Written Answers Nos. 260-272
260. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress that is being made with the provision of a municipal wastewater treatment plant for Craughwell, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43537/23]
View answerIn April 2022, I announced a new funding measure, as an advance stage of the upcoming Multi-annual Rural Water Programme, for the waste water collection and treatment needs of villages and settlements that do not have access to public waste water services.
Funding of €50 million has been specifically allocated under the National Development Plan 2021-2030. The first round of funding is intended to follow a demonstration project model approach to inform future funding needs that will provide appropriate longer-term solutions.
All local rural authorities were invited to submit applications for their two priority locations before 15 September 2022. I can confirm that Galway County Council submitted two applications, namely Clarinbridge and Craughwell.
An independent Expert Panel has critically evaluated each application received and based on a report from the Panel, approval of funding for specific projects will be made shortly.
261. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will allow work in the public service in England to be eligible in order to meet the requirement for an applicant for the local authority home loan to be in continuous employment for a minimum of two years as the primary earner given this work is in the public service and can be easily proven; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43554/23]
View answerThe Local Authority Home Loan, which is available since 4 January 2022 is a Government-backed mortgage for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants, who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build.
As part of the eligibility criteria, applicant(s) of the Local Authority Home Loan must have at least two years’ continuous employment in Ireland or Northern Ireland and cannot have a break from employment for more than 4 weeks in order to be eligible. The continuous employment requirement applies to all applicants, regardless of nationality. Applicants for the Local Authority Home Loan are required to demonstrate a track record of employment that would enable them to repay any monies borrowed. Given that the mortgage would be a long-term financial commitment in Ireland, applicants are required to demonstrate this employment and earnings record in Ireland.
Only income originating in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland by applicants with rights of residency and rights to seek employment in the Republic of Ireland will be reckonable in calculating borrowing and repayment capacities.
While I note the matter raised may pose difficulties in certain situations, it is important that all Local Authority Home Loan applicants demonstrate an adequate employment record. I will keep this matter under review.
The final decision on Local Authority Home Loan applications is a matter for the relevant local authority. Decisions on all housing loan applications must be made in accordance with the Regulations establishing the scheme and the credit policy that underpins the scheme, in order to ensure prudence and consistency in approaches in the best interests of both borrowers and lending local authority.
265. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any housing developments or projects under the aegis of an organisation (details supplied) have been paused at the moment as a result of a lack of funding; if so, the number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43569/23]
View answerUnder 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. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs).
I am not aware of any housing developments or projects under the aegis of this organisation that have been paused at the moment as a result of a lack of funding.
266. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if An Bord Pleanála owns properties or sites which are vacant or derelict; if so, the number and addresses of such properties; if they are recorded on the vacancy or dereliction registers; and the reason for which they are vacant, in tabular form. [43600/23]
View answerMy Department does not hold the information sought in the question.
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 requested the information from the Board who have advised that An Bord Pleanála owns no properties.
267. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the Rural Water Working Group; when it is expected that their recommendations in respect of measures for inclusion for funding under the upcoming multi-annual programme will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43619/23]
View answerI can confirm that I plan to announce the new Multi-annual Rural Water Programme with the individual funding measures in the coming weeks. Local authorities will then be invited to submit applications for funding for priority projects in their areas.
The Rural Water Working Group which is made up of the key stakeholders in the Sector played a vital role that allowed my Department to finalise this important work.
268. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of the scale of no-reason evictions being carried out by a corporate landlord (details supplied) in Dublin in recent months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43656/23]
View answer269. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he is aware of the scale of no-reason evictions being carried out by other corporate landlords in recent months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43657/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 268 and 269 together.
The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2022 provide that where a tenant has been in occupation of a dwelling for a continuous period of 6 months, with no valid notice of termination having been served during that time, a 'Part 4' tenancy is established to cover the next 5 years and 6 months.
A Part 4 tenancy may be terminated by a landlord or tenant, without reason, at the end of its term.
In accordance with both the Programme for Government and Housing for All commitments, the Government has provided for Tenancies of Unlimited Duration through the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2021, which provides that all new tenancies created on or after 11 June 2022 will become tenancies of unlimited duration, once the tenancy has lasted more than 6 months and no notice of termination has been validly served. Transitional measures are provided under the Act in relation to the future conversion of existing tenancies to tenancies of unlimited duration over time.
The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) reports on the number of Notices of Termination received and the reasons for serving a Notice of Termination quarterly. In Q2 2023, 115 Notice of Terminations were due to landlords terminating before a Part 4/further Part 4 tenancy commences, this represents 2% of the total number of NoT’s received in Q2 2023.
It is worth noting, the service of a Notice of Termination does not always result in an eviction taking place and may be intended as a further warning to the tenant to comply with his or her obligations.
If a tenant feels the Notice of Termination is invalid and/or that the landlord has breached their obligations, they can take a Dispute case with the RTB. An independent mediator/adjudicator can assess the validity of a Notice of Termination during Dispute Resolution proceedings. My Department has no role in the matter. Since 6 July 2022, the length of time a tenant has for the referral of a dispute on the validity of a Notice of Termination received, has increased from 28 days to 90 days in cases where there has been no breach of tenancy obligations.
270. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he intends to amend the law to offer protections to people whose pre-June 2022 tenancies are terminated by landlords refusing to offer further part-four tenancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43658/23]
View answerI refer to the answer to questions 853 and 854 of 11 September 2023. The position remains unchanged.
271. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he intends to allow compulsory purchase of residential properties in circumstances, consistent with section 43.2 of the Constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43659/23]
View answerMy Department sought clarification in relation to the circumstances referenced in this question from the Deputy's office, but none was received. Accordingly, it has been assumed that the question refers to the compulsory purchase of residential properties by the State, that are in the ownership of institutional landlords.
An adequate supply and mix of housing across all tenures is critical to addressing the current imbalance between supply and demand in the housing market, including for home ownership, social housing and private rental.
Some €13.5bn of development finance is required each year to achieve the current average Housing for All target output of 33,000 homes annually. A majority of this is required from private sources and, alongside public investment, is the only way to deliver the housing needed at substantial scale.
Institutional investment forms part of this overall investment. Without it, activity in the housing market would be much reduced and the pressure already facing renters and prospective home-owners would increase significantly. Indeed, capital from well-established investors is a normal facet of housing systems in many of our European neighbours and beyond.
In this context, the Government has no plans to establish a system of compulsory purchase of residential properties from institutional landlords, which would likely only bring increased uncertainty for providers of accommodation and landlords and impact negatively on the level of development capital available and required to deliver the quantum of supply need to meet demand in the coming years.
272. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on any plans he and his Department have to utilise modular homes in order to meet housing demand in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43692/23]
View answerModern methods of construction (MMC) is a key way of helping to address Ireland’s housing needs. Modular components fall within the scope of MMC categories. MMC has the potential to increase productivity and efficiency, improve delivery, and reduce cost and waste in construction.
Coordination of activities to promote MMC adoption is being led under Housing for All by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which now chairs an interdepartmental MMC Leadership and Integration Group to drive government supported MMC-relevant initiatives.
These include:
• The ConstructInnovate construction technology research centre
• The National Demonstration Park for MMC
• The Build Digital project
• The Built to Innovate awareness campaign
• A Public Procurement Roadmap for MMC
• An Introductory Guide to MMC for the non-technical reader/general public to enhance consistency of understanding and the use of MMC terminology
• Training for industry and procurers in MMC
My Department is also facilitating MMC adoption in public housing. Additional resources have been deployed to support local authority delivery and my Department is working with Local Authorities to delivery approximately 1500 dwellings using Modern Methods of Construction through the Accelerated Housing Delivery programme. A specific focus for the Housing Agency is to incorporate MMC into the social housing build programme, and a guidance document now exists for the provision of “design and build” housing projects using MMC.
