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Wednesday, 15 Apr 2015

Written Answers Nos. 797 - 810

Mortgage Lending

Ceisteanna (797)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Ceist:

797. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in relation to the new limits for mortgages for residential dwelling units, if he will outline the limits for new mortgages for first-time buyers and for those trading up; if he will indicate the rationale for two categories; the exceptions which are allowed for those who previously had a mortgage, but wish to be classified as a first-time buyer; if owner occupiers who purchased homes at a location (details supplied) in Dublin 13 and lost their savings and-or deposits in that development have been refused the classification of the first-time buyer, as regards higher mortgages; in view of the difficulties experienced in this case, if he will instruct that previous owners of homes at the location be treated as first-time buyers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14538/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have no functional responsibility regarding the Central Bank regulations and its new limits for mortgages for residential dwelling units. In relation to the specific circumstances in relation to Priory Hall residents, the Priory Hall Resolution Framework Agreement sets out the conditions under which owner occupiers wishing to purchase a new home may secure a new mortgage from their respective banks. The banks and former Priory Hall residents are parties to this Agreement. Any arrangements that may be agreed between an individual homeowner and their mortgage provider is a matter between those parties.

Building Regulations

Ceisteanna (798)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

798. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to exempt one-off houses and extensions to existing houses, under the new building controls and regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14554/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

My Department has given preliminary consideration to the arrangements in place for oversight of new single dwellings and extensions to existing dwellings in advance of the full review of the broader operation of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 9 of 2014) which formally commenced on 2 April 2014 and is currently open for public consultation. While costs are determined by market forces and are therefore outside of the scope of my regulatory powers, I recognise the importance of ensuring that the regulations do not impact unduly on one-off housing and extensions to dwellings, particularly in relation to cost. A number of options for addressing this issue have therefore been included in the documents released for public consultation on 2 April 2014, which are available on my Department’s website at the following weblink: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/BuildingStandards/PublicConsultations/.

The closing date for the receipt of submissions is 15 May 2014. This will allow my Department to produce an early report on the matter with a view to ensuring that any changes deemed appropriate to the regulations will be effected as a matter of priority.

Housing Adaptation Grant Funding

Ceisteanna (799, 800, 801, 802, 803)

Martin Ferris

Ceist:

799. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if he will provide, in tabular form, the amount allocated to each local authority in 2014 and 2015 for the adaptation and / or extension works to local authority houses for disabled persons [14585/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Martin Ferris

Ceist:

800. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if he will provide, in tabular form, the amount sought by local authorities in 2014 and 2015 for adaptation and / or extension works to local authority houses for disabled persons. [14586/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Martin Ferris

Ceist:

801. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of applications for adaptation and / or extension works to local authority houses for disabled persons, received by each local authority in 2014 and 2015. [14587/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Martin Ferris

Ceist:

802. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of adaptation and / or extension works to local authority houses for disabled persons carried out in each local authority area for 2014 and 2015. [14588/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Martin Ferris

Ceist:

803. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of applications for adaptation and / or extension works to local authority houses for disabled persons pending completion in each local authority in 2014 and 2015. [14589/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 799 to 803, inclusive, together.

My Department provides funding to local authorities for various social housing supports, including for adaptations and extensions to the social housing stock to meet needs of local authority tenants with a disability or to address serious overcrowding. Funding provided by my Department meets 90% of the cost of such works, with each local authority providing the remaining 10%. The administration of the grants is a matter f or individual local authorities and therefore information in relation to the number of applications received by each authority and the number of works carried out and pending completion for each authority are not available in my Department.

The amount sought for the years 2014 and 2015 are listed below, as is the amount allocated for 2014 . The allocations for 2015 will be made shortly.

Local Authority

Total Sought

2014

Allocation

2014

Total Sought

2015

Carlow

€190,350

€190,350

€444,000

Cavan

€159,585

€159,585

€202,400

Clare

€191,278

€191,278

€226,200

Cork City

€456,000

€361,204

€922,000

Cork Co Co

€451,545

€359,437

€1,320,707

Donegal

€162,973

€162,973

€388,000

Dublin City

€672,216

€446,161

€2,583,485

Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown

€360,000

€323,532

€588,000

Fingal

€785,000

€490,352

€984,115

Galway City

€102,252

€102,252

€165,060

Galway County

€159,550

€159,550

€401,700

Kerry

€385,000

€333,364

€527,072

Kildare

€376,256

€329,829

€660,000

Kilkenny

€229,412

€229,412

€341,550

Laois

€53,957

€53,957

€165,016

Leitrim

€38,811

€38,811

€65,700

Limerick

€339,000

€315,356

€2,080,600

Longford

€159,406

€159,406

€202,000

Louth

€592,681

€414,896

€732,965

Mayo

€310,286

€304,088

€373,000

Meath

€477,750

€369,822

€827,200

Monaghan

€83,751

€83,751

€90,000

Offaly

€170,984

€170,984

€220,021

Roscommon

€328,801

€311,269

€104,106

Sligo

€109,128

€109,128

€471,350

South Dublin

€455,000

€360,873

€826,904

Tipperary

€669,615

€445,056

€620,000

Waterford

€391,280

€335,795

€594,328

Westmeath

€83,792

€83,792

€1892,700

Wexford

€200,000

€200,000

€1,141,750

Wicklow

€563,950

€403,628

€736,038

TOTAL

€9,709,609

€7,999,891

€19,187,967

Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility

Ceisteanna (804)

Dominic Hannigan

Ceist:

804. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the steps he will take to ensure that more families can access the rental accommodation scheme in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14604/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is a national scheme administered entirely by local authorities and is specifically targeted to cater for households in receipt of Rent Supplement from the Department of Social Protection, for over 18 months who have been assessed by their authority as having a long-term housing need.  

Funding of €135 million has been provided this year to fund existing commitments and deliver an estimated 2,000 new RAS properties. Overall the number of households to be transferred from Rent Supplement in 2015 will be in the region of 3,500, with the balance of 1,500 being accommodated under other social housing options.

Along with Minister of State, Paudie Coffey T.D., I announced earlier this month housing targets for each local authority area to 2017, details of which are available on my Department’s website at the following link:

http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41016,en.htm .

My Department and the Housing Agency will be available to provide advice and support to authorities in respect of how best to increase delivery of units in their respective areas.

Leader Programmes Funding

Ceisteanna (805, 806, 807, 808, 809, 810)

Michael Moynihan

Ceist:

805. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if he will provide, in tabular form, the amount his Department allocated to counties Kilkenny and Carlow for the LEADER Rural Development Programme 2014 to 2020; the way it compares to the allocation in the previous LEADER round of funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14606/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Michael Moynihan

Ceist:

806. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if the allocation of LEADER funding to Counties Kilkenny and Carlow is 42.7%, 15% less than the previous round of funding; his views that this is equitable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14607/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Michael Moynihan

Ceist:

807. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government the average of the national allocation of LEADER funding that was received by Counties of Kilkenny and Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14608/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Michael Moynihan

Ceist:

808. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if he and his Department have received complaints from LEADER companies in Counties Kilkenny and Carlow, regarding the funding that has been allocated to them; the way he will deal with these complaints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14609/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Michael Moynihan

Ceist:

809. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if there was a cost benefit analysis on the impact the new allocation of LEADER funding would have in Counties Kilkenny and Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14610/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Michael Moynihan

Ceist:

810. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if he has been informed that there will be job losses as a result of the new allocation of LEADER funding by his department in Counties Kilkenny and Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14611/15]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 805 to 810, inclusive, together.

The LEADER element of the Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020 will provide €250 million in financial resources to rural communities over the next 5 - 6 years.

Ireland is reconfiguring the way in which local and rural development interventions are implemented. This is in line with Government policy to ensure that local government is well positioned to support the effective and efficient delivery of local and rural development. In this context, €220 million of the overall programme complement for the 2014-2020 period has been allocated based on administrative or county boundaries to 28 sub-regional areas.

It should be noted that LEADER funding for the 2007-2013 programming period was not allocated on the basis of county boundaries but to individual Local Action Groups on completion of the Local Development Strategy process. In addition, the allocations were amended in 2012, following a change to the EU co-financing rate arising from the financial crisis. This resulted in a decrease in the overall programme allocation.

Both Carlow and Kilkenny were each serviced by a single Local Development Company for the LEADER elements of the RDP 2007-2013. The table below details the allocations, original and revised, to both companies for that programme period. The table also sets out the allocation for each county for the 2014-2020 programme period. It also details the percentage of the overall programme complement allocated to Carlow and Kilkenny, as well as their percentage of the average allocation.

Local Action Group

Original 2007-2013 LEADER A location

Revised LEADER 2007-2013 LEADER Allocation (A)

LEADER 2014-2020 County Allocation (B)

% Reduction

(A-B)

% of the Overall 2014-2020 County Allocations

% of the Average 2014-2020 County Allocations

Carlow Co Development Partnership

€8,878,177.00

€7,619,278.00

€6,416,803.43

- 15.78 %

2.92 %

81.67 %

Co Kilkenny LEADER Partnership

€11,523,729.00

€13,587,910.00

€7,791,572.91

- 42.66 %

3.54 %

99.17 %

In determining the county allocations for the 2014-2020 LEADER programme, three objective criteria were used, namely, minimum allocation, population density and a Resource Allocation Model (RAM). Each county was given a minimum allocation of €3 million to ensure that each received a viable level of funding. However, Cork County was allocated €6 million as a minimum in order to ensure a viable allocation to each of the three administrative districts within the county, as the overall population outside of the city is almost twice that of any other county.

While a specific cost benefit analysis was not conducted, the methodology used to calculate the allocations was designed to ensure that the available funding was weighted towards the most rural populations and those experiencing most rural disadvantage. Using this methodology, which I am satisfied is fair and consistent, each county was allocated a proportionate share of the funding available through the LEADER elements of the RDP 2014-2020.

As the value of the LEADER element of 2014-2020 Programme is less than the LEADER element of the 2007-2013 Programme, the allocations made on a county basis under the new Programme, including the allocation for Carlow and Kilkenny, have inevitably reduced. Nevertheless, I am confident that through improved coordination and enhanced delivery structures at local level, the funding, while decreased, will be maximised to support the sustainable development of our rural communities , including those in Carlow and Kilkenny.

For the avoidance of any doubt, it should be noted that the allocations announced on 10 March 2015 were not allocations to current Local Development Companies. The allocations were made to counties on the basis that Local Development Strategies will emerge from these counties to support the delivery of the LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme. My Department has no role in the internal operations of Local Development Companies and, therefore, does not have a role in relation to staff or employment matters, which are for the Board of each company, as the employer, to manage.

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