Written Answers Nos. 130-138
130. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of persons outside the payroll shared service centre, in increments of €5,000, in receipt of lump sums on retirement from the public service; and the corresponding amount of the lump sum in each of the years 2013 to 2015 granted by his Department. [28766/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe table sets out the details of lump sums paid on retirement by my Department in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
|
Range of Lump Sum amounts |
Number in 2013 |
Number in 2014 |
Number in 2015 |
|
0-5000 |
|
|
1 |
|
5001-10000 |
2 |
|
2 |
|
10001-15000 |
|
1 |
2 |
|
15001-20000 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
20001-25000 |
|
|
2 |
|
25001-30000 |
|
|
1 |
|
30001-35000 |
3 |
|
|
|
35001-40000 |
|
1 |
|
|
40001-45000 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
45001-50000 |
1 |
|
|
|
50001-55000 |
|
3 |
1 |
|
55001-60000 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
60001-65000 |
2 |
|
|
|
65001-70000 |
|
1 |
|
|
70001-75000 |
|
3 |
|
|
80001-85000 |
|
2 |
|
|
85001-90000 |
2 |
|
|
|
90001-95000 |
|
1 |
|
|
95001-100000 |
|
2 |
2 |
|
100001-105000 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
105001-110000 |
|
2 |
|
|
110001-115000 |
1 |
|
2 |
|
115001-120000 |
1 |
5 |
|
|
120001-125000 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
125001-130000 |
|
3 |
2 |
|
130001-135000 |
|
1 |
2 |
|
135001-140000 |
|
|
1 |
|
140001-145000 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
145001-150000 |
|
2 |
|
|
150001-155000 |
1 |
|
|
|
155001-160000 |
|
|
2 |
|
165001-170000 |
|
|
|
|
170001-175000 |
|
1 |
|
|
195001-200000 |
|
1 |
|
|
200001-205000 |
|
|
1 |
|
425001-430000* |
|
1 |
|
|
Total value of lump sums (€) |
1,272,393 |
4,070,758
|
2,033,290
|
*Under the Standard Fund Threshold taxation requirements, applying to certain severance/ pension arrangements, tax of €179,185 was paid from this payment.
131. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will provide data held by the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, in regard to persons registered with it as landlords in respect of multiple properties, in tabular form; the number of persons who are the registered landlords of two or more properties, five or more properties, ten or more properties, 20 or more properties, 50 or more properties, 100 or more properties, 200 or more properties, 300 or more properties, 400 or more properties and 500 or more properties for each of the years since the RTB was established. [28802/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) is an independent statutory body established on 1 September 2004 under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and I have no function in relation to the operational matters of the Board. Consequently, my Department does not hold or collate the information requested.
The Clerk of the Dáil has requested that arrangements be put in place to facilitate the provision of information by State Bodies to members of the Oireachtas. Circular LG (P) 05/16 issued on 20 September from my Department, requesting all agencies under the Department’s aegis, including the RTB, to put in place the necessary procedures to facilitate these new arrangements as soon as possible.
132. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of former rental accommodation scheme and rent supplement persons who have transferred across to the housing assistance payment, HAP, while remaining in the same property in real terms and as a percentage of the total number of live HAP tenancies. [28807/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraSome 13,600 households are currently having their housing needs met through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme. Some 4,800 (36%) of all households supported by the scheme have transferred from Rent Supplement. Due to the phased nature of the scheme’s roll out, the 19 local authorities providing HAP are at different stages of implementation. Accordingly, the number of households who have transferred from Rent Supplement varies from more than 70% of all households supported in established HAP local authority areas, to less than 20% in newer HAP authorities.
My Department does not hold any data regarding the number of Rent Supplement households who have transferred to the HAP scheme while remaining in the same property. However, it can be assumed that the vast majority of households, who transfer from the Rent Supplement scheme to HAP, will transfer in their current property.
It was not envisaged in designing the HAP scheme that tenants of other forms of Social Housing like RAS would regularly transfer to the HAP scheme. However, such transfers have occurred in a small number of exceptional circumstances.
133. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the estimated cost to the Exchequer of the suspension of water charges from 1 January 2017 to 31 March 2017. [28808/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra134. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the estimated cost of the suspension of water charges in 2016. [28809/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 133 and 134 together.
Irish Water has estimated the shortfall in domestic revenue arising from the suspension of domestic water charges in the period to 31 March 2017 will be in the order of €181m in 2016 and €125m in 2017. The Government is currently considering Irish Water's revenue shortfall arising from the proposed suspension of domestic water charges in 2016 as well as the funding of Irish Water in 2017.
135. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will amend the tenant purchase scheme guidelines to allow long-time tenants of county councils to purchase their homes by way of lump sum while not fulfilling the age criteria. [28815/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra136. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will amend the anomaly in the tenant purchase scheme to allow long-term tenants to purchase their homes with funds raised independently of the council while not fulfilling the income criteria. [28816/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 135 and 136 together.
The new Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum, having been in receipt of social housing support for at least 1 year and having been allocated a house under a local authority allocation scheme.
In determining reckonable income, the income of the tenants of the house, including adult children that are joint tenants can be included, as can the income of the spouse, civil partner or other partner/co-habitant of a tenant who lives in the house with them.
Reckonable income is calculated as gross income. Income from social welfare payments is included in the reckonable income but only where these payments constitute a secondary source of income.
In order to ensure the sustainability of the scheme, it is essential that an applicant’s income is of a long-term and sustainable nature. This is necessary to ensure that the tenant purchasing the house is in a financial position, as the owner, to maintain and insure the property for the duration of the charged period. This ensures compliance with the conditions of the order transferring the ownership of, and responsibility for, the house from the local authority to the tenant.
In line with the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government and reaffirmed in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, I intend to undertake a review of the scheme in January 2017 following the first 12 months of operation and I will bring forward any changes to the terms and conditions of the scheme which are considered necessary based on the evidence gathered at that stage.
137. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to ensure capital funding for social housing to provide 10% of housing units that are accessible for persons with mobility impairment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28828/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAll newly constructed social housing complies with Part M of the Building Regulations and accordingly, with very minor exceptions, such housing units provide access for persons with mobility impairment. Accessibility features in this regard include level access and an entry level wc.
In individual cases, further adaptions to a social house might be necessary to make a dwelling fully usable for a person with particular mobility impairment, but as individual requirements can differ, and adaptions for one person might not be suitable for another, this is usually dealt with on a case by case basis following the recommendations of an Occupational Therapist. My Department provides funding support to local authorities for the adaptations of existing social housing to meet the needs of people with a disability. In addition, my Department also provides funding via the Capital Assistance Scheme for the development of new social housing units by AHBs for people with disabilities.
138. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on the operation of the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme in the Dublin City Council area; the number of approvals for the HAP that have been made by homeless services each month since it came into being; the number of those approvals that applied to homeless persons who had HAP accommodation sourced by homeless services each month and the number of homeless persons who had to source a landlord willing to accept the HAP without assistance from homeless services. [28865/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe implementation of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is a key Government priority and the accelerated roll-out of the scheme on a national basis is an important early action for completion in the Government’s Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. Local authorities and my Department are working closely together in order to ensure the successful implementation of the scheme.
HAP is now available to all qualified households in 19 local authority areas with over 13,600 households currently being supported by the scheme and 9,500 separate landlords and agents providing accommodation to those households.
The Homelessness Pilot of the HAP scheme has been operational since February 2015 across the four housing authorities in the Dublin Region, i.e. Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council and is being implemented through the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE). The focus of this pilot scheme is to transition qualified households from emergency accommodation, including hotels, into private rented tenancies.
While eligible homeless households may source accommodation for themselves, a dedicated placement team, the Dublin Place-Finder Service, has also been established to engage directly with property-owners and support qualified households to find suitable tenancies and to ensure that any additional supports that may be needed are put in place. A publicity campaign targeting landlords is also currently in place. My Department does not hold data on the number of homeless households that have sourced accommodation under the homeless HAP scheme without the assistance of the Dublin Place-Finder Service.
Rebuilding Ireland commits to meeting the housing needs of 1,750 homeless households through the Homelessness Pilot of the HAP scheme over 2016 and 2017, as part of the overall accelerated HAP target of supporting 27,000 new households over the same period. There are currently 573 households being supported by the Homelessness Pilot of the HAP scheme across the four Dublin local authority areas. Some 401 of those households or 70% represent households with children.
While a month by month break down of homeless households supported is not currently available, I can advise that in the three months since the introduction of the increased HAP rent limit rates, the rate of households housed through the scheme has more than doubled with some 20 homeless households now being housed through the enhanced HAP support on a weekly basis.
At this point the full HAP scheme is only available to all qualifying households in one of the four Dublin local authorities, South Dublin County Council. The full roll-out of the scheme to all remaining local authorities, including the remaining Dublin local authorities, is currently being planned. To ensure the successful delivery of HAP in the capital, a specific purpose HAP Implementation Dublin Working-Group has been established to plan and manage the roll-out which is scheduled for Q.1 2017.
