Written Answers Nos. 161-171
161. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to upgrade the Eircom network in Kilcoole, County Wicklow, such that third parties, for example Sky Broadband, can provide broadband service to residents in the area; the timeframe of any such plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14579/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraDecisions by commercial telecommunications operators, including Eircom, in relation to investing in infrastructure or new services are taken on purely commercial grounds, having regard to the likely return on the investment in question.
I therefore have no role or function in relation to the matter raised in the Deputy’s Question.
162. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount collected in 2011 and 2012 for motor tax; the amount that is retained by central Government; if councils retain any at source; and the way the distribution per county is worked out. [14368/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraMotor tax receipts for 2011 were €1.012bn and for 2012 were €1.043bn. All monies collected from motor tax are paid into the Local Government Fund.
In 2011 no money was transferred to the Exchequer; in 2012 a sum of €46.5m was transferred from the Local Government Fund to the Exchequer.
Approximately 34% of the Fund is transferred to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport annually for expenditure related to public transport infrastructure and for disbursement to local authorities for roads maintenance. The costs of running the National Vehicle and Driver File are also paid to that Department – the annual cost is in the order of €14.6m. The remainder of the Fund is disbursed by my Department to local authorities, including by way of general purpose grants.
General purpose grants from the Local Government Fund are structured to bring about equalisation over time - that is a position of balance where the financial needs of local authorities are met by their resources and they are able to provide an appropriate level of service to their customers.
Local authorities cost and income bases vary significantly from one another and in calculating an appropriate distribution of these grants a number of factors are taken into account including the overall funding available for this purpose, the estimated cost to each authority of providing a reasonable level of services to their customers, the income each authority should generate from local sources and the necessity to provide each authority with a baseline allocation that will support its financial stability.
163. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when he will, for the purposes of Section 10 (3) of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2013, prescribe a list of developments in the State, being developments each of which that Minister is satisfied is incomplete to a substantial extent; the way the criteria will be interpreted; in particular, the circumstance (d) listed in Section 10 (4), the extent to which the development complies with the terms of any planning permission applicable to it; if, for example, the developer of an estate was found to owe the council development contributions attached as a condition of planning permission, would that constitute the development not being in compliance with the terms of planning permission and would it be sufficient for the development to be listed on the list detailed in Section 10(3). [14547/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra172. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has drafted the list of those unfinished housing estates that will be exempt from property tax; and if he will consider adding the unfinished development (details supplied) in Dublin 13 to the exemption list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14442/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 163 and 172 together.
The list of unfinished housing estates to be prescribed for purposes of a waiver from the local property tax has been compiled by local authorities utilising the categorisation in place in respect of the household charge, updated by reference to the National Housing Survey 2012. My Department has collated the data from local authorities and Minister Hogan has signed the Regulations to prescribe the list of qualifying estates for purposes of exemption from the local property tax.
164. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the way savings will be made by his proposals to streamline the LEADER programmes under local authorities as part of the alignment process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14366/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe proposals set out in the Action Programme for Effective Local Government - Putting People First for enhanced alignment between local government and local development are focused on the breadth of local development activity. The proposals aim to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of services for citizens and communities, to avoid overlap between the various programmes and entities that operate locally, and to ensure more sustainable arrangements for the administration costs of such programmes and entities. More sustainable administration arrangements for the LEADER programme are important. As noted by the European Court of Auditors, it was necessary in previous funding rounds for the State to provide additional administration funding, over and above that provided in their contracts, to some companies delivering this programme. Accordingly, I am keen that all parties involved in the alignment between local government and local development will work together to examine the scope for administrative efficiencies and shared services. The focus for all our efforts in this regard should be on keeping an appropriate balance between funding for communities and necessary administration and structures.
165. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of the subsidy from central government to local government for the period 2000-2012 and including those years. [14369/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraLocal authorities fund their current expenditure from a variety of sources including specific State grants, commercial rates, fees and charges for goods and services and general purpose grants from the Local Government Fund.
Local authority income from specific state grants and subsidies for 2000 to 201 0, the latest year for which audited information is available, is set out in the following table.
|
Year |
Subsidy |
|
2000 |
€1,185,981,356 |
|
2001 |
€1,253,545,541 |
|
2002 |
€1,459,135,263 |
|
2003 |
€1,474,552,432 |
|
2004 |
€1,643,717,471 |
|
2005 |
€1,770,410,478 |
|
2006 |
€1,984,626,177 |
|
2007 |
€2,119,788,270 |
|
2008 |
€2,192,829,063 |
|
2009 |
€2,045,355,683 |
|
2010 |
€2,071,970,850 |
166. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he wil provide a breakdown of receipts from own goods and services as a source of revenue for local government from 2000-2012 and including those years. [14370/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra2010 is the latest year for which audited information is available. The information requested is set out in the following table.
|
Year |
Income from Goods and Services |
Total Income |
|
2000 |
€684,169,821 |
€2,544,655,834 |
|
2001 |
€800,666,864 |
€2,815,292,796 |
|
2002 |
€920,812,857 |
€3,244,443,111 |
|
2003 |
€1,084,645,092 |
€3,544,021,695 |
|
2004 |
€1,148,397,443 |
€3,903,063,178 |
|
2005 |
€1,175,527,791 |
€4,184,940,977 |
|
2006 |
€1,269,168,796 |
€4,651,555,771 |
|
2007 |
€1,406,495,919 |
€5,025,768,212 |
|
2008 |
€1,444,510,423 |
€5,239,710,864 |
|
2009 |
€1,344,687,140 |
€5,057,840,906 |
|
2010 |
€1,261,251,121 |
€5,017,406,511 |
167. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the cost of Director of Services for local government from 2000-2012 and including those years. [14371/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe specific information requested in the question is not held by my Department.
The salary scale for Directors of Service, with effect from 1 January 2010, ranges from €90,453 to €106,900. As of 31 December 2012, there were 224 .65 (whole time equivalent) staff at Senior Managerial level in local government, including Managers, Directors of Services and their equivalents.
168. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if, in view of the possible change in scheduled date for the eight election of representatives to the European Parliament on 22 to 25 May 2014, he is considering changing the date of the next scheduled elections for local authority representatives to coincide with the former; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14383/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI understand that the Council of the European Union is consulting with the European Parliament at present, and in advance of the Council making a decision, in relation to holding the 2014 elections to the European Parliament in the period 22-25 May 2014. Under section 26 of the Local Government Act 2001, the poll at local elections must be held every fifth year in the month of May or June. While no decision has yet been taken in relation to the date for the local elections in 2014, the practice since 1999 has been to hold them on the same day as elections to the European Parliament.
169. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in cases of tenants in housing owned by social organisations, the person responsible for the adaptation of a house in circumstances where tenants require housing adaptations owing to illness and consequent disablement. [14399/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe management and maintenance of properties owned by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) and decisions in relation to adaptations required to meets the needs of individual tenants are, in the first instance, matters for the housing body concerned. The AHB, as the de facto owner of the property, must consent to any adaptations carried out by a tenant. Where feasible, AHBs will endeavour to meet the needs of tenants with a particular disability from within its existing housing stock, part of which may be designed and constructed to meet the needs of persons with specific categories of housing need.
AHBs may themselves adapt properties to meet specific need or, in some instances, tenants may opt to have this work carried out. In accordance with the terms of the grant schemes, an applicant who is a tenant of a rented property must obtain the written consent of the property owner to adapt the property. The grant application must be in the name of the person who will occupy the property as their normal place of residence on completion of the works. In determining grant eligibility, the local authority may consider the duration of the tenancy.
170. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government If he will explain the way, in the absence of legislation to address the Dunne Judgement, it has been possible for local authorities such as Kildare County Council to forcibly repossess houses acquired with local authority loans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14415/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhere repossession occurs it is only as a last resort, and my Department is aware that it generally involves those households in arrears who refuse to engage with the local authority lender. In the wake of the Dunne Judgment, where carrying out repossessions, local authorities have invoked the provisions of Section 11(5) of the Housing (scellaneous Provisions) Act 1992, which provides for a housing authority to recover possession of the dwelling under sections 84 to 89 of the Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act, Ireland, 1860, as if the authority were the landlord and the borrower were the tenant.
171. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update in relation to the establishment of an interdepartmental working group to report to Government with options to minimise the impact of waste charges on low income households; if this report has been finalised and submitted to Government; and the steps that are being taken to assist low income households who are unable to pay domestic waste charges. [14440/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government’s new waste policy, A Resource Opportunity - Waste Management Policy in Ireland, was published in July 2012. Among the measures included in the policy is the establishment of an interdepartmental working group to report to Government with options to minimise the impact of waste charges on low income households. The working group, which comprises representatives of my Department and the Departments of Social Protection, Public Expenditure and Reform, Finance, and the Tánaiste's Office, submitted its first report to Government on 11 December 2012. Government considered the report and the working group is to continue to examine the design and implementation of measures to address the issue and will provide a further report to Government in the coming weeks.
Another measure of the Government’s waste policy is the revision of the current regulatory regime, to ensure, inter alia, that waste collection providers have Customer Charters in place. The Customer Charters will be required clearly to set out information for customers in relation to issues such as charging structures, procedures for dealing with customers who may fall into arrears, and arrangements for switching from one waste collector to another. I wrote to the waste management industry in September and October, 2012 in relation to the development of such charters and I understand that a number of waste collection providers have already put in place a Customer Charter ahead of the development of the new regulatory regime. I further understand that a number of waste collection operators have notified former local authority customers of the offers and discounts available to those previously in receipt of a local authority waste collection waiver.
