Written Answers Nos. 126-137
126. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the total allocation in each of the years 2011 to 2016 and to date in 2017 in the Estimates for the provision of Traveller accommodation; the amount spent each year, broken down by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22495/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes (TAPs) in their areas. My Department’s role is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist the authorities in providing such accommodation, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding.
The first three TAPs covered the periods 2000-2004, 2005-2008 and 2009-2013. Local authorities adopted the fourth and current round of TAPs in April 2014, with the five-year rolling programmes running from 2014 to 2018. These programmes provide a road map for local authority investment priorities over the period. They also form the basis for the allocation of funding from my Department for Traveller accommodation. Local authorities submit proposals for individual Traveller-specific projects and developments which are assessed on a case-by-case basis in my Department, in advance of allocations being made.
The allocations and recoupment profiles for capital Traveller accommodation projects can vary across local authorities given the local priorities, circumstances and project timelines as set out in the TAPs. Funding is recouped to local authorities on eligible expenditure incurred and, where it is likely that an allocation to a local authority may be unspent or under-spent, my Department engages with local authorities to re-allocate the funding in order to ensure that drawdown is maximised. The allocations and recoupment in relation to local authority traveller accommodation for the years 2011 to 2016 and the overall allocation of €9m for 2017 are set out in tabular form in the following table. Allocations for individual local authorities for 2017 are currently being finalised and will be available shortly.
|
County Council |
Allocation 2011 |
Recouped 2011 |
Allocation 2012 |
Recouped 2012 |
Allocation 2013 |
Recouped 2013 |
Allocation 2014 |
Recouped 2014 |
Allocation 2015 |
Recouped 2015 |
Allocation 2016 |
Recouped 2016 |
Allocation 2017 |
|
Carlow |
50,000 |
26,146 |
0 |
305,156 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
130,000 |
0 |
|
|
Cavan |
10,000 |
6,356 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
57,412 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8,600 |
9,398 |
|
|
Clare |
500,000 |
481,387 |
300,000 |
183,281 |
343,450 |
248,290 |
181,976 |
250,613 |
37,000 |
0 |
200,000 |
0 |
|
|
Cork |
425,000 |
10,132 |
300,000 |
171,103 |
110,000 |
148,865 |
0 |
15,322 |
149,000 |
0 |
30,000 |
0 |
|
|
Donegal |
25,000 |
61,669 |
300,000 |
233,500 |
88,000 |
0 |
0 |
3,175 |
0 |
4,750 |
82,000 |
74,532 |
|
|
South Dublin |
600,000 |
258,852 |
250,000 |
140,123 |
50,000 |
81,277 |
24,750 |
46,978 |
0 |
0 |
63,000 |
26,397 |
|
|
Fingal |
700,000 |
0 |
150,000 |
0 |
115,000 |
55,000 |
222,575 |
424,754 |
645,000 |
1,113,425 |
26,842 |
0 |
|
|
Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown |
750,000 |
330,349 |
313,150 |
155,051 |
160,000 |
204,352 |
8,793 |
23,986 |
0 |
1,592,429 |
419,095 |
129,552 |
|
|
Galway |
100,000 |
292,947 |
500,000 |
0 |
190,000 |
138,840 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
117,000 |
123,816 |
|
|
Kerry |
400,000 |
600,578 |
23,249 |
17,067 |
0 |
11,025 |
99,571 |
144,415 |
4,550 |
3,810 |
57,000 |
255,730 |
|
|
Kildare |
200,000 |
0 |
30,000 |
30,000 |
113,000 |
148,352 |
300,000 |
0 |
200,000 |
0 |
200,000 |
0 |
|
|
Kilkenny |
450,000 |
501,263 |
60,000 |
640 |
0 |
94,974 |
450,000 |
287,239 |
551,626 |
397,577 |
377,500 |
431,714 |
|
|
Laois |
200,000 |
3,810 |
530,000 |
218,481 |
659,000 |
675,028 |
0 |
60,262 |
0 |
30,600 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Leitrim |
80,000 |
14,234 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
65,975 |
18,800 |
12,794 |
|
|
Limerick |
200,000 |
81,600 |
134,400 |
98,400 |
29,110 |
31,760 |
0 |
0 |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
|
Longford |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
25,000 |
78,000 |
88,966 |
2,900 |
0 |
|
|
Louth |
235,000 |
504,109 |
150,000 |
239,508 |
155,000 |
155,000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7,620 |
0 |
444,484 |
|
|
Mayo |
30,000 |
38,503 |
136,850 |
3,810 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3,810 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Meath |
1,500,000 |
1,796,295 |
78,133 |
63,560 |
220,000 |
255,626 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
120,000 |
76,877 |
|
|
Monaghan |
0 |
197,925 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
North Tipperary |
500,000 |
174,323 |
139,508 |
46,947 |
126,600 |
244,346 |
353,656 |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
|
Offaly |
400,000 |
406,902 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
50,377 |
70,000 |
73,760 |
3,069 |
85,000 |
73,000 |
37,775 |
|
|
Roscommon |
495,000 |
269,689 |
373,587 |
0 |
427,000 |
393,184 |
54,000 |
96,126 |
19,622 |
0 |
50,000 |
10,808 |
|
|
Sligo |
500,000 |
624,885 |
18,090 |
17,225 |
8,000 |
9,700 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
South Tipperary |
250,000 |
445,623 |
27,641 |
190,000 |
0 |
1,275 |
0* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
|
Tipperary |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
291,874 |
800,000 |
23,142 |
900,000 |
1,399,370 |
|
|
Waterford |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
|
Westmeath |
150,000 |
174,718 |
46,452 |
48,655 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
95,000 |
0 |
208,000 |
48,000 |
|
|
Wexford |
100,000 |
111,422 |
285,000 |
172,552 |
150,000 |
150,000 |
105,901 |
328,733 |
0 |
30,906 |
96,000 |
87,695 |
|
|
Wicklow |
600,000 |
459,904 |
550,000 |
605,837 |
108,300 |
164,684 |
0 |
67,038 |
63,097 |
27,891 |
46,000 |
0 |
|
|
City Council |
|||||||||||||
|
Cork |
0 |
40,500 |
62,000 |
70,500 |
0 |
17,500 |
256,687 |
206,913 |
800,000 |
427,304 |
400,000 |
301,796 |
|
|
Dublin |
1,350,000 |
433,099 |
50,000 |
287,402 |
420,000 |
465,000 |
407,500 |
481,693 |
366,299 |
99,162 |
1,405,198 |
762,342 |
|
|
Galway |
550,000 |
135,328 |
360,000 |
391,250 |
159,000 |
0 |
75,127 |
72,241 |
0 |
62,150 |
40,000 |
0 |
|
|
Limerick |
1,150,000 |
329,341 |
250,000 |
50,106 |
295,000 |
264,310 |
350,000 |
249,987 |
7,500 |
68,923 |
81,000 |
21,209 |
|
|
Waterford |
500,000 |
503,019 |
252,240 |
259,846 |
25,000 |
76,756 |
0 |
9,769 |
413,347 |
0 |
263,000 |
13,545 |
|
|
Reserve |
2,000,000 |
329,700 |
48,540 |
39,464 |
66,890 |
85,065 |
|||||||
|
TOTAL |
15,000,000 |
9,314,910 |
6,000,000 |
4,000,000 |
4,000,000 |
4,142,933 |
3,000,000 |
3,163,688 |
4,300,000 |
4,129,630 |
5,500,000 |
4,267,831 |
9,000,000 |
127. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government when the statutory instrument dealing with the large-scale extraction of peat will be finalised and published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22506/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is currently progressing draft Regulations under the European Communities Act 1972 that will establish a new regulatory regime in respect of large-scale peat extraction. Under the new regime, the Environmental Protection Agency will be required to carry out an environmental impact assessment as part of its examination of licence applications for existing and new peat extraction of 30 hectares or more.
Interested parties and stakeholders were consulted on the draft Regulations in October 2016. A detailed review of the draft Regulations is ongoing in the light of the comments received, with a view to finalising the Regulations by the end of June.
128. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on concerns expressed by local authorities (details supplied) that councils are at risk of being sued by persons who were turned down for planning or persons who wanted to sell sites due to the application of locals only planning permission criteria. [22509/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra130. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on whether local needs criteria contained in a number of county development plans for the granting of planning permission for one-off dwellings in rural areas are compatible with Articles 43 and 56 of the EC Treaty. [22517/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 130 together.
Arising from a Judgment by the European Court of Justice on a related matter, my Department is currently engaged in consultations with planning authorities regarding potential modifications required to the 2005 Planning Guidelines on Sustainable Rural Housing, with a view to ensuring that rural housing policies and objectives contained in county development plans comply with Articles 43 (Freedom of Movement of People) and 56 (Freedom of Movement of Capital) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
A Working Group, comprising officials from planning authorities and my Department, has been established to review and revise the guidelines and is due to hold its first meeting this month. The concerns referred to by the Deputy will be taken into account as part of the review. On conclusion of the review, my Department will be engaging with the European Commission on proposed changes to the Guidelines, with a view to issuing updated Guidelines to planning authorities on the matter in due course. In the interim, the existing Guidelines remain in effect.
When finalised, in the second half of 2017, the revised guidelines will be issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Under the provisions of the Act, planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála are required to have regard to guidelines issued under section 28 in the performance of their functions generally under the Planning Acts.
129. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason for the extremely low allocation to Galway City Council for the capital housing programme, which is 97% below 2009 levels. [22516/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe capital funding that my Department provides to Galway City Council and to all other local authorities for social housing, is directly related to the level of social housing delivery that each authority is undertaking in any particular year, and the associated spend. With €5.35 billion secured to support social housing delivery under Rebuilding Ireland, very substantial funding is available to support the housing programmes of local authorities.
I am keen, therefore, that Galway City Council advances its delivery as soon as possible. I have assured all local authorities that funding is in place to support their activity in respect of new social housing construction and acquisition.
As well as each local authority's own programme to build and acquire new social housing, they are also working with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) who can deliver new social housing through a range of funding mechanisms. I am pleased to see that Galway City Council is working productively with the AHB sector to secure new social housing in this way.
Information on all social housing construction projects being implemented by the local authorities and also by AHBs, has been published and is available at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/install/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Social-Housing_Construction-Status-Report_Q4-2016.pdf.
131. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if a new residential development has to be fully compliant with schedule 2 of the building regulations to attain a certification of compliance and a certificate of completion; and if it is possible to be partly non-compliant, excluding those for which there is an exemption attained with some standard before a building can be legally occupied as a residential dwelling. [22519/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014, primary responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations rests with the designers, builders and owners of buildings. Enforcement of the Building Regulations is a matter for the 31 local building control authorities, who have extensive powers of inspection and enforcement in the event of breaches of the Building Control Regulations.
In response to the many building failures that have emerged over the past decade, my Department introduced the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 9 of 2014), which require greater accountability in relation to compliance with Building Regulations in the form of statutory certification of design and construction by registered construction professionals and builders, lodgement of compliance documentation, mandatory inspections during construction and validation and registration of certificates.
Article 20F of the Building Control Regulations provides that a Certificate of Compliance on Completion shall be submitted to a building control authority and be included on the register before works or a building may be opened, occupied or used. There is no such thing as a 'Completion Certificate' under the Building Control Regulations.
A Certificate of Compliance on Completion is jointly signed by the builder and the assigned certifier. This must be accompanied by plans and documentation to show how the constructed building complies with the building regulations and also the inspection plan, as implemented.
In effect, the statutory Certificate of Compliance on Completion certifies that a building is compliant with all relevant requirements of the Building Regulations.
132. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on whether the building energy regulation cert database provides an accurate data source to count the completion of new build dwellings on an annual basis, in view of the fact that since 2007 all new builds require a BER. [22520/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe recording and reporting of statistics on housing activity is a complex matter that involves tracking a range of different indicators – including planning permissions, commencement notices, ESB connections and several others - from various sources, each of which measure different aspects of housing market activity. Each dataset presents part of the overall housing activity picture but none of the datasets were specifically designed to count new house construction.
Since the 1970’s, the Department has published ESB data on residential properties connected to the ESB grid, as a proxy for house completions, as it represents the best available indicator, with full coverage, that a residential unit is becoming available for occupation. This dataset includes recently completed once-off homes, multi-unit scheme developments and apartments as well as some re-connections to the grid, where properties that have been unoccupied for over two years are being brought back into use.
It is important to note that the ESB figures are by no means the only dataset used to measure housing construction activity. For example, detailed information on residential construction activity is available from local authorities and the four Dublin local authorities reported 144 active construction sites, encompassing the construction of some 5,200 new dwellings, at the end of 2016. This is a very important source of information in terms of informing policies aimed at increasing supply in the key Dublin housing market.
In terms of building energy regulations, I understand that, in line with the European Union (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2012 (S.I. No. 243 of 2012), a BER Certificate must generally be obtained before a new dwelling may be occupied or offered for sale or letting. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), which comes within the remit of my colleague the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, is the statutory agency responsible for the day-to-day administration of the BER Scheme, while local building control authorities are responsible for enforcement of the obligation to obtain BER certificates, in line with the 2012 Regulations. My Department is examining the potential of BER records to offer housing activity data and will continue to work with all available datasets in order to gain as complete a picture as possible.
The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), with the support of my Department, introduced the on-line Building Control Management System (BCMS) with effect from 1 March 2014 to facilitate building control authorities, building owners, builders and construction professionals in discharging their responsibilities under the Building Control Act 1990, as amended. The Department is actively engaging with the LGMA with a view to further developing the potential of the BCMS as an additional source of data in relation to house building activity.
The Central Statistics Office established an independent group in January 2017, chaired by an Assistant Director General, to examine housing statistics and my Department participates on that Group. This Group is considering the best analytical approaches to reconciling and combining datasets in this area and will have oversight of, and a direct involvement in, the examination of any output arising from the variety of analyses currently underway.
In addition, my Department has also established a new Housing Data Analytics Group, with membership from the CSO, Central Bank, local authorities and others to examine this complex area and to monitor and review the various sources of data collected nationally to provide a comprehensive and coherent suite of statistics relating to housing matters.
133. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the steps he will take to update electoral law in view of the impact of digital spending in the UK; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22544/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile I am aware of the current trends, both in Ireland and internationally, in the growth of expenditure on digital advertising over the other more traditional forms of media advertising, I have no proposals to amend the Electoral Acts in relation to spending limits that apply at elections at this point in time.
It can be seen from the statements of election expenses furnished to the Standards in Public Office Commission, by political parties and candidates, which are published on the Commission's website, that expenditure on digital advertising, on various social media platforms, was a feature of the 2016 general election. I expect that such expenditure will continue to be a feature of election campaigns should current global trends continue.
The Electoral Acts, including provisions in relation to spending limits and the composition of election expenses, are subject to ongoing review in order to ensure that a robust and modern legal framework for political funding is maintained as a cornerstone in support of the operation of our democratic system. The statutory limits on election spending have been the subject of change in the past and will be kept under review in the context of future elections.
134. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) has not been granted a PPS number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22415/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe application in question has been processed and a PPS Number has been assigned.
The applicant will be advised in writing in due course.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
135. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of companies for which his Department has covered costs, including workers' redundancy payments and other insolvency costs when that same company has become insolvent or dissolved, in each of the years from 2011 to 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22417/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra136. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of staff redundancies that have been paid by his Department in circumstances in which a company has become insolvent or dissolved in each of the years 2011 to 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22418/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra137. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of companies that are operating in circumstances in which his Department had stepped in to cover costs including workers' redundancy payments and other insolvency costs in each of the years 2011 to 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22419/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 135 to 137, inclusive, together.
The purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate employees for the loss of their jobs when the employer is unable to pay statutory redundancy due to financial difficulties or insolvency. The purpose of the insolvency payments scheme is to pay outstanding wage-related entitlements due to employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer.
Statistics on payments under the two schemes are recorded by individual claim not by company. The total number of redundancy and insolvency claims from 2011 to March 2017 is outlined in the following table.
When a payment is made from the redundancy and insolvency payments schemes from the Social Insurance Fund a debt is raised against the employer, which is reported in the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) financial accounts. The total employer debt to the Social Insurance Fund at 31 December, 2016 stood at €459 million.
As of 30 March, 2017 there were 13,400 employers with outstanding debt to the SIF (annual figures are not available). 3,453 of these are companies which have not filed for insolvency and appear to be continuing to trade. Three-quarters of the debt value is in respect of insolvent companies.
Redundancy Payments Schemes
Total claims received
|
Year |
Redundancy |
Insolvency |
|
2011* |
49,762 |
8,662 |
|
2012* |
33,072 |
7,930 |
|
2013 |
8,708 |
8,354 |
|
2014 |
6,652 |
6,469 |
|
2015 |
4,266 |
3,318 |
|
2016 |
2,246 |
1,826 |
|
2017 1st quarter |
629 |
285 |
*The figures for 2011 and 2012 include rebate claims.
