Written Answers Nos. 406-420
406. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department and public bodies/agencies that operate under his remit have policies in place to install artificial structures that provide shelter and habitat space for wild species, such as, but not limited to, insect hotels, bat boxes, nesting towers and beehives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24265/23]
View answerThe National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department has primary responsibility for nature conservation and wildlife protection in Ireland. As part of this remit, NPWS undertakes and recommends proactive conservation measures that are necessary for the maintenance or restoration of protected species, both within designated areas such as Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation (which together make up the Natura 2000 network of sites) and in the wider countryside. These may include the installation of structures such as bat hibernacula, and bird nesting boxes. NPWS-funded schemes such as the Local Biodiversity Action Fund and the NPWS Farm Plan Scheme support local authorities and landowners to install such structures where appropriate.
The installation of structures that provide shelter and habitat space for wild species may also be included within a development design or required via planning conditions. The NPWS may often request these to be provided, where deemed necessary, when they are consulted by public authorities or where regional staff may provide advice to members of the public.
407. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if any consideration has been given to reducing the rent differential assessment in households of very low income, where the recipients have received small increases in their social welfare payments following budgetary changes; if such a policy would be considered where a total household income is below a certain level, with obvious consideration given to the total number of people in the household; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24300/23]
View answerThe Housing for All Action Plan Update, published in November 2022, commits to developing proposals for a standardised national rents scheme that provides the best blend of equity, progressivity and sustainability, and protects those households on the lowest incomes. This work will have regard to the impact of the increased cost-of-living on social housing tenants, including those in receipt of social welfare allowances and those on low incomes. Proposals will be submitted for my consideration in Q3 2023 and a decision to implement a revised national scheme will be considered thereafter, as appropriate.
The making or amending of differential rent schemes are matters for individual local authorities within broad principles set out by my Department. Accordingly, rent schemes are generally based on a percentage of household income and reflect tenants’ ability to pay. Local authority rent schemes also contain hardship clauses which can be used to support households experiencing financial difficulties. In such cases, for example, local authorities may accept a lesser sum from a tenant for a specified period where payment of rent would give rise to hardship for the household.
408. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that Louth County Council have closed applications for the housing adaptation grant schemes due to significant pressures the council faces in meeting demand; if he will advise, notwithstanding the increased funding delivered year on year, if any consideration has been given to providing additional and exceptional funding to clear the very serious backlogs of applications in local authorities, many of whom are exceptionally vulnerable applicants with no other route available to assistance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24303/23]
View answer410. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he expects to publish the report on the review of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, which has been prepared by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24329/23]
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 are 80% funded by my Department, with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. The detailed administration of these schemes including assessment, approval and prioritisation, is the responsibility of local authorities.
In advance of formal notification of the 2023 funding allocations to local authorities, work in respect of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability continued as local authorities were permitted commit up to 65% of their 2022 allocation in approving applications for 2023. Louth County Council advised my Department that it has reached this commitment point. However, my Department subsequently issued the individual funding allocations for 2023 from the Exchequer provision of €66.5 million or €83.125 when accounting for the local authority contribution. This funding has increased year on year since 2014 for all local authorities, with Louth County Council receiving a combined allocation of €2,335,813. This allocation was comprised of €1,868,650 Exchequer funding and €467,163 to be funded from the local authority's own resources.
Over the course of the year, my Department works closely with the local authorities to monitor spend and to achieve a full drawdown of the available funding. This means that any underspends that arise on the part of any local authority can be redistributed to other authorities which have high levels of grant activity and my Department makes every effort to redistribute such funding throughout the year.
Housing for All commits to reviewing the full suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. A report on the review of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability has been prepared by my Department. Among the areas which the review considered are the income thresholds and the grant limits. I will be giving careful consideration to the review report and expect to make a decision on the recommendations in the report as soon as possible.
409. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he intends to publish the report into planning matters in County Donegal; and if his intention is not to publish, to set out the actions that he intends to take to address the issues raised in the report. [24323/23]
View answerI am considering the report, entitled 'A Review Into Certain Planning Matters in Respect of Donegal County Council', by Mr. Rory Mulcahy S.C., and will bring this matter to Government for consideration in due course.
The review is a scoping report and as such it does not make findings as to the truth or otherwise of allegations that have been made by an individual against named persons. The Attorney General's office has been consulted on both the content of the report and also on the issue of its potential publication and dissemination
Further, regarding the publication of the Mulcahy Report, the decisions of the Commissioner for Environmental Information (CEI/18/0019) of 13 February 2019 and the Information Commissioner (OIC-59426-Q8D7T8) of 27 February 2020 in relation to requests to publish this report will also be taken into account. Both decisions are publicly available on those bodies' websites.
It should be noted that in each of these cases, both the Commissioner for Environmental Information and the Information Commissioner decided not to grant access to the report. The Office of the Information Commissioner decision stated "placing the details concerned in the public domain would significantly breach the rights to privacy of identifiable individuals." Therefore, this is a matter that requires careful consideration given that the report details unproven allegations against named persons.
411. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress that has been made to date regarding URDF in Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24338/23]
View answerIn line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is currently providing part-funding to applicant-led projects, enabling more compact and sustainable development within the existing built-up footprints of our cities and large towns.
To this end, the URDF has already provisionally allocated in excess of €1.6 billion under two separate calls for proposals since its inception in 2018. Providing assistance to 132 proposals, comprising of almost 400 subprojects, URDF projects are now active in every local authority area in the country.
In 2021, following a second call for proposals under the URDF, I provisionally allocated €15,611,051 in URDF support for Carlow County Council’s Public Realm and Pedestrian Linkage Project in Carlow Town. This followed Carlow County Council’s successful application under the URDF’s first call for proposals in 2018, when €580,000 in URDF support was provided towards developing a master plan for Carlow Town.
In December 2022, following a request from Carlow County Council, my Department issued approval to deliver the ‘Public Realm and Pedestrian Linkage Project for Carlow Town’ as two separate subprojects. The Railway Link through Carlow College project and the Town Centre Regeneration Project, which includes works to Tullow Street, Potato Market, Barrack Street and Kennedy Avenue, are currently undergoing detailed design works, with a view to informing a comprehensive submission to the Department for pre-tender approval (Decision Gate 2 under the Public Spending Code).
It should be noted that while my Department works closely and communicates regularly with Carlow County Council in respect of project funding, responsibility for the advancement of their URDF supported projects through the various stages of planning, development and completion is, in the first instance, a matter for Carlow County Council. Accordingly, detailed queries regarding the projects should be directed to the Council.
412. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide details of any plans for the regeneration of St. Andrew's Court, Dublin 2; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24374/23]
View answer413. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has received any application from Dublin City Council for housing at the St. Andrew's Court site in Dublin 2; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24375/23]
View answer414. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of any Part 8 or Part 10 plans for St. Andrew's Court, Dublin 2; if so, the stage these plans are at; the number of units; the size unit; the estimated timeframe for when they will be progressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24376/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 412 to 414, inclusive, together.
In November 2020 my Department received a Stage 1 proposal for the redevelopment of 37 social housing units at St. Andrew’s Court, Dublin 2. In December 2020 my Department provided Dublin City Council with Stage 1 Capital Appraisal approval.
Since my Department provided Stage 1 Approval in December 2020 Dublin City Council have been progressing at CWMF Stage 2 including preparing a design brief, procuring an integrated design team, preparing a Planning Permission application and advancing this project through detailed design.
Dublin City Council are expected to submit a Stage 2 application for the redevelopment of St Andrews Court to provide 33 units at the earliest opportunity.
415. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of sites placed on the vacant sites register of each local authority during 2021 and 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24379/23]
View answer417. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount levied by each local authority in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 as a levy under section 15 of the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015, known as a vacant site levy, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24381/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 415 and 417 together.
Under the vacant site levy provisions in the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 (the Act), planning authorities were required to establish a register of vacant sites in their functional areas, beginning on 1 January 2017.
The Act empowered planning authorities to apply a vacant site levy of 3% of the market valuation of relevant properties which were listed on local authority vacant site registers in 2018, which relevant owners were liable to pay in January 2019. The rate of the levy increased to 7% for sites listed on local authority vacant sites registers from 2019 onwards which site owners became liable to pay in January of the following year.
My Department recently issued Circular Letter PL 03/2023 requesting the submission of a progress report on the implementation and collection of the levy by each local authority in respect of 2022. The returns to this circular will provide my Department with an update on the amount of demands issued and the amount of levies collected or outstanding for each year since the levy was introduced in 2018. The returns received are currently being processed and verified with local authorities and the information requested will be provided as soon as the final returns have been compiled.
418. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce a scheme to enable local authority tenants to apply for inter-county transfers [24401/23]
View answerRequests for housing transfers are considered solely by the relevant local authority concerned in accordance with that authority’s allocation scheme, which is made by the elected members under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and in compliance with Social Housing Allocation Regulations 2011.
Some local authorities have provisions in their allocation schemes for inter authority/mutual transfers for sitting tenants whereby the authority is prepared to accommodate applications for inter authority/mutual transfers provided certain criteria are met. Such arrangements are entirely a matter for the local authority concerned.
Wider tenancy movements will be examined this year and I will consider any proposals regarding such movements in the context of other reform package measures.
419. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will make provision to ensure that the waiver for water connections for new developments is extended to homes seeking a connection from private group water schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24414/23]
View answerOn 25 April 2023, the Government approved additional measures under the Housing for All Action Plan to incentivise the activation of increased housing supply and help reduce housing construction costs, including the introduction of temporary time-limited arrangements for the waiving of local authority “section 48” development contributions and the refunding of Uisce Éireann water and waste water connection charges.
My Department is currently working on the detailed arrangements in relation to the operation and administration of the development contribution waiver scheme and the Uisce Éireann connection charge refund scheme. However, Group Water Scheme charges do not fall within the scope of the measures recently approved by Government. The water connection charge refund scheme will only apply to water and waste water connection charges payable to Uisce Éireann.
420. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the number of hunting licences issued over the past ten years, broken down by type of licence and district issued, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24482/23]
View answerHunting licences are issued by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) under Section 29 (deer hunting), Section 30 (permission to hunt over State foreshore) and Section 42 (control of deer causing serious damage) of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended.
The table below outlines the number of licences issued under each of these sections over the past ten years. These are not held on a "district" basis.
|
Year |
Section 29 (Deer) |
Section 30 (Foreshore) |
Section 42 (Disturbance) |
|
2013 |
4,501 |
565 |
444 |
|
2014 |
4,658 |
500 |
313 |
|
2015 |
4,556 |
469 |
401 |
|
2016 |
4,727 |
392 |
464 |
|
2017 |
5,008 |
467 |
500 |
|
2018 |
5,249 |
341 |
692 |
|
2019 |
5,515 |
469 |
859 |
|
2020 |
5,838 |
413 |
791 |
|
2021 |
5,344 |
320 |
926 |
|
2022 |
6,229 |
365 |
1,014 |
