Written Answers Nos. 170-181
170. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the €451 million capital funding for building social houses that has been set aside for 2016 will be spent; if there are difficulties anticipated in this regard by the local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12034/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra171. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a progress report on the €1.7 billion capital funding that was set aside in 2015 to provide for the provision of social housing from 2015 to 2017; if there are difficulties with the local authorities using this funding within the prescribed period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12035/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 170 and 171 together.
An exchequer capital budget of €451 million is provided for the delivery of social housing programmes in 2016. This exchequer budget will be supplemented by capital expenditure of €77 million on housing programmes which local authorities will self-fund from Local Property Tax receipts, giving a total capital budget for 2016 of €528 million. In overall terms, €933 million - being €528 million capital and €405 million current funding - is budgeted for social housing programmes in 2016.
This funding will support the targeting of 17,000 new social units through a range of delivery programmes in 2016. The capital programmes will support a combination of construction projects that are being advanced, acquisition of units which are being actively pursued for quick delivery of social housing and returning vacant social units to productive use. This funding also provides other important improvements to existing social housing stock through programmes such as regeneration, adaptation grants for people with a disability and the elderly, and energy efficiency upgrades to homes.
As well as supporting the targeting of 17,000 new social units in 2016, the funding through the Social Housing Strategy 2020 of €1.7 billion under budgets 2015 (€798m) and 2016 (€933m) has already provided for the delivery of 13,000 social housing units in 2015 by local authorities and approved housing bodies. This represented an increase of 86% on the 7,000 units delivered in 2014.
The scale of new social housing activity now underway represents a challenge for all concerned following from a number of years where funding was not available to support large scale capital activity. To support the delivery of the targets under the Social Housing Strategy, my Department has sanctioned 420 additional staff for local authorities and a substantial number of new social housing projects have already been announced, details of which are available on my Department’s website at the following links:
http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41340,en.htm,
http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,42225,en.htm,
http://www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/ministers-kelly-coffey-announce-further-1000-social-housing-units.
With these projects now approved and with additional resources in place, I have asked local authority chief executives to ensure that the funding to support the enhanced delivery of social housing is maximised to deliver on the targets for 2016 and subsequent years.
172. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of a project (details supplied); when this project will advance to tender stage; the likely timescale for construction and the estimated cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12133/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects. My Department recently announced a five-year Fire Services Capital Programme with an allocation of €40 million, based on the current annual €8 million allocation, to be used for the purchase of fire appliances and specialist equipment, building or upgrading of prioritised Fire Stations, an upgrade of the Communications and Mobilisation system and improvements to Training Centres. Under this programme, the list of priority projects to be progressed will be kept under review on an annual basis.
The project referred to in the Question is included in this programme under the list of priority projects to be progressed for 2019. Original project documentation from 2009 including contract documents and a cost plan indicate a total project cost of €1,421,400.
My Department is liaising with relevant local authorities to progress proposed projects in this programme within the indicated timescales. The projects in the capital programme will be reassessed on an annual basis and priority may be adjusted to bring forward projects offering best value-for-money and to take account of the state of readiness of the projects.
173. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the net cost and savings in abolishing water charges and the water conservation grant including its administration costs, based on the full payment of domestic charges. [12136/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAbolishing domestic water charges would lead to an expected additional subvention requirement of up to €1.4 billion over period 2016-2021, subject to assumptions on payment levels, allowing for some reducing in customer service costs but without reflecting any costs of dismantling contracts. Some additional funding would also arise for the group water sector. Assuming the abolition of the Water Conservation Grant, savings of some €660m would arise, again over the same period and including savings on administrative costs.
174. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding provided for the housing adaptation grant scheme in each of the years 2013 to 2015 and 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12157/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraInformation on the funding provided to each local authority by my Department and number of grants paid to applicants under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, since the grants were introduced, is available at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/housing/statistics/social-and-affordble/other-local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics.
Details of the 2016 allocations for the grants are also available on my Department’s website at the following link:
http://www.environ.ie/housing/grantsfinancial-assistance/ministers-kelly-coffey-announce-eu5625-million-improve-homes.
175. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to confirm that the National Transport Authority is to be considered the highest level land use and spatial planning body in the region, having regard to the fact that the new regional plan, regional spatial and economic strategy and all city and county development plans must now be consistent with the new transport strategy for the greater Dublin area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12201/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra176. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if all current core strategies of the city and county councils in the greater Dublin area, which are drawn up to be consistent with the current national planning framework, the national spatial strategy and the regional plan for the area, regional planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area must now be amended where they do not comply with the new transport strategy for the greater Dublin area drawn up by the National Transport Authority and approved by his predecessor, in April 2016; to confirm that this would be the case even where the new transport strategy is not consistent with or supporting the delivery of the objectives of the national planning framework, the national spatial strategy, and the regional plan for the area, regional planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12202/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra177. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the body or agency that is ultimately responsible for spatial planning in Ireland and in the greater Dublin region (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12203/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra178. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is satisfied that the new transport strategy for the greater Dublin area has had sufficient regard to the regional plan for the greater Dublin area, that it underpins and supports all of the objectives for the greater Dublin area, particularly in the hinterland area outside of the Dublin metropolitan area; and to confirm that the strategy delivers the transport infrastructure required to allow Bray, Greystones, Wicklow town, Arklow, Newtownmountkennedy and Blessington in County Wicklow to grow significantly and fulfil their roles as growth centres as per the regional plan. [12204/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 175 to 178, inclusive, together.
Responsibility for planning policy rests with the local government system working within the broad legislative and policy framework for planning established by Government and myself as Minister.
The National Transport Authority (“NTA”) has responsibility for “strategic planning of transport”. In carrying out this function, the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035 (the “Transport Strategy”) was prepared by the NTA in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions, primarily Section 12 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008.
I am also determined that the GDA Transport Strategy be taken into account in preparing a new National Planning Framework (NPF) to succeed the National Spatial Strategy and subsidiary Regional Planning Guidelines which in turn will be succeeded by three new Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSESs) for the new Regional Assembly areas.
This is fully recognised in the Transport Strategy, which also states (page 6) that the “role of the Strategy is to establish the framework for transport provision necessary to achieve the land use vision set out in the Regional Planning Guidelines”.
In preparing its Transport Strategy the NTA is required to have regard to a number of matters, including the National Spatial Strategy, local authority development plans, and the regional planning guidelines for the region (prior to their replacement with a regional spatial and economic strategy).
In addition, the 2008 legislation requires the NTA to ensure that the Transport Strategy is consistent with the Regional Planning Guidelines (and subsequently with their replacement - the regional spatial and economic strategy). In keeping with this, the Eastern and Midland Assembly provided confirmation that the draft Transport Strategy was consistent with the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area.
I think we can all agree that many of the existing planning and transport problems across the Greater Dublin, which have resulted in unsustainable patterns of commuting and increasing congestion, stem from a lack of integration between planning and land use. It is important that a much more integrated approach is developed between these two areas, both now and into the future. Existing legislation seeks to achieve this by requiring, on a statutory basis, consistency between strategic transport planning, in the form of the Transport Strategy, and regional level land use planning. It is through this interaction that the necessary integration between land use planning and transport provision can be achieved, which will provide a more co-ordinated and sustainable region. I am confident that the approach being taken will ensure that the relevant bodies and agencies will work together, with the strategies in fact complementing each other.
As outlined earlier, the Transport Strategy is legislatively required to be consistent with the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area 2010-2022. Similarly, the same Regional Planning Guidelines have guided the preparation and adoption of the Development Plans of the Local Authorities in the Greater Dublin Area.
Accordingly, it is considered that the Development Plans across the Greater Dublin Area and the Transport Strategy are inherently consistent with each other, and the NTA has confirmed their view of that consistency. As such, there is no requirement for the amendment of the Core Strategies in the various Development Plans as a result of the adoption of the Transport Strategy.
In relation to the land use proposals intended to be prepared by the NTA for consideration by the Regional Assembly, the NTA is legislatively required, under Section 31F of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended), to “assist and co-operate with the regional assemblies in respect of the GDA in making arrangements for the preparation of a regional spatial and economic strategy and in carrying out the preparation of the strategy”. In carrying out this role, the NTA is required, under the same legislative provision, to prepare a report for the Regional Assembly on the issues which should be considered by the Assembly, including, inter alia, “recommendations regarding the optimal use, location, pattern and density of new development taking account of its transport strategy”.
The statement in the Transport Strategy regarding the submission of land use proposals to the Regional Assembly for its consideration, reflects correctly the legislative role of the NTA, as set out in the Planning and Development Act 2000, in respect of the preparation of the regional spatial and economic strategy. Such a submission does not affect, or alter in any way, the statutory role of the members of the Regional Assembly as the decision making body in the making of the regional spatial and economic strategy. The Regional Assembly remains fully responsible for spatial planning of the overall region, in accordance with national planning policy.
The Transport Strategy supports the development of the overall Greater Dublin Area, both the Metropolitan area and the Hinterland, in accordance with the Regional Planning Guidelines. The NTA has confirmed that both population growth and employment growth has been anticipated and taken into account in relation to all six of the listed locations in County Wicklow. They have noted that if the pace of growth of population and employment is faster than anticipated, the Transport Strategy can adapt to that acceleration through the provision of additional transport services or the earlier development of the infrastructure provisions. In addition, the Strategy is subject to reviews and updates every six years and at each review point, adjustments can be made to reflect the relevant circumstances at that time. Accordingly, the Transport Strategy underpins and supports the objective to allow the listed settlements to grow significantly and fulfil their roles in accordance with the Regional Planning Guidelines and the Core Strategy of the Wicklow County Development Plan.
179. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of making the back to education allowance available to postgraduate students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12170/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe focus of back to education allowance (BTEA) is on providing income support to jobseekers in improving their education qualifications to access the labour market, meeting emerging skill needs and supporting those who have poor levels of educational attainment.
Postgraduate courses that lead to a higher diploma in any discipline or the Professional Masters in Education (PME) are eligible courses supported under the BTEA. In addition, the BTEA also supports a masters qualification based solely on life experience where the applicant holds no other third level qualification.
It is not possible to estimate the cost of making BTEA available to postgraduate students, as it is not feasible to determine the number of people on welfare who may wish to pursue postgraduate studies.
The BTEA was never intended to be an alternative form of funding for people entering or re-entering the third level education system. The Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) Grant payable by the Department of Education and Skills represents the primary support for persons pursuing education. The eligibility rules that govern the payment of a student maintenance grant are a matter for that Department.
180. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of an additional 500 places on the rural social scheme. [12233/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe rural social scheme (RSS) provides income support for farmers and fishermen who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. The scheme currently provides work opportunities for approximately 2,600 participants and 130 supervisory staff to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. Funding allocated for the scheme in 2016 is €44.3m.
Assuming that the participants supported by the RSS remain at the current payment rate, the full year cost of an additional 500 places is estimated at €8.5m while the net cost is estimated at €3.8m. This costing consists of wages paid to participants, fuel allowance, supervisory costs, fees to implementing bodies, fees to the payroll provider and provision of input costs for implementing bodies.
181. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will re-examine the disallowance of a disability allowance and free travel pass in the case of a person (details supplied) and grant same under compassionate grounds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11917/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraDisability allowance (DA) is a payment made to certain persons between the ages of 16 and 66 and who, because of a specified disability, are substantially restricted in obtaining work otherwise suitable to their age, experience and qualifications. Applicants must also satisfy a means test and be habitually resident in the State. There is no provision to award DA outside of these conditions which are laid down in legislation.
The person in question appealed to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) a decision by a deciding officer to discontinue payment of DA as her weekly means exceeded the statutory limit allowable for her family size.
Following due consideration, the appeal of the person in question was disallowed by an appeals officer (AO) on 19 April 2016. She was notified of this decision in writing by the SWAO on the same date. An AO’s decision is final and conclusive in absence of any fresh facts or evidence.
If there has been a change in their circumstances, then it is open to the person in question to reapply for DA.
