Written Answers Nos. 147-156
147. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the duration of the merchant agreement where payment by debit or credit card is accepted for services provided by his Department or bodies under the aegis of his Department to the public; when the term of the agreement end; if the merchant agreement is awarded by way of tender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15737/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department through Met Éireann accepts debit or credit card payments from the general public for certain weather forecasting services. While the merchant agreement for these payments was awarded in line with public procurement guidelines, this did not include a formal tendering process because the value of the contract was below the tendering threshold. The agreement is a rolling one year contract, which can be terminated at any time without penalties or charges.
148. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has sought expert advice regarding the Control of Dogs Act 1998 and the restriction of certain dog breeds here in view of the increase in the number of persons hospitalised for dog bites over the past number of years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15750/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra151. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding dog bite hospitalisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15823/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 148 and 151 together.
The Control of Dogs Acts 1986 and 1992 set out the main provisions for dog control, including requirements for all dog owners to accompany and keep effectual control of their dogs, irrespective of breed. The penalty for nonconformance with these requirements is a fine of up to €2,500 or imprisonment for a term of up to three months, or both. The statutory responsibility for the enforcement of the relevant legislation rests with the local authorities whose dog control staff work on enforcement on an on-going basis.
The Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 (as amended) set out further requirements that owners of specific breeds of dogs have to follow, namely that their dogs must be muzzled, leashed and led by a competent person over 16 years of age when in public. These specific control requirements in relation to certain breeds were introduced as a balanced and workable arrangement which recognise the rights of dog owners versus the needs of society to be protected from dogs with a significant capability to inflict very serious injury. I have no plans to amend this legislation.
Consultation was undertaken with a range of expert bodies as part of the development of this legislation and my Department remains in ongoing contact with relevant organisations on all issues regarding dog control. In addition, the enforcement of these provisions is overseen within local authorities by the Local Authority Veterinary Services.
While the latest available statistics for hospital discharges with a diagnosis of 'Bitten by Dog' are down in 2012 from the year before, I am concerned about any incidents involving dogs causing harm to people. Alongside regulation and enforcement, the key to tackling this issue is responsible dog ownership under which individual dog owners recognise and accept their responsibilities for ensuring that their dogs are controlled at all times and do not cause harm to people or other animals.
149. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there will be an opportunity under forthcoming legislation for those currently living in co-op housing to buy out their homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15771/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraApproved housing bodies (AHBs) are organisations approved under section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 to provide social housing support in conjunction with local authorities. These organisations can include co-operative housing bodies. Since the late 1980s, close to 25,000 units of accommodation have been provided under capital funding schemes underpinned by 20 and 30 year mortgages. More recently a scheme was introduced that provides an up-front capital payment of up to 30% of the property value to facilitate AHBs in raising private finance to acquire or build new social housing units. The capital advanced is repayable at the end of a payment and availability agreement, usually after 30 years.
Under the terms of these various funding schemes, AHBs are the de facto owners of the properties and are required to make them available for social renting for the duration of the mortgage or, as the case may be, the availability agreement. In these circumstances my Department cannot unilaterally make provision for their sale to tenants. Any such decision would have to involve the AHB and have regard to the mortgage on the property. On expiry of the mortgage period, and subject to compliance with the terms of the funding agreement, the AHB becomes the owner of the property.
In relation to a regulatory framework for the sector, Building for the Future, a Voluntary Regulation Code was introduced in July 2013 as a precursor to a statutory regulatory framework to support the sector's long-term growth. In February 2014, I appointed an interim Regulatory Committee to oversee the implementation of the voluntary code and to advise on the development of statutory regulation.
Regulation is an important element in providing the conditions necessary for the growth and development of the sector. Financing that growth is equally important and the question of how best to utilise the existing asset base, including the option of selling existing stock to tenants, is a factor to be considered in that context.
150. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if a site with planning permission but without any development will be exempt from being metered for water charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15803/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra157. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will ensure that Irish Water will not impose a standing charge and-or water usage charge on sporting clubs, community halls and first and second level schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15881/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 150 and 157 together.
Since 2001, national water pricing policy has required local authorities to recover the costs of providing water services from all non-domestic users of these services, including sporting clubs, community halls and schools. This policy provided for charges based on actual metered consumption and is consistent with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive.
The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provided for the transfer of responsibility for the provision of public water services from the local authorities to Irish Water. Irish Water assumed responsibility for the billing of non-domestic customers with effect from 1 January 2014.
The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water shall charge each customer for the provision of services provided by it. Irish Water also has statutory authority to require any consumer of water supplied by it to take the supply through a water meter. The manner and method of Irish Water's charges will be set out in a water charges plan, which is subject to the approval of the Commission for Energy Regulation. There is no basis for an exemption from water charges for future developments that are connected to a public water supply and/or public sewer and become customers of Irish Water. There are no plans for any exemptions for sporting clubs, community halls or schools.
152. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the body and-or person citizens interested in the EU's LIFE programme 2014-20 should contact for further information. [15827/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn its role as National Contact Point, my Department has responsibility to promote the LIFE Programme 2014-2020 and to disseminate information as widely as possible. Comprehensive information on the Programme, including contact details for the Irish LIFE National Contact Points, is available on my Department's website at http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/LIFEProgramme/ and on the European Commission's website at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/index.htm.
153. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the total number of persons on the social housing list in each local authority area, in tabular form, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013; the average waiting time in each area; and the present number of vacant properties in each local authority. [15848/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe report on the 2011 Housing Needs Assessment, available on my Department's website at http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,27864,en.pdf contains details on waiting list numbers for each local authority which were recorded under the tri-annual social housing needs assessments carried out from 1993 to 2011 under Section 9 of the Housing Act 1988. The latest social housing needs assessment was carried out as at 7 May 2013 in accordance with section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the results are also available on my Department's website. The 2011 and 2013 reports include details on the length of time spent by qualified households on waiting lists by local authority.
The 2013 figures are the most up-to-date figures available on waiting list numbers, which are subject to on-going fluctuation due to households being allocated housing and new households applying for housing support. However, the 2013 results cannot be directly compared to previous results given that this latest summary employed different methodologies and was the first to be carried out under the 2011 Social Housing Assessment Regulations.
Data relating to the local authority housing stock, including information on vacancy rates, are compiled by the Local Government Management Agency as part of the annual local authority service indicators. Electronic copies of the reports, including the most recent report for 2012, which was published on 25 March 2014, are available on the Local Government Management Agency's website, http://www.lgma.ie/sites/default/files/service_indicators_2012_report_for_website_0.pdf.
Compilation of the 2013 data is in progress and will be published by the LGMA in due course.
154. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the further expansion of a new funding model for social housing which involves the transfer of housing stock to voluntary housing associations who can use private funding, as was seen recently in the refurbishment of housing stock in association with Fold Ireland in Ballygall, Dublin 11. [15861/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe project at Ballygall Road received funding from my Department under the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF). CALF was introduced, in 2011, to facilitate the securing of finance by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) from sources other than the Exchequer, including from the Housing Finance Agency and private lending institutions. CALF provides a capital equity injection which assists AHBs in securing private finance. To date over €13 million has been advanced to AHBs under CALF which has supported the provision of 363 social housing units. It is open to all AHBs to consider and put forward proposals to meet housing need under CALF, having regard to the housing need in an area.
155. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has made any inquiries or conducted any research into the alleged polluting effects of chemtrails or contrails from aircraft. [15872/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra'Chemtrails' are not a scientifically recognised phenomena and my Department has not conducted any research on them.
With regard to visible condensation trails, or contrails as they are often known, left by jet aircraft, my Department has previously been informed by Met Éireann that these trails are formed through the emission of exhaust gases from jet engines of aircraft in the upper troposphere. The main component of these gases is water vapour. Ambient air temperature at jet cruising altitudes is often below -500 C. Under these conditions, water vapour cools and condenses and the particles act as ice nuclei, leading to the production of ice crystals; these ice crystals are what are visible from the ground as a linear cloud of condensation.
Depending upon atmospheric conditions, contrails can rapidly dissipate or remain for some time, gradually spreading horizontally into an extensive thin cirrus cloud layer. Water in the atmosphere commonly evaporates to become water vapour. As a general rule, the drier the air the more effective this evaporation process will be. Under more humid conditions, there will be less effective evaporation and so contrails will generally last longer in more humid air. Contrail formation is also influenced by wind speeds, with higher winds disrupting and breaking up contrail formation.
Contrails do not adversely impact ambient air quality in Ireland. Met Éireann advises that there is some evidence that contrails can influence climatology but they have little impact on day-to-day weather. The purported reason for the former is that the contrails (or consequent cirrus cloud) will trap outgoing long-wave radiation, thus leading to warming in the atmosphere, and that this effect is greater than the reflection of short-wave radiation from the sun.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is currently funding a PhD study on contrails and their potential effect on climate as part of its STRIVE research programme. The study titled 'Cloud cover and radiation balance changes over Ireland due to aircraft induced contrails' is due to be completed later this year.
156. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the provision being made to continue the necessary subvention payments to group water schemes to meet ongoing costs following the establishment of Irish Water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15878/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government sets out a commitment to the introduction of water charges based on usage above a free allowance. The Government considers that charging based on usage is the fairest way to charge for water and it has, therefore, decided that water meters should be installed in households connected to public water supplies. The Government will decide on the proposed approaches to be taken in relation to the free allowance in the near future including how any such decision might be reflected in the subsidy arrangements that currently exist for the Group Water Sector.
The Water Services (No.2) Act 2013 provides Irish Water with the power to charge for water services. The Act also provides that the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) will be responsible for the economic regulation of Irish water and the charges to be levied by Irish Water will be subject to the approval of the CER. The CER has already undertaken public consultations on the development of the economic regulatory framework for water services and will be undertaking further consultations during 2014. Water charges will not commence until 1 October 2014 and the first bills will be issued by Irish Water to households from January 2015.
Group Water Schemes that are supplied by way of a connection to the public water supply network will now become customers of Irish Water, having previously been customers of the relevant local authority. Group Water Schemes that have their own water sources will not be customers of Irish Water and will continue to operate as before.
My Department will remain responsible for the overall policy and funding, where appropriate, of the non-public water sector, including the group water sector. Over the past decade, substantial improvements have been made in the group water sector, reflected in improved infrastructure and management and leading to greater compliance with drinking water standards. This has been accomplished through a partnership approach between my Department, the local authorities and the group water sector itself, with the important involvement of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes. The co-operative approach will be maintained as the reform of water services provision is progressed.
