Written Answers Nos. 241-249
241. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the supports that are in place for older working people unable to secure a mortgage but unable to afford to remain in privately rented accommodation once they retire; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33035/23]
View answer246. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide on update on the Programme for Government commitment to increase the provision of smaller homes in developments, ensuring that older people can remain living in their communities, close to essential services and facilities since the establishment of the current Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33321/23]
View answer247. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide on update on the Programme for Government commitment to embed ageing in place options for older people into the planning system since the establishment of the current Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33329/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 241, 246 and 247 together.
Government policy in relation to housing for older people, as set out in Housing for All: A New Housing Plan for Ireland, is to support people to live with dignity and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible, to allow them to ‘age in place’ close to their families, friends and in their community.
Pathway 2 of Housing for All commits to expanding the housing options available for Older Persons, building on the work done under the 2019 Joint Policy Statement, Housing Options for our Ageing Population, which has the objective of providing housing options for older people to facilitate ageing in place, in their own homes and communities, with dignity and independence, and deliver an appropriate range of housing and related support services, in an integrated and sustainable manner. Local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies are encouraged to bring forward social homes specifically designed for older people in their area and my Department funds this principally through the Capital Assistance Scheme.
Arising from an action in Housing Options for our Ageing Population and in conjunction with Ordinance Survey Ireland, my Department has developed a Geographical Information System (GIS) Mapping Decision Support Tool to support the development of housing specifically for older people on the best available sites appropriate to their needs and close to essential services. This Tool and relevant training has been made available to local authorities in Q2 2023.
Planning for future development for all categories, including older people, is carried out through the Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) being undertaken in each local authority area (as development plans come up for statutory review) to ensure that the long-term strategic housing needs are met. The HDNA framework allows local authorities to correlate and accurately align overall future housing requirements based on the needs identified in an evidence-based targeted and responsive way. The framework will be reviewed in 2024 to take account of the results from Census 2022.
Where an older person is renting in the private sector, they may qualify for social housing supports or rent supplement when they reach retirement. Where older persons are above the income thresholds for social housing, they are protected, as are all private renters, by RPZs which limit rent increases and the improvements this government has already made regarding security of tenure. They may also qualify for cost rental housing and this government is working on scaling up the supply of cost rental homes to meet the needs of those who are experiencing affordability challenges in the private rental sector.
242. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps he is taking to ensure a public body (details supplied) processes planning appeals in a timely manner. [33261/23]
View answerAn Bord Pleanála (the Board) is the national independent statutory body with responsibility for the determination of planning appeals and direct applications for strategic infrastructure and other developments under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and certain other Acts.
Section 126 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, provides that it shall be the duty and objective of the Board to decide appeals as expeditiously as may be and, for that purpose, to take all such steps as are open to it to ensure that, insofar as is practicable, there are no avoidable delays at any stage in the determination of appeals.
It is important to acknowledge that a certain percentage of cases, due to particular circumstance such as complexity, requests for further information from applicants for permission, or further submissions from other participants including third parties, may not meet the 18 week target.
The Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Act 2022, which was signed into law in December 2022, addressed certain initial matters which required immediate action on foot of the Action Plan for An Bord Pleanála, Phase 1 of the Office of the Planning Regulator Review of An Bord Pleanála, and other matters relating to addressing board vacancies and addressing the Board’s caseload, including:
• Increasing the limit on the maximum number of members of the Board from 10 to 15, so as to ensure that the increasing caseload can be managed, and the appropriate quorums and suitable allocation of casefiles can be assured, and
• Expanding the provision to appoint temporary ordinary board members to allow for the appointment of serving or former civil servants, public servants, or employees of the Board for a term of up to a year.
The total number of Board members in An Bord Pleanála is now 14, and a further temporary appointment is expected in the coming weeks to bring the total to 15, the maximum provided for under the legislation and the greatest number of serving Board members ever.
In November 2022, following an updated assessment by the Board of resourcing issues likely to emerge as a result of planning applications for the National Development Plan and other infrastructure projects, the Board's new marine functions, as well as a number of senior positions approved under the Action Plan for An Bord Pleanála, and in accordance with the An Bord Pleanála 2022-2023 Workforce Plan, the Board sought sanction for 34 additional posts. My Department provided sanction for these additional 34 posts in December 2022 and An Bord Pleanála is in the process of filling these positions.
On 27 March 2023, An Bord Pleanála sought agreement for a total of 59 new posts under Phase 2 of the An Bord Pleanála Workforce Plan 2022-2023. The Board submitted sanction requests for all of these posts and sanction was granted by my Department for all 59 posts.
There are currently more people working at An Bord Pleanála than at any time previously with 221 staff at the end of June 2023. This number will be increased to over 300 people when all the approved posts are filled. Together with the upcoming appointment of the 15th board member, this will further support the decision making of cases at the Board.
Arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost effective system to address queries directly to the relevant bodies. The contact email address for An Bord Pleanála in this regard is Oireachtasqueries@pleanala.ie.
In order to be of assistance, my Department sought the information requested from the Board, who advised that an updated statement on the matter can be found on the Board's website via the following link: www.pleanala.ie/en-IE/BacklogInformation.
243. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to clarify whether at any point over the past ten years the SSL certificates for his Department’s websites expired for a period of time; if so, the reason this occurred; and the duration they remained expired. [33276/23]
View answerMy Department does not comment on operational security matters as it would be inappropriate to disclose information that may in any way assist those with malicious intent. However my Department use security protocols and certificates where necessary to provide security. My Department operates a defence-in-depth and security by design approach with a range of security systems in place. Organisations are continuously under attack from malicious actors and while the threat landscape is constantly evolving significant effort is expended to continually enhance and strengthen ICT security within my Department. My Department also continues to work closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) which encompasses the State's national/governmental Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT-IE).
245. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if one-off residential properties (details supplied) are included in the temporary time-limited waiver in respect of development contributions if the site has not been opened and construction has not commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33298/23]
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.
These temporary time-limited arrangements apply for 1 year to all permitted residential development, including one-off residential development –
• that commences on site between 25 April 2023 and 24 April 2024, and
• is completed not later than 31 December 2025.
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.
These temporary arrangements are being applied irrespective of the date of planning permission for the residential development.
248. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason there is such a delay in supplying Dublin City Council with the funds to complete the upgrade work that is so urgently needed in the Labre Park halting site; the reason there is a delay in supplying the funds required to commence the regeneration of the Labre Park halting site; what is causing the delays in paying Dublin City Council outstanding funds for work already carried out in respect of Traveller accommodation by Dublin City Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33339/23]
View answer249. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason there is such a delay in providing Dublin City Council with the funds to complete the upgrade work that is so urgently needed in the Labre Park halting site; the reason there is a delay in providing the funds required to commence the regeneration of the Labre Park halting site; the cause of the delays in providing Dublin City Council with outstanding funds for work already carried out in respect of Traveller accommodation by Dublin City Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33356/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 248 and 249 together.
The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 provides that the role of my Department is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist the authorities in providing accommodation for Travellers, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding.
The Act 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.
In April 2016, a Stage 1 application for the redevelopment of this site was submitted to my Department, and in September 2016, my Department granted approval for a budget provision of €8,695,621. In July 2019, a Stage 2 application was received by my Department and approval was granted subsequently for funding of €13,216,290. In December 2022, a revised Stage 2 application was received by my Department seeking approval of €27,037,760.
In February 2023, my Department requested further information on the revised application including the significant change to the scope and extent of the works and the units to be delivered.
My Department also recently met with Dublin City Council officials to discuss the upgrade works on Labre Park, in the context of the wider redevelopment. My Department intends to follow up with the Council shortly to seek clarification on a number of matters. My Department will make a decision on the revised application for the redevelopment of the site once it has considered all the information received from Dublin City Council.
My Department continues to support the Council in advancing both the upgrade works and the redevelopment of the site to deliver improved conditions for the residents.
