Written Answers Nos. 1089 - 1105
1089. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the timeframe by which rent certainty proposals will be brought before the Cabinet; and consequentially before Dáil Éireann. [38110/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe most recent data from the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) for Q2 2015 show that on an annual basis, nationally, rents were 7.1% higher than in Q2 2014. Rents for houses were 6.4% higher, while apartment rents were 7.6% higher than in the same quarter of 2014. These annual rates of increase were driven mainly by the Dublin market. Overall, in the 12 months to the end of Q2 2015, rents were higher by 9.2% in Dublin (with house rents up by 8.8% and apartment rents higher by 9.4%). Annual growth in rents for the market outside Dublin was more subdued. In the 12 months to the end of Q2 2015, rents were higher by 5.8% (with house rents up by 5.8% and apartment rents higher by 5.9%).
A shortage of supply is at the heart of rising rents and the Government is addressing this on a number of fronts. Construction 2020: A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector, published last year, is aimed at addressing issues in the property and construction sectors and ensuring that any bottlenecks that might impede the sector in meeting residential and non-residential demand are addressed. Social housing has been prioritised by this Government and over €1.7 billion in Exchequer and self-funding was allocated to the Social Housing Strategy between the 2015 and 2016 budgets, to support the provision of over 33,000 units. The Government’s Capital Plan goes beyond 2016 and commits €2.9 billion in capital funding towards social housing out to 2021.
Ultimately, the key to addressing upward pressure on rents is through increasing the supply of housing, which is a core focus of the Government’s Construction 2020 strategy. In 2014 the number of house completions was 11,016 units nationally, an increase of 33% on the 2013 figure. The latest figures for new house completions show that 8,914 units were completed to the end of September 2015, up 14% on the corresponding figure for 2014. As announced in Budget 2016, NAMA is aiming to deliver a target of 20,000 residential units before the end of 2020, with 90% of these units to be in the greater Dublin area.
In addition to these measures, I am continuing to work on proposals to address the issue of rising rents. The price of rental property, particularly in the greater Dublin area, presents a serious challenge. The regulation of rent, however, raises many complex economic and legal issues and I have to be satisfied that any measures proposed are balanced and have the desired effect on the rental market while being fair to landlords and tenants alike. Ultimately, any decision in relation to this issue is a matter for Government and it is my intention to bring final proposals to Government for decision as soon as possible.
1090. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the offshore islands not connected to the mainland by bridge or causeway that had polling stations on them for the last general election, in tabular form; the opening times for each of these stations; whether the voting took place on these islands on the same date as polling elsewhere, and, if not, whether polling was one day or two days before; the number of persons on the electoral register at the time in each station; the turnout on polling day, excluding persons with postal votes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38174/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraElectoral law provides for advance polling on islands where a returning officer considers that, due to weather conditions or transport difficulties, it would be impracticable either to take the poll on the polling day appointed by the Minister or, if the poll was taken on that day, to deliver the ballot boxes to the count centre in time for the commencement of the count. In the period following the making of the Polling Day Order, it is a matter for the returning officer to consider the need for advance polling on islands. The returning officer is empowered to take the poll on an island on any day during the 5 day period before polling day and is required to give public notice in any polling district concerned.
Polling at the 2011 General Election took place on Friday 25 February 2011. Information on polling on the islands, as provided to my Department by the relevant Returning Officers, is set out in the following table.
|
Constituency |
Polling Day |
Island |
Electorate* |
Total |
|
Donegal South-West |
23 February 2011 |
Arranmore |
523 |
|
|
Gola |
25 |
|||
|
Inishboffin |
67 |
|||
|
Inishfree |
9 |
|||
|
Tory Island |
136 |
760 |
||
|
Mayo |
23 February 2011 |
Clare Island |
115 |
|
|
Inishbiggle |
29 |
|||
|
Inishturk |
50 |
194 |
||
|
Galway West |
24 February 2011 |
Aran Islands |
||
|
Inishmore |
629 |
|||
|
Inishmaan |
158 |
|||
|
Inisheer |
202 |
|||
|
Inishboffin |
166 |
1,155 |
||
|
Cork South-West |
25 February 2011 |
Bear Island |
179 |
|
|
Clear Island |
122 |
|||
|
Dursey Island |
9 |
|||
|
Hare Island |
29 |
|||
|
Whiddy Island |
14 |
|||
|
Long Island, Schull |
11 |
|||
|
Sherkin Island |
102 |
466 |
||
|
Grand Total |
2,575 |
*Electorate as published on 1 February 2011.
Information on turnout is only available on a constituency basis and is published in the 31st Dáil General Election February, 2011 Election Results and Transfer of Votes, which can be downloaded at www.oireachtas.ie.
Details regarding the opening times of the polls taken on the islands at the last general election are not available in my Department. Provision is made in the Electoral Acts for a shortened polling period on the islands of not less than four hours where the presiding officer is of the opinion that, if the poll was further continued at that stage, it would not be possible for the ballot boxes to reach the vote counting centre in time for the commencement of the count.
1091. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will clarify a taxation issue (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38181/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing the Court of Appeal ruling on the taxation of articulated vehicles, such vehicles now fall to be taxed at the haulage tractor rate. The annual rate is €333. Given that there is a single rate for this tax class, there is no requirement to have the vehicles in question reweighed. The necessary technical adjustments to the National Vehicle and Driver File have now been put in place and representative organisations for the haulage industry have been notified of the changes. The implications of the ruling in the case, more generally, are currently being considered by my Department.
1092. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will centralising checktheregister.ie, and having it run by his Department in place of local authorities, in light of concerns raised regarding inefficiencies in the voter registration process. [38192/15]
Amharc ar fhreagrawww.checktheregister.ie is a centralised database, hosted by the Local Government Management Agency on behalf of local authorities. It is available to assist the public in checking online that their voter registration details are up-to-date. In law, the preparation and maintenance of the register of electors is a matter for local authorities. The register details are then managed by the authorities and the Local Government Management Agency to provide the checktheregister.ie facility. I have no plans to change the current arrangements.
However, one of the issues being considered in the context of the establishment of an Electoral Commission is the role that the Commission might play in respect of the register of electors. I await the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht following their public consultation on the paper I published last January on the establishment of an Electoral Commission. Their report, which I understand will be published shortly, will inform the development of an Electoral Commission Bill including the future role of all involved in the register of electors.
1093. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the budget allocation in 2014 for the fire services capital programme; the amount spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38195/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe capital allocation for the Fire Services Capital Programme in 2014 was €8 million. The Fire Services Capital Programme is used to recoup approved expenditure by fire authorities on the acquisition of fire appliances and fire-fighting equipment, the construction of new fire stations as well as the improvement/upgrading of existing station facilities and the replacement of first generation mobilisation and communications equipment.
As a number of projects progressed at a slower pace than anticipated, a total of €6.6 million of the €8 million allocated for the Fire Services Capital Programme was recouped to fire authorities in 2014.
1094. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government how it is intended to qualify a family as being homeless in light of the new housing assistance payment regulations in respect of the Kildare County Council area, where many families are living in overcrowded family situations, but might not be formally registered as homeless; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38203/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra1095. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government how it is intended to administer controls on the issue of top-up rents, where the housing assistance payment system will underfund tenancies in Kildare by up to 50%, to assist families who are unable to cope with this situation; if it will impact on their future eligibility for housing supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38204/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1094 and 1095 together.
The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is deemed to be a social housing support under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. As a long-term housing support, an assessment of housing need must be completed in order for a household to qualify for HAP. Any household with an identified housing need, including a homeless household, is eligible for HAP. Once in receipt of HAP, a household’s housing needs are considered to be met.
I have issued a statutory direction to the local authorities involved in the HAP statutory pilot, instructing them to take the necessary steps to ensure that households benefiting from HAP can avail of a move to other forms of social housing support, should they wish to do so, through the transfer option. I have also directed that HAP recipients, who apply to go on the transfer list, should get full credit for the time they spent on the waiting list and be placed on the transfer list with no less favourable terms than if they had remained on the waiting list.
The statutory pilot for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme commenced in September 2014 and has been introduced incrementally to 15 local authority areas to date - Limerick City and County Council, Waterford City and County Council, Cork, Louth, Kilkenny, South Dublin, Monaghan, Donegal, Offaly, Carlow, Clare and Tipperary County Councils, and Cork City Council. Kildare and Meath County Councils commenced HAP on 2 November 2015, and Galway, Mayo and Sligo County Councils will introduce the scheme from 16 November 2015.
The maximum rent limits for different household classes that apply in each local authority where HAP has been commenced are set out in regulations and are generally based on the Rent Supplement limits as set out by the Department of Social Protection (DSP). In prescribing these limits, household size and prevailing rents in the relevant areas are taken into consideration. My Department works closely with the Department of Social Protection and monitors data which it gathers, along with PRTB data, and data gathered through HAP pilot authorities, in relation to the rent limits applying.
In recognition of the need for greater flexibility in the challenging Dublin region rental market, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I have signed the Housing Assistance Payment (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2015, which provide for the introduction of HAP in Kildare County Council with maximum rent limits equivalent to current Rent Supplement rates applicable in the neighbouring Dublin area. In recognition of the need for additional discretion in areas of high rental demand, and similar to the flexibility I have already provided for the operation of HAP in South Dublin County Council, these regulations provide for an additional 20% flexibility above the maximum rent limits that apply for the purposes of HAP in the administrative areas of Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Galway County Council, Kildare County Council and Meath County Council. This additional flexibility will facilitate a greater number of qualifying households to source suitable accommodation in these local authority areas.
This approach mirrors the approach already taken by the Department of Social Protection in the operation of the discretion available in the context of the Rent Supplement scheme. My Department is preparing guidance for the relevant local authorities in the appropriate use of this increased flexibility. I will continue to keep HAP rent limits under review.
1096. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government how it is intended to proceed in cases of renewals or existing rentals where landlords indicate that they are happy to offer the housing assistance payment, but request market rent already paid; to accommodate the rights of current tenants receiving supports, where rents are above the maximum limits, as set out; what flexibility will be given to these tenants; what security of tenure they will be afforded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38205/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra1097. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he intends to offer the housing assistance payment to both rent supplement and privately renting households; how he intends to prioritise cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38206/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra1098. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government how he intends to manage the transfer of rent supplement applicants to the new housing assistance payment system, where applicants have been assessed by the Department of Social Protection under Article 38 of the Social Welfare (Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations (Statutory Instrument No. 402 of 2007); if he intends to implement those maximum rent limits that are up to 50% lower in most cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38207/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra1099. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the processing time guidelines he plans to implement for housing assistance payment applications; the intended lead-time for landlords awaiting acceptance decisions, and the proposed application to payment times to manage the expectations of applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38208/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1096 to 1099, inclusive, together.
The implementation of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is a key Government priority and a major pillar of the Social Housing Strategy 2020.
The HAP scheme is deemed to be a social housing support under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. As a long-term housing support, an assessment of housing need must be completed in order for a household to qualify for HAP. Any household with an identified housing need is eligible for HAP. The Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 provide that subject to conditions, a housing authority shall deal with such an application within a period of 12 weeks. Local authorities will prioritise housing needs assessments for those in greatest need and average waiting times are significantly shorter than the statutory maximum in many areas. To be eligible for HAP, a person must first apply for and be approved for social housing support by the relevant local authority.
Under the HAP scheme, eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector, payments are made electronically directly to the landlord on behalf of the tenant, and the tenancy agreement is between the HAP recipient and the private landlord. Accordingly, the tenancy will be covered under the terms of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and the landlord must register the tenancy with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) as part of a landlord’s terms and conditions under the scheme.
HAP also provides for the transfer of responsibility for long-term recipients of rent supplement who have a recognised housing need from the Department of Social Protection to the local authority sector, thus bringing all long-term social housing supports provided by the State together under the local authority system. Upon its introduction in a local authority area, HAP will replace rent supplement for those with a long-term housing need and who qualify for social housing support; rent supplement will no longer be an option for applicants in such cases. Local authorities are taking an incremental approach to the transfer of recipients from Rent Supplement to HAP in their own areas. This involves close co-operation with local DSP offices and individual tenants. To date, over 4,500 households are being supported by HAP where the scheme is operational; 1,623 of these households have transferred from the Rent Supplement scheme.
The maximum rent limits for different household classes that apply in each local authority where HAP has been commenced are set out in regulations and are generally based on the Rent Supplement limits as set out by the Department of Social Protection (DSP). In prescribing these limits, household size and prevailing rents in the relevant areas are taken into consideration. My Department works closely with the Department of Social Protection and monitors data which it gathers, along with PRTB data, and data gathered through HAP pilot authorities, in relation to the rent limits applying.
In recognition of the need for greater flexibility in the challenging Dublin region rental market, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I have signed the Housing Assistance Payment (Amendment) (No.4) Regulations 2015, which provide for the introduction of HAP in Kildare and Meath County Councils with maximum rent limits equivalent to current Rent Supplement rates applicable in the neighbouring Dublin areas. In recognition of the need for additional discretion in areas of high rental demand, and similar to the approach followed in South Dublin County Council, these regulations also provide for an additional 20% flexibility above the maximum HAP rent limits that apply in the administrative areas of Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Galway County Council, Kildare County Council and Meath County Council. This approach mirrors and is informed by the approach already taken by the Department of Social Protection in the operation of the discretion available in the context of the Rent Supplement scheme. This increased flexibility will assist a greater number of qualified households, including those already in tenancies and those in receipt of increased Rent Supplement payments, secure and maintain suitable accommodation under the scheme. My Department will provide guidance for the relevant local authorities in the appropriate use of this increased flexibility. This matter will be kept under active review in all HAP pilot authority areas.
Limerick City and County Council is currently providing a highly effective transactional shared service on behalf of all HAP local authorities on an interim basis. The shared service “hub” currently manages all HAP related rental transactions for the tenant, local authority and landlord. Once a HAP application has been received and confirmed as valid by the relevant Local Authority, it is then processed in the transactional hub. Any rental payment arising for a given month will then be made to a landlord on the last Wednesday of that month. HAP rental payments are payable to the landlord from the date of confirmation of receipt of a valid and complete application form.
1100. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status in respect of achieving targets set at EU level for climate change management, in particular under the EU climate and energy framework 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31689/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFor each year between 2013 and 2020, Ireland has a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target under the 2009 Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) No. 406/2009/EC. Under the ESD, EU-wide emissions in the year 2013 should be no more than the average of those same emissions in the years 2008 to 2010. Emissions in those three years were on average 4.5% below emissions in 2005. In the year 2020, the target set for Ireland is that emissions should be 20 per cent below their value in 2005. This is jointly the most demanding 2020 reduction target allocated under the ESD and one shared only by Denmark and Luxembourg. The target for each of the years 2014 through 2019 is on a straight-line trajectory between the targets for 2013 and 2020. Taking account of methodological changes underpinning the GHG emissions inventories and projections (in line with evolutions in the accounting rules under the Kyoto Protocol second commitment period), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in May 2015 new annual emission limits and projected emissions for 2020 compared to our target. These calculations and projections indicate that Ireland’s emissions in 2020 could be in the range of 9-14% below 2005 levels by 2020. However, even in the worst case scenario (i.e., a 9% reduction), Ireland could be very close to meeting its cumulative compliance obligations for the period 2013-2020 (ESD 2009), which on average required a 12% reduction relative to 2005, given over-compliance in the early years of the 8-year period.
Furthermore, in October 2014, the European Council agreed on the 2030 climate and energy policy framework for the European Union. The European Council endorsed a binding EU target of an at least 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990. The target will be delivered collectively by the EU in the most cost-effective manner possible, with the reductions in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and non-ETS sectors amounting to 43% and 30%, respectively, by 2030 compared to 2005.
All Member States within the Union will participate in this effort, balancing considerations of fairness and solidarity. While Member State targets for 2030 are yet to be agreed, it is known that targets will be in the range of a 0% to 40% reduction relative to 2005, and that targets for Member States whose GDP per capita is above average should be adjusted to reflect cost effectiveness in a fair and balanced manner. A Commission proposal on this matter is expected towards the end of the second quarter of 2016.
The extent of the challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with our EU commitments, is well understood by Government, as reflected in the National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development, published in April 2014, and in the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill 2015, recently passed by the Dáil and currently at Committee Stage in the Seanad. The National Policy Position provides a high-level policy direction for the adoption and implementation by Government of plans to enable the State to move to a low-carbon economy by 2050. Proposed statutory authority for the plans is set out in the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill 2015.
In anticipation of enactment of the planned legislation, work is already underway on developing a low carbon plan, the National Mitigation Plan, the primary objective of which will be to track implementation of measures already underway and identify additional measures in the longer term to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and progress the overall national low carbon transition agenda to 2050. The first iteration of the National Mitigation Plan will place particular focus on putting the necessary measures in place to address the challenge to 2020 but also in terms of planning ahead to ensure that appropriate policies and measures will be in place beyond that. In this context, key sectors in the low carbon transition process (electricity, transport, built environment and agriculture) are currently developing sectoral mitigation measures in tandem with Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) processes during which measures will be further developed and prioritised.
To ensure a continued transparent and inclusive process, the Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping Report on the National Mitigation Plan is currently out for consultation to both the general public and statutory consultees and the input received from these consultations will further inform the SEA process.
1101. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has engaged with the Irish Environment Network on the progress made on the provision of funding to the natural environment, specifically from the national lottery; if he will support this network to be included in funding as it is entitled to be, as set out in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38234/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 41(1) of the National Lotteries Act 2013 enables National Lottery monies paid into the Central Fund to be allocated for the purposes of the natural environment, as well as potentially for a range of other stated purposes. Lottery funding is a limited resource utilised across a range of Government Departments and Agencies. National Lottery funding channelled through my Department’s Vote currently supports a wide range of other worthy causes, including community groups and voluntary organisations. National Lottery funding is also distributed by other Departments to groups working in areas such as disability, health and sport.
It is important to note that should National Lottery funding be re-allocated to the natural environment, corresponding reductions would be required in other areas which are currently in receipt of such funding, within my own Department and also potentially within other beneficiary Departments. Accordingly, re-allocation of funding to support the natural environment at the expense of one or more of these other sectors can only be undertaken following careful consideration. However, I intend to keep this matter under review as the budgetary situation improves in the years ahead.
In taking this view, I am conscious that the natural environment, uniquely amongst the broad range of areas funded by my Department, also receives funding from the Environment Fund, which was established under the Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001. The Environment Fund comprises revenues from the environmental levy on the supply of plastic bags, collected by the Revenue Commissioners, and the environmental levy on the landfilling of waste, collected by local authorities. The Fund is used for activities or initiatives in a range of areas such as, inter alia, schemes to prevent/reduce waste and waste recovery activities; research & development into waste management; support of education and training and promotion of awareness of the need to protect the environment, including national and regional campaigns; and environmental protection initiatives undertaken by community groups and others.
From 2011 to 2014, in excess of €255 million was disbursed to the environment sector from the Environment Fund. This is in addition to some €146 million provided to the environment sector by way of Exchequer Voted expenditure by my Department. In 2015, I made Fund allocations totalling €825,000 to the Irish Environmental Network and the Environmental Pillar. The total allocations from the Fund in 2015 amount to in the region of €44 million.
1102. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in light of the extraordinarily high planning fees paid in securing permission to change the use of land from commercial to residential, if he intends to curtail the power of local authorities in this regard; if he believes that such onerous fees are appropriate, given that they act as a disincentive to the development of residential property at a time when the country is faced with a severe housing crisis; and are consistent with the objectives of the Living City initiative. [38235/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 2 of Schedule 9 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, prescribes the scale of fees to be applied in respect of planning applications. The scenario outlined by the Deputy would likely be considered as a Class 1 development which relates to “the provision of a house”. Under Class 1, a planning application fee of €65 per house would apply.
While the Planning Regulations are generally kept under review in my Department, I do not consider planning application fees to be unduly onerous. Indeed, the fees have not been revised since their introduction in 2000 and represent very good value for money in the context of the administrative cost of processing planning applications. In this context, account should also be taken of the various technical inputs and site inspections required in assessing planning applications generally. In addition, the consideration of planning applications has become more complex for local authorities in recent years in the light of more onerous EU and national legislative requirements, as well as requirements in relation to public participation in the planning process generally.
I believe that the planning fees applied in respect of residential development in particular are fair and reasonable, and are relatively modest in comparison to the overall cost of preparing planning application drawings and particulars and I do not consider them unduly onerous or a disincentive to residential development. I have no plans to revise the planning fee provisions at this time.
1104. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will allocate funding to provide a community resource centre (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38244/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has responsibility for the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), which is managed and overseen by the Local Community Development Committees (LCDS’s) in each Local Authority area. The funding provided to communities under SICAP is current funding and not of the capital nature referred to by the Deputy in the details supplied. In relation to the proposal outlined by the Deputy in the details supplied, the project in question should liaise directly with their LCDC in relation to how this proposal might be brought forward. Given the nature of the proposal, it may be appropriate to consider liaising also with the Department of Health and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on the issues arising.
1105. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there is potential to allow applications for inclusion on the supplementary registers of electors to be signed by a Peace Commissioner or by another official in good standing, in order to alleviate workloads placed upon An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38258/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application for inclusion in the supplement to the register of electors must be signed by the applicant in the presence of a member of An Garda Síochána from the applicant’s local Garda station who must first be satisfied as to the person’s identity before signing, dating and stamping the form. The Garda may request photographic or other identification. Where the applicant establishes in writing that he is unable to progress the application in this way, the form can be signed by the applicant in the presence of an official of the registration authority who is satisfied as to his or her identity. Again, photographic or other identification may be required. If neither option is viable due to physical illness or physical disability, the application form must be accompanied by a medical certificate. I have no immediate plans to change these arrangements.
