Written Answers Nos. 315-326
315. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of estates still being supplied water through lead piping; if he will provide a breakdown by town within each county; when it is proposed that all lead piping will be replaced. [39015/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 1 January 2014 Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. I have no responsibility for, or role in relation to, the management, operation or maintenance of water services infrastructure. Irish Water has informed my Department that of its estimated 58,000 kilometres of distribution system, there is a very small proportion of lead piping, consisting of approximately 190 short lengths across 14 local authorities. Irish Water is working to achieve the replacement of these pipes as quickly as possible.
However, there are a significant number of lead public service pipes between the water mains and the customer stopcock or water meter. Irish Water is identifying the location of such lead service connections during the meter installation programme. The numbers currently being identified represent about 5% of houses, but this is expected to be higher in town centre areas. Irish Water also estimates that there may be a further 30,000 to 40,000 houses with shared backyard lead service connections. Irish Water has informed my Department that it intends to invest in public lead pipe replacement schemes, primarily communications pipes, with a view to eliminating lead mains, including shared backyard service connections, over the next ten years. Irish Water is also reviewing its water treatment processes to ensure that they can mitigate the risk in the short term.
The Water Services Act 2007 provides that the owner of a premises is responsible for the maintenance of the internal water distribution system and should ensure that it is kept in good order and repair, so as to prevent a risk to human health or the environment and that the water meets prescribed quality standards.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via an email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.
316. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount each local authority owes in land loans. [39019/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraA total value of some €507 million loans is currently outstanding to the Housing Finance Agency for the purchase of land by local authorities. The following table sets out the outstanding balance for each local authority.
|
Local Authority |
Land Acquisition Loans Outstanding |
|
Carlow County Council |
€7,521,435.80 |
|
Clare County Council |
€6,828,212.10 |
|
Cork City Council |
€37,458,684.19 |
|
Cork County Council |
€53,961,986.43 |
|
Donegal County Council |
€4,674,521.60 |
|
Dublin City Council |
€40,314,299.62 |
|
Dunlaoghaire/Rathdown County Council |
€36,380,739.78 |
|
Fingal County Council |
€8,535,424.20 |
|
Galway City Council |
€32,030,327.17 |
|
Galway County Council |
€2,936,728.07 |
|
Kerry County Council |
€36,309,938.74 |
|
Kildare County Council |
€5,285,429.31 |
|
Laois County Council |
€8,889,739.33 |
|
Leitrim County Council |
€1,639,355.48 |
|
Limerick City & County Council |
€1,251,982.69 |
|
Longford County Council |
€2,878,291.65 |
|
Louth County Council |
€68,461,406.38 |
|
Mayo County Council |
€9,465,144.90 |
|
Meath County Council |
€30,647,080.20 |
|
Offaly County Council |
€7,925,483.09 |
|
Sligo County Council |
€38,354,642.46 |
|
Tipperary County Council |
€10,299,631.50 |
|
Waterford City & County Council |
€7,397,977.21 |
|
Westmeath County Council |
€3,010,984.78 |
|
Wexford County Council |
€9,787,486.52 |
|
Wicklow County Council |
€35,278,137.41 |
317. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of inurement clauses that were removed in each local authority; the grounds for quashing them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39048/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI understand that the Question relates to a form of condition which is sometimes attached to a planning permission - also known as a “sterilisation agreement” - under section 47 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, between a planning authority and a person with a legal interest in land for the purpose of restricting or regulating the further development or use of land, permanently or for a specific period.
The decision as to whether to grant a planning application, with or without conditions, is a matter for the relevant planning authority or An Bord Pleanála as appropriate and I have no role in relation to the matter. Any decision to remove an inurement clause attached to a grant of permission is similarly a matter for the relevant planning authority.
Data on section 47 agreements (agreements regulating or restricting the development or use of land) entered into are available on my Department’s website at:http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/StatisticsandRegularPublications/PlanningStatistics/FileDownLoad,34296,en.xls.
The information requested in relation to the number of inurement clauses removed in each local authority area, and the grounds for removing them, is not available in my Department.
318. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the procedure for amending the scheme under the Pyrite Resolution Act to include home owners living in the council area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, which is not included in the eligibility criteria but where category 2 damage consistent with pyrite heave has been identified; and if he will advise on the way concerned homeowners should proceed. [39103/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraNeither the Pyrite Resolution Board nor my Department have been made aware of any dwellings affected by significant damage caused by pyritic heave in the functional area of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Building defects are, in general, matters for resolution between the contracting parties and/or their insurers and the builder/developer of an estate is responsible for remediating any defects that may exist in dwellings in their estates. Accordingly the residents should approach the developer of the estate or their agent in this regard in the first instance.
While section 13(5) of the Pyrite Resolution Act 2013 does provide that the pyrite remediation scheme may, subject to my approval, be amended, replaced or revoked by the Pyrite Resolution Board, the position as matters currently stand is that the scheme is based on the information available to the Board at the time of its adoption in February of this year and having regard to the detail set out in the Report of the Pyrite Panel (July 2012).
Any proposal to amend the scheme is, in the first instance, a matter for the Pyrite Resolution Board and any such proposal would require detailed consideration of the evidence deemed necessary to support the case for an amendment to the scheme. The recommendations of the Pyrite Panel to establish a pyrite remediation scheme to include dwellings in the functional areas of Dublin city, Fingal, Kildare, Meath and Offaly was premised on a number of pertinent factors and I would support the view that similar factors would need to be examined in advance of extending the scheme to other areas given the scheme is ultimately one of last resort.
As a minimum, in order to consider the appropriateness or otherwise of amending the scheme, I understand that the Board would require a report providing the following information:-
the extent and severity of damage to dwellings in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown area caused by pyritic heave in the subfloor hardcore;
verification, if available, that the damage has been caused by pyrite;
the background to the occurrence of the damage;
details of any structural warranty policies for the dwellings;
the history of the estate’s construction, numbers, type of dwellings etc.;
the source of the hardcore supplied to dwellings in the estate; and
- any supporting geological assessments.
In addition to the above, the Board may also make such further enquiries as it considers necessary to assist it in considering the matter.
319. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the social inclusion community activity programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39108/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department’s Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP) is the largest social inclusion intervention of its kind in the State. The current Programme officially ended at the end of 2013 having operated for four years with funding of €281m over that period. It is being implemented on a transitional basis for 2014 with a budget of €47m pending the roll out of the new Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) in April 2015. The SICAP is one of my key priorities and its budget for next year will be decided in the 2015 Estimates process.
The Programme’s target groups are:
- Children and Families from Disadvantaged Areas
- Lone Parents
- New Communities (including Refugees/Asylum Seekers)
- People living in Disadvantaged Communities
- People with Disabilities
- Roma
- The Unemployed (including those not on the Live Register)
- Travellers
- Young Unemployed People from Disadvantaged areas.
In accordance with the Public Spending Code, legal advice, good practice internationally and in order to ensure the optimum delivery of the services to clients, the Programme is subject to a public procurement process, which is currently underway. Stage one (Expression of Interest) has been completed. Stage two (Invitation to Tender), will get underway later this month and will involve the successful applicants from Stage one being invited to apply to one or more Local Community Development Committees, in Local Authority areas, to deliver the programme. Contracts for SICAP will be determined following the outcome of the procurement process.
The public procurement process is a competitive process that is open to Local Development Companies, other not-for-profit community groups, commercial firms and national organisations that can provide the services to be tendered for to deliver the new Programme. In Stage one, joint applications were encouraged and organisations of varying sizes (for example smaller organisations working in consortia with larger organisations) were invited to submit joint applications. The results of Stage one were released on 24 September.
I am satisfied that the procurement process underway is in line with good practice and that the procurement documentation on e-Tenders contains all the relevant information on the process. I look forward to the outcome of the procurement process and the roll out of SICAP in April 2015.
320. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will maintain funding and if possible increase funding for all Traveller projects in an area (details supplied) in Dublin 22. [39109/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department’s Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP) is the largest social inclusion intervention of its kind in the State. The current Programme officially ended at the end of 2013 having operated for four years with funding of €281m over that period. It is being implemented on a transitional basis for 2014 with a budget of €47m pending the roll out of the new Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) in April 2015.
The SICAP is one of my key priorities and its budget for next year will be decided in the 2015 Estimates process. The Programme’s target groups are:
- Children and Families from Disadvantaged Areas
- Lone Parents
- New Communities (including Refugees/Asylum Seekers)
- People living in Disadvantaged Communities
- People with Disabilities
- Roma
- The Unemployed (including those not on the Live Register)
- Travellers
- Young Unemployed People from Disadvantaged areas.
The SICAP aim is to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality through local, regional and national engagement and collaboration. I am confident that supports for the most disadvantaged in our society, such as Travellers, will continue under SICAP.
The LCDP currently provides funding of some €1.17m to 14 Traveller specific projects through the country. My Department also supports a number of Traveller projects under the Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO). This funding scheme, which supports national organisations in the community and voluntary sector, aims to provide multi-annual funding to national organisations towards core costs associated with the provision of services. A new round of funding was advertised for applications earlier this year. Following Pobal’s assessment of applications on behalf of my Department, 55 applications for funding were approved under the scheme for the two-year period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2016. A number of Traveller community groups were successful in applying for funding under the scheme, including Pavee Point, the National Traveller Women’s Forum and the Irish Traveller Movement.
In accordance with the Public Spending Code, legal advice, good practice internationally and in order to ensure the optimum delivery of the services to clients, SICAP is subject to a public procurement process, which is currently underway. Stage one (Expression of Interest) has been completed. Stage two (Invitation to Tender), will get underway later this month and will involve the successful applicants from Stage one being invited to apply to one or more Local Community Development Committees, in Local Authority areas, to deliver the programme. Contracts for SICAP will be determined following the outcome of the procurement process.
321. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding the purchasing of land (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39141/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is a matter for each planning authority, in this case Fingal County Council, or An Bord Pleanála on appeal, to determine any planning application in accordance with the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended) and the planning policy framework currently in place including the appropriateness of developing lands that an applicant may have purchased. Furthermore, any person who has an interest in land and who intends to make an application may, with the agreement of the planning authority concerned, enter into consultation in order to discuss any proposed development.
Under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, I am specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála is or may be concerned.
322. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will empower local authorities to take action to obtain lands adjoining regional and local roads by compulsory order at accident locations where there is a risk to public safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39147/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe powers of local authorities to acquire lands by means of compulsory purchase order, including for the construction and maintenance of public roads, are derived from Section 213 of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2014. I am satisfied that local authorities have sufficient compulsory purchase powers under the current legislation and I have no plans to amend it at this time.
323. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide, in tabular form, the names of outside companies hired by Irish Water since its establishment; the duration of contract; the costs per company; and overall total costs to date on outside consultants. [39160/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. I have asked Irish Water to compile the information requested and to forward it to the Deputy as soon as possible.
324. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the total set-up costs of Irish Water to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39161/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe budget as proposed by Bórd Gáis Éireann for the Irish Water Programme which was established to set up Irish Water was €180m. The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has approved an amount of €172.8m in respect of Irish Water’s establishment costs following a detailed review. The total spend on the Programme to end of August 2014 is €148.7m. Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.
325. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the total number of staff currently employed by Irish Water; the estimated increase in staff in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39162/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra327. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the criteria used by Irish Water in awarding bonuses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39164/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 325 and 327 together.
Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels.
I understand from data supplied to my Department by Irish Water that 519 staff have been recruited up to 2 October 2014. Of these, 153 have been recruited from local authorities, 88 from Bórd Gáis Éireann (BGE) and 5 from my Department. Irish Water estimate that by the end of 2015 this figure will have risen to 693 staff, which is the final target staffing figure for the enduring Irish Water organisation.
The employment terms and conditions for Irish Water staff are a matter for the company and I understand that these are in line with the arrangements applying within Bórd Gáis Éireann. Bórd Gáis Éireann has in place a competitive market based pay model, which offers market based pay ranges for all employees, including a pay at risk element called Performance Related Award (PRA). A pay freeze will remain in place until 2016 as this is a key element of reducing overall payroll costs within the Group. As such, Irish Water does not pay increments or any form of automatic pay award; the pay model applied allows for part of salaries to be placed at risk and this element of pay is only earned subject to performance. Every individual in Irish Water has a clear set of objectives set for the year and a set of metrics against which performance is measured.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.
326. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of staff employed by sub-contractors hired by Irish Water for customer services; the length of the contract; the total cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39163/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The procurement by Irish Water of external resources is a matter for the company and I have no role in the matter. Irish Water has advised that it appointed Abtran Ltd, Cork, to operate all customer contact channels and associated general administration. The contract is for a five year period (2013-2018) and was awarded following a competitive tender process. As such the financial value of the contract is commercially sensitive.
There are currently just under 500 staff engaged on the contract. This contract covers the provision of customer care to approximately 1.6 million domestic and business public water service users.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.
