Written Answers Nos. 116-123
116. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he proposes to establish the Dáil Éireann constituencies boundaries commission in July 2016 following the provisional 2016 census returns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19913/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraCensus 2016 was taken on 24 April 2016 and the Central Statistics Office expects to publish the preliminary results this month. Section 5 of the Electoral Act 1997 provides for the establishment, by me as Minister, of a Constituency Commission upon the publication of those results. The function of the Constituency Commission is to make a report on the constituencies for the election of members of the Dáil and the members of the European Parliament having regard to Article 16 of the Constitution and to the terms of reference set out in section 6(2) of the Electoral Act 1997.
In accordance with section 9 of the Electoral Act 1997 the Constituency Commission must present its report to the Chairman of the Dáil no later than three months after the publication of final census results. These results are expected in late March or early April 2017.
117. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of the extra 420 local authority staff who have been appointed to work on the delivery of the social housing strategy, by local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19915/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authorities for which he or she is responsible. In this regard, following the sanction for staff by my Department, their recruitment and assignment is a matter for each individual Chief Executive.
118. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when he will introduce the tyre levy; the recycling targets he will introduce as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19918/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is a serious problem with waste tyres in Ireland. In discussions prior to the adoption of the 2007 Tyre Regulations, it was made clear that this was the last opportunity for the tyre industry to embrace environmental compliance and take responsibility for the waste it produces. If the required improvement did not happen, it was made clear to the tyre industry that the system would be reviewed and replaced with a full Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI) model.
As part of a wider review of producer responsibility arrangements completed in 2014, the structural and environmental effectiveness of all aspects of the current system for managing waste tyres was assessed. The results of this examination were stark.
The report, published for consultation in November 2013 and in final form in April 2014, found:
- a non-compliance rate with the Tyre Regulations of 46%,
- a lack of consistent and accurate data,
- that the current system was not tracking data flows well, and
- between 25% and 50% of waste tyres were not accounted for, with widespread illegal dumping.
Following extensive discussions with the tyre industry through the establishment of a Tyres Working Group, the then Minister announced the decision to establish a full PRI scheme for Tyres and Waste Tyres in Ireland on 30 January 2015. Since then, significant progress has been made in discussions with the tyre industry.
There will be no new tyre tax or levy under the new system being introduced; consumers already pay a disposal fee to their tyre retailer whenever they buy a new tyre. The model that is being introduced will formalise a charge that tyre retailers already apply, but which does not currently go towards the cost of managing the waste in all cases, as it is supposed to. It is absolutely right and fair to provide a system that ensures that the existing levy is properly directed in the future, so that the consumer does not pay twice-once at the point of purchase and again, when the taxpayer has to meet costs incurred by local authorities for the clean-up of illegally dumped tyres.
My Department is in the process of drafting the regulations to underpin the new PRI scheme. The intention is to introduce the visible Environmental Management Charge from 1 January 2017. In addition, the recycling and recovery targets are currently being discussed by the Environment and Targets sub-group of the Tyres Working Group. Their report will then go to the Tyres Working Group and the recommendation of the group will then come to my Department for a decision.
119. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide funding for an organisation (details supplied) under the support scheme for national organisations, given that it scored higher than the recommended level for funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19923/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe organisation in question submitted an application to Pobal under the Scheme to Support National Organisations in the Community and Voluntary Sector. In total 148 applications were received and assessed by Pobal on behalf of my Department with 70 organisations to receive funding.
The quality of applications was very high, leading to a highly competitive assessment process. I approved 70 organisations for funding, at a total of €16.4 million, well in excess of the indicated amount initially advertised, in an effort to fund as many organisations as possible.
There was an extremely high demand for funding under the scheme, and it was clearly indicated that reaching a minimum threshold score of 65% was no guarantee of funding. Having regard to the funding available, 70 organisations were allocated funding, and the minimum score to be awarded funding was 76%. With the substantially increased allocation to the Scheme, there is no scope to award further funding to other organisations.
Pobal is available to engage with the organisation concerned if it requires further information on its application.
121. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his proposals to introduce improvements (details supplied) to building standards and if he will consider recommending these to the National Standards Authority of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19936/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Building Regulations 1997 to 2014 set out the minimum statutory requirements applicable to the design and construction of new buildings, extensions to existing buildings as well as for material alterations and certain material changes of use to existing buildings and are divided in 12 parts (classified as Parts A to M). Technical Guidance Documents (TGDs) are published to accompany each of the parts and provide guidance indicating how the requirements of that part can be achieved in practice. These TGDs can be accessed on my Department’s website at http://www.environ.ie/housing/building-standards/tgd-part-d-materials-and-workmanship/technical-guidance-documents.
Where works are carried out in accordance with the relevant technical guidance such works are considered to be, prima facie, in compliance with the relevant regulation(s). Compliance with the Regulations is the responsibility of the owner or builder of a building or works while enforcement is a matter for the 31 local building control authorities.
Part D of the Building Regulations deals with Materials and Workmanship and stipulates that all works are to be carried out with proper materials and in a workmanlike manner. It defines proper materials as those materials which are fit for the use for which they are intended and for the conditions in which they are to be used. The regulations do not prescribe the use of particular products but establish minimum performance requirements that the building or the construction works must achieve.
Requirements relating to the supply of gas and electricity do not fall within the scope of the Building Regulations. The Electro-Technical Council of Ireland is the national body responsible for the harmonisation of standards in the electro-technical field in collaboration with the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) while the Commission for Energy Regulation regulates the activities of natural gas undertakings and natural gas installers with respect to gas safety.
My Department understands that the NSAI, which comes under the remit of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, is the lead agency in relation to the formulation of quality, design and safety standards for heating and plumbing installations and it normally advances such work through the establishment of expert industry working groups. In this context, the NSAI is currently developing a Code of Practice entitled S.R. 50 - Code of Practice for Domestic Plumbing and Heating - Design, Implementation, Commissioning & Maintenance which will provide best practice guidance for use by the trade, by drawing together the references to relevant standards with useful explanations in an easily readable form. It is anticipated that the Code of Practice will be ready for public consultation later this year. When the Code of Practice is finalised my Department will be in a position to consider whether and in what circumstances it might be appropriately referenced in regulations or statutory guidance.
Parts G (Hygiene) and L (Conservation of Fuel and Energy) of the Building Regulations already set out specific requirements for the insulation of cold and hot water pipework within buildings in order to protect against freezing. Typically, it is recommended that insulation materials should have low water absorption, be frost resistant and should maintain performance in damp conditions over the long term. Furthermore, the Building Regulations do not prevent any organisation from undertaking a thermal imaging analysis of a building; this is a matter that is entirely at the discretion of the building owner in the context of identifying measures to improve the energy efficiency of the building.
In accordance with the Programme for a Partnership Government, my Department is preparing an Action Plan for Housing with a view to identifying any reasonable and appropriate measures that may be taken in the interests of reducing construction overheads in order to facilitate an increased level of housing output into the future.
122. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to the request this Deputy made to provide a breakdown of 2016 commitments on regeneration projects which were €28 million for Limerick city, €11 million for Cork city, €5 million for Dublin city and €2 million each for Tralee, Dundalk and Sligo, which amounts to €50 million overall (details supplied), if the total allocation for regeneration in 2016 is €104 million. [20028/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe allocation for regeneration projects for 2016 is €50m, as stated in the reply to Question Number 14 of 29 June 2016. Individual regeneration projects are implemented on a multi-annual basis and, accordingly, they receive funding that is spread over the years of their implementation. The €50m allocated for regeneration projects in 2016 is in relation to implementation activities for this year alone.
123. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the breakdown of the allocation of the €32 million to the regeneration of Dolphin House and St. Teresa's Gardens in Dublin 8 (details supplied). [20043/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe approved construction budget, which is subject to review, for phase 1 of the Dolphin House regeneration project is currently €19.1m. This is to cover the construction of 37 new units and the refurbishment of 67 units (100 units in total) and the provision of lift blocks. Other community-related costs are considered as required, such as the provision of CCTV facilities to help reduce anti-social behaviour and annual funding for social regeneration measures.
Dublin City Council has not yet submitted detailed costs to my Department for the St Teresa’s Gardens regeneration project but has estimated the construction cost will be some €12.5m, to provide 50 homes (16 apartments and 34 terraced houses). As with the Dolphin House regeneration project, community-related costs are considered as required.
