to respond to threats to natural heritage and biodiversity within the national parks and nature reserves including coastlines; if the service is adequately resourced for summer fires; the additional resources that have been put in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41857/22]
View answerThe Strategic Action Plan for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) sets out an ambitious timeline for a full organisational restructuring of the NPWS, and a substantial €55 million additional investment in the organisation across three budgetary cycles, together with the accelerated early recruitment of at least 60 key staff for critically important roles.
This Plan aims to deliver a NPWS that is more resilient, better resourced, and better equipped to play its part in Ireland’s response to the biodiversity emergency on the national and international stage. It will equip the NPWS with the organisational capability and supporting structures to enable it to deliver its mandate in protecting our natural heritage.
Additional resources are being recruited across all grades and specialisms and I have secured agreement to increase the number of conservation rangers from 83 to 120 and work is underway with the Public Appointments Service to achieve this.
The primary responsibility in terms of fire fighting lies with the Fire Service. Staff of the NPWS remain vigilant, however, whenever conditions conducive to fires are prevalent (e.g. Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s weather warnings), including carrying out and overseeing increased patrols, surveillance flyovers and other measures.
In relation to fires, I must stress that this cannot be seen as just a matter for any one Department; but rather as a matter for all citizens. The principle challenge is to encourage members of the public, (including landowners, farmers and recreational users of publicly accessible land), to act responsibly at all times, to be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, to be mindful of the need to protect property, both publicly owned and privately owned and to appreciate the value of our natural heritage, particularly in our National Parks, Nature Reserves and Designated (Natura 2000) Sites.
The NPWS continues to work closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and An Garda Síochána, as appropriate, to investigate the causes of such fires in our National Parks and designated sites and, where evidence is forthcoming, to pursue appropriate enforcement under the Wildlife Acts or other legislation. The prosecution of those responsible is primarily a matter for the Gardaí. My Department, through its NPWS staff, cooperates fully with any Garda investigations and any other investigations that may be initiated by other statutory bodies. Where appropriate, my Department pursues cross compliance with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
839. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when Mayo County Council will be requested to submit bids for the new 2022-2025 multi-annual rural water programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41863/22]
View answerMy Department’s Multi-annual Rural Water Programme, through Exchequer funding, delivers improvements to water services in areas of rural Ireland where there are no public water services.
A working group – the Rural Water Working Group - is considering the composition of the measures for inclusion for funding under the upcoming multi-annual programme. Once I have had an opportunity to consider their report, I expect to announce details of the programme priorities and an invitation to local authorities, including Mayo County Council, to submit bids will follow later this year.
840. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason that qualified fire officers who are trained in community response are not called on in the event of an emergency other than for their fire service remit (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41866/22]
View answerThe provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for equipment and priority infrastructural projects.
Responsibility for the provision of emergency medical services, including pre-hospital emergency care, rests with the Health Service Executive (HSE) which operates the National Ambulance Service (NAS) and emergency departments in hospitals in accordance with health sector legislation and national policy. The HSE operates under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Health.
As Minister with policy and legislative responsibility for fire safety and the provision of fire services by local authorities, my primary concern, as set out in the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, is that local authority provided fire services are meeting their statutory obligations in respect of provision of fire services and fire safety. These responsibilities include the important activity of community and other fire safety initiatives as well as response to 999/112 calls.
In general, there is a high degree of collaboration and co-ordination of emergency activity among the Principal Emergency Services. In some circumstances, the HSE’s NAS calls for assistance from fire services in responding to certain categories of 999/112 emergency calls. Such calls are typically in respect of, but not limited to, ECHO (life threatening) emergencies. As well as being able to call on Community First Responders, the NAS is aware that many fire services are equipped with automatic external defibrillators and have trained their fire-fighters in Cardiac First Responder and Emergency First Responder to Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council standards. Fire services are so equipped and trained in the first instance to ensure the health and safety of their own staff, but can also use their skills and equipment where they encounter casualties at emergency incidents.
Fire services generally respond to calls for assistance from external bodies in accordance with protocols operated within the three fire services Regional Communications Centres.
Any proposal for formalising such assistance needs to be subject to appropriate governance, cost reimbursement arrangements and to be set in the context of a service agreement with the HSE/NAS which will not impact on or adversely affect fire services' statutory role. It would be important in such circumstances to ensure that local authority and fire services' resources are not diverted from their statutory fire service and fire safety responsibilities, where they are providing assistance for another public body. The potential impact on the current Community First Responders schemes would also have to be assessed.
As responsibility for the provision of emergency medical services, including pre-hospital emergency care, rests with the HSE, the Department of Health are best placed to provide an overview of the current arrangements for provision of a response to health emergencies and any future proposals to work with local authorities to augment first response capabilities.
841. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of inspections to examine the standards of rental accommodation undertaken by Kildare County Council in 2021; the number of improvement notices issued as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41873/22]
View answerThe Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, fire safety and the safety of gas, oil and electrical installations. With very limited exemptions, these apply to all private rented accommodation. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these Regulations. Responsibility for the enforcement of the Regulations rests with the relevant local authority.
If an inspection identifies that a property has been found to be non-compliant with the regulations, it is a matter for the local authority to determine what action is necessary and appropriate, including the issuing of an Improvement Letter, Improvement Notice, Prohibition Notice or further legal recourse.
To aid increased inspections of properties and ensure greater compliance with the Regulations, increased Exchequer funding has been made available to local authorities each year since 2018 to enable them to build inspection capacity incrementally, with payments based on the number of inspections undertaken. Significant progress was made across the sector. The number of inspections more than doubled from 19,645 in 2017 to 40,728 in 2019.
However, given the need for inspectors to enter tenants’ homes, pandemic restrictions greatly impacted on inspection activity with the number of inspections undertaken falling to circa 25,700 in 2020 and 20,300 in 2021.
In response to the restrictions some local authorities, including Kildare County Council, piloted virtual inspections. While virtual inspection systems present certain challenges and limitations, they offered a way of improving the standard of rental accommodation despite the pandemic. A total of €9 million in Exchequer funding is being made available to help local authorities reach inspection targets this year. Q1 2022 has seen inspections rise considerably with circa 10,000 conducted.
The number of private rental inspections undertaken by Kildare County Council in 2021 is set out in the table below:
|
Year |
Physical on-site Rental Inspections Carried Out |
Virtual Rental Inspections Carried Out |
Total Rental Inspections Carried Out |
Improvement Letters Issued |
Improvement Notices Served |
Prohibition Notices Served |
|
2021 |
273 |
68 |
341 |
218 |
22 |
4 |
It should be noted that in terms of enforcement local authorities will typically try to work in partnership with landlords to ensure that any non-compliance issues are resolved. This is done outside of the more formal Improvement Letter/Notice system.
Annual data in respect of the level of inspections carried out by each local authority is available on my Department's website at:
www.gov.ie/en/publication/da3fe-private-housing-market-statistics/
842. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of single persons on the Mayo County Council social housing list; the average waiting time for a single person to access long-term housing excluding emergency accommodation through Mayo County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41889/22]
View answerDetails on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area is provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments.
The most recent summary for all counties, conducted in November 2021, is available at:
www.gov.ie/en/publication/f6119-summary-of-social-housing-assessments-2021-key-findings/
Details on the length of time spent on the record of qualified households (waiting lists) for each local authority can be found at tables A1.8 of the report.
Information regarding the average waiting time for a single person to access social housing through Mayo County Council is not held by my Department.
846. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the full year cost of the Traveller Accommodation Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41924/22]
View answerThe Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 provides that housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes (TAPs) in their areas. My Department’s role is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist the authorities in providing such accommodation, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding.
A total of over €21 million was spent by my Department through the local authorities for the provision of Traveller-specific accommodation in 2021, composed of €15.5m in capital funding and almost €5.8m in current funding.
847. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated full year cost of increasing HAP limits to the average cost of rents in each area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41925/22]
View answerThe Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme plays a vital role in housing eligible families and individuals. At the end of Q1 2022, over 102,500 HAP tenancies had been set-up since the scheme commenced, of which there were nearly 61,500 households actively in receipt of HAP support.
Budget 2022 increased the Exchequer funding for the HAP scheme to €585 million. This will allow for the continued support of existing HAP households and also enable a projected additional 14,000 households to be supported by HAP in 2022. The outturn for HAP in 2021 was €541.7m
Projections for 2023 will be agreed as part of the normal Estimates process.
The Programme for Government commits to ensuring that HAP levels are adequate to support vulnerable households, while the supply of social housing increases.
Under Housing for All, my Department was tasked with undertaking an analytical exercise to examine whether an increase in the level of discretion available to Local Authorities under HAP is required. The Housing Agency undertook to carry out this analytical exercise on behalf of the Department to better understand what level of discretion should be made available to Local Authorities under HAP to maintain adequate levels of support.
Following receipt and analysis of this review, I, in cooperation with Government colleagues and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, have now approved an increase in the HAP discretion rate from 20% to 35% and for new tenancies to extend the couple’s rate to single person households. This will secure more tenancies and prevent new entries to homelessness. Both these measures came into effect from 11 July 2022.
Each local authority now has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment up to 35% above the prescribed maximum rent limit to secure appropriate accommodation for a household that requires it, or up to 50% in the case of homeless households in the Dublin region.
I am committed to decreasing our reliance on the HAP scheme and we will only do that through significantly scaling up our social housing supply. ‘Housing for all’ sets us on a pathway to delivering 90,000 social homes between now and the end of 2030 including 9,000 this year.
