Written Answers Nos. 55-62
55. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans for the announced amendment to the Constitution regarding voting rights of Irish citizens living outside the State in presidential elections. [13922/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government recently decided to hold a referendum to amend the Constitution to give the right to vote at presidential elections to Irish citizens resident outside the State, including Northern Ireland.
In order to inform public discourse on the significant policy change proposed, I published an Options Paper on 22 March 2017, which is available on my Department's website at http://www.housing.gov.ie/local-government/voting/presidential-elections/voting-presidential-elections-citizens-resident. The Options Paper sets out a range of options available to give effect to the recommendation in the Fifth Report of the Convention on the Constitution. It will also provide a basis for a discussion on voting rights, which will be one of the topics to be addressed at the Global Irish Civic Forum in Dublin in May. These considerations will inform the preparation of the necessary legislation for a referendum.
If approved in a referendum, the extension of the franchise, as proposed, would require modernisation of the voter registration process and the introduction of arrangements to facilitate those eligible to vote to exercise their franchise from outside the State. Accordingly, the Government has agreed that my Department should now commence work to effect improvements in the registration of voters.
56. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the capital allocation for housing that has been ring-fenced by his Department for 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10499/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo support the implementation of Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, I have secured €5.35 billion in exchequer investment to deliver 47,000 social housing units through build, refurbishment, acquisitions and leasing, over the period to 2021.
The €5.35 billion investment comprises some €4.5 billion funding in capital funding and €844 million in support of programmes funded from current expenditure. In addition, over €200 million is being provided for the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund for investment in key enabling infrastructure, the details of which I announced last week with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
The 2018 funding allocations for both capital and current housing programmes will be finalised in the context of the forthcoming annual estimates process.
57. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the current crisis facing numerous town centres in which there is documented decline in business vitality and retail footfall; the measures pending to assist these town centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16820/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for a Partnership Government, published in May 2016, sets out the ambitious priority attached to urban regeneration by the Government, incorporating a series of specific actions aimed at facilitating the regeneration of our urban centres, many of which have been adversely impacted by our recent economic difficulties. The Government’s Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness published in July 2016, further reinforces the Government’s commitment to the area of urban regeneration.
In this regard, the Programme for Government specifically commits to examining a series of initiatives in the area of urban regeneration, such as:
- the introduction of a scheme similar to the ‘Living City Initiative’ to regenerate urban centres and villages throughout Ireland,
- examining the scope to reform the Derelict Sites Act to tackle the under-use and hoarding of derelict land by the State, semi-State and private sectors,
- the establishment of a National Register of Derelict Sites, in addition to the new vacant site levy, to bring vacant and under-utilised sites into beneficial use for housing and urban regeneration purposes,
- the mandating of local authorities with better land management powers, including the possibility of additional CPO capabilities, and
- various other measures, which have subsequently been developed under Rebuilding Ireland, particularly under Pillar 5, aimed at bringing vacant housing stock into reuse and which have already been launched such as the Repair and Leasing Scheme, the Buy and Renew Scheme, and the €70m rolling fund to enable the Housing Agency to purchase vacant properties on the portfolios of financial institutions and investors for social housing use.
To drive forward these and other considerations, a Working Group, which I chair and comprising senior representatives from my Department, local authorities and other relevant bodies, has been established to bring forward proposals for new urban regeneration measures as early as possible. It is intended that the new measures will complement the existing regeneration programme under my Department’s Social Housing Capital Programme, as well as other social regeneration initiatives already under way. The Working Group has met on a number of occasions to date and will meet again in the coming weeks to consider issues and emerging proposals, including the scope for further measures to facilitate urban regeneration generally. I expect the Working Group to be in a position to report before the Summer.
To further assist in the area of urban regeneration, my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs launched the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in August 2016, with an initial allocation of €10 million in funding. In this regard, a sum of €380,000 was made available to each of the 31 local authorities under the initial phase of the scheme, and a full list of towns benefiting under the scheme is available on the website of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, at the following link:
http://www.ahrrga.gov.ie/more-than-170-towns-and-villages-benefit-from-funding-under-e10m-town-and-village-renewal-scheme-minister-Humphreys/.
Increased funding of €12 million has been provided in Budget 2017 to enhance this scheme with a view to increasing the attractiveness and sustainability of our towns and villages as places in which to live and work.
My Department is also developing proposals for the preparation of a consolidated Rates Bill to modernise and consolidate legislation in this area. Among the measures being addressed in the proposals is provision for local authorities to introduce rates alleviation schemes to support specific policy objectives, which could include, inter alia, local authority planning objectives, including any objectives in Development Plans and Local Area Plans.
In addition, it is envisaged that the forthcoming National Planning Framework entitled Ireland 2040 - Our Plan, will further develop policy in relation to identifying potential to build up the population and economic vitality of city and town centre areas that in many cases have witnessed a sustained movement of people outwards to suburban areas and wider settings.
Finally, the Deputy may be aware of the Retail Consultation Forum - chaired by my colleague the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation - which is expected to approve a new “Framework for Town Centre Renewal” shortly and which I understand will incorporate an Action Plan to support Town Centre Renewal.
58. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if an allocation of €500 million will be made to local authorities for the direct building of social housing, in view of the reports that the majority of social housing units are currently being built by approved housing bodies that are more limited than local authorities in their capacity to deliver new units on a large scale; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17098/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have published details of the 504 approved social housing construction schemes which were advancing nationwide as at end Quarter 4, 2016. This list can be accessed at the following link:
http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/social-housing-developments/.
These schemes, when completed, will deliver circa 8,430 new social houses, some of which were completed in 2016, with others in the pipeline to be completed in 2017 and subsequent years.
The list also highlights that local authorities are to the forefront of the direct build of new social housing construction schemes. 313 of the 504 schemes listed are being advanced by local authorities, delivering over 5,300 new social housing units, with 191 schemes being implemented by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), delivering over 3,100 units.
Further project approvals are being added to the pipeline as they are developed by local authorities and AHBs, all of which are being funded through the €5.35 billion that is available for social housing delivery under Rebuilding Ireland.
Local authorities and AHBs both have vital roles in the delivery of the targets set out in Rebuilding Ireland and this is reflected in the delivery pipeline already in place. I am keen that all social housing projects are advanced as speedily as possible and I have assured local authorities with regard to the funding that is in place to support their activity in this regard.
59. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the extent the various local authorities in the areas most affected by housing shortage are capable of mounting an emergency campaign to address the issue of homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17111/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department continues to work closely with housing authorities in the areas most affected by deficits in housing supply to ensure that they are making every effort possible to meet the emergency accommodation needs of households presenting to them.
My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. One of the 5 Pillars of the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan is focused specifically on addressing homelessness and sets out a range of integrated measures through which local authorities, other public bodies, Approved Housing Bodies and other relevant organisations are responding to the homelessness challenge. Ultimately the solution rests in achieving a significant increase in housing supply, particularly in relation to social housing in respect of which 47,000 units of accommodation are to be provided over the period to 2021, supported by €5.35 billion in funding.
Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services, including accommodation, rests with individual local authorities. The purposes for which housing authorities may incur expenditure in addressing homelessness are prescribed in Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. The funding needs of the various housing authorities are kept under review on an ongoing basis. In Budget 2017, the Government approved funding of almost €98 million for this purpose, compared to an initial provision of €70 million last year, €53 million in 2015 and €45 million in 2014.
60. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on the 10% increase in the commercial rates burden on average across local authorities since 2010 and his views on local authorities increasingly over relying on commercial rates revenue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17117/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe local authority funding model has changed considerably in recent years principally as a result both of the introduction of Local Property Tax (LPT) in 2013 and the establishment of Irish Water. The Local Government Fund, through General Purpose Grants (GPGs), historically provided local authorities with finance for funding some of their day-to-day activities, including elements of water services costs. In 2014, certain water services costs were moved to Irish Water, resulting in a reduced funding requirement for local authorities from the Local Government Fund and, in 2015, LPT allocations to local authorities replaced GPGs. Local authorities now receive funding from Irish Water for services provided under service level agreements. Local authorities also receive significant other funding, current and capital, from my Department and from other Departments and agencies for a range of activities, such as housing and the maintenance of non-national roads, for example. While capital funding levels declined in line with the national economic circumstances, they have now started to increase significantly again.
The combined impact of these changes is that income proportion figures from 2010 are, therefore, not directly comparable to more recent years.
The levying and collection of rates is a matter for each individual local authority. The annual rate on valuation (ARV) is decided by the elected members of the local authority as part of the annual budget based on what level of income is considered necessary in order to provide the required level of services. My Department has in recent years requested local authorities to exercise restraint in setting, and where possible to reduce, ARVs and they have responded positively in this regard. The national average ARV decreased each year from 2010 to 2014; 2015 and 2016 are not directly comparable due to local authority mergers and the necessity to harmonise rates across new local authority areas.
It is important to note that, while income from commercial rates in 2015 makes up an increased proportion of local authorities' income compared to 2010, the actual quantum of rates income has not increased significantly in monetary terms from 2010 (€1.43bn) to 2015 (€1.496bn).
Further details of the funding available to local authorities is reported in the Chapter of the Comptroller and Auditor General on Central Government Funding of Local Authorities, the most recent of which is available at:
http://audgen.gov.ie/documents/annualreports/2015/report/en/Chapter4.pdf.
61. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans and the anticipated timeline for the deep thermal retrofit of social housing stock; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13942/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraLocal authorities are currently undertaking an ambitious programme of insulation retrofitting, with the support of my Department, on the least energy efficient social homes. Funding of some €107 million has been provided from 2013 to end-2016 to improve energy efficiency and comfort levels in over 58,000 local authority homes, benefitting those at risk of fuel poverty and making a significant contribution to Ireland’s carbon emissions reduction targets and energy reduction targets for 2020.
The insulation retrofitting programme is being implemented in a number of phases. Phase 1 commenced in 2013 and is focused on providing attic/roof insulation and the less intrusive cavity wall insulation in all relevant properties.
I assume the Deputy is referring to Phase 2 of the retrofitting programme, which has been piloted in both Fingal and Westmeath County Councils. This will focus on the external fabric upgrade of those social housing units with solid/hollow block wall construction. Phase 2 will be rolled out to all local authorities this year.
Based on the most recent information from local authorities, it is estimated that there are in the region of 23,000 and 28,000 homes requiring Phase 1 and 2 works, respectively.
My Department will shortly be asking local authorities to submit details of their work proposals and related funding requirements for this programme in 2017.
