Written Answers Nos. 335-345
335. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the position on a review of an application for carer’s allowance by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17348/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraCarer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care.
My department received an application for CA from the person concerned on 22 November 2016.
It is a condition for receipt of CA that every claimant shall furnish such certificates, documents, information and evidence as may be required for the purposes of deciding their claim.
The person was requested to provide bank statements and evidence pertaining to the cessation of his self-employment, but did not do so.
Accordingly a deciding officer decided that he was not entitled to CA.
The person concerned was notified on 3 May 2017 of this decision, the reason for it and of his right of review and appeal.
A review of this decision was requested on 22 May 2017. Although some documents were supplied on 25 July 2017, there were still bank statements outstanding. As a result, the deciding officer confirmed the original decision.
The person concerned was notified on 4 October 2017 of the outcome of this review and of his right of appeal.
Further documents were received on 4 April 2018 and the matter was referred back to the local social welfare inspector (SWI) to complete the earlier investigation that was suspended following the failure of the person concerned to supply documents as requested.
Once the SWI has reported, a decision will be made and the person concerned notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
336. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason for the refusal to issue disability allowance through the person's bank in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17381/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraExcept in certain exceptional circumstances, disability allowance (DA) is not payable for any period in respect of which the claimant is resident outside of the State. In all circumstances, disability allowance recipients must inform the Department that they are intending to leave the State.
For control reasons, the Department has decided that the appropriate payment method for the person concerned is collection at his nearest Post Office. The person in question has appointed an agent to collect payments on his behalf.
The Department is aware of the person’s desire to have their payment made by electronic fund transfer to their bank account and is keeping the matter under review.
337. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the basis on which a reduced level of jobseeker's allowance is being paid in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17382/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned is in receipt of a jobseekers allowance payment at a reduced rate. The reduced rate arises from an assessment of means derived from rental income. The decision was upheld by a Social Welfare Appeals Officer and the person concerned was advised by the social welfare appeals office of the decision on 12/10/17.
A letter issued from Newbridge Intreo Office on 24/10/17 advising the person concerned of the award of their claim and a further letter issued to them on 26/10/17 advising the details of an arrears payment of €3,448.
Please note that an incorrect PPSN has been quoted in the detail of the PQ and does not refer to the person concerned.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
338. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the steps he is taking to respond to concerns by a foreign direct investor (details supplied) that proposals to fast-track planning applications for data centres are insufficient; and the status of legislative changes to ensure Ireland retains and attracts foreign direct investment in this area. [17317/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am actively progressing a number of measures under my remit that are included in the Strategic Policy Framework agreed by Government in October 2017 for the continued development of data centres in Ireland, as part of wider economic growth and balanced regional development.
The National Planning Framework, published in February of this year, includes an objective for the promotion of Ireland as a sustainable international destination for ICT infrastructure such as data centres and associated economic activities and embeds policy support for data centres into the planning policy hierarchy.
I will take the necessary steps shortly to amend the Planning and Development Act 2000 in order to classify data centres above a certain size as strategic infrastructure developments. This change will mean that applications for planning permission for larger data centres will be made direct to An Bord Pleanála, thereby streamlining the planning decision-making process. I will table the necessary legislative amendments by way of proposed amendments to the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016, which is currently at Seanad Committee Stage.
Following consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, I am also intending to put forward legislative proposals for streamlining judicial review of strategic infrastructure projects to Government later this year, seeking formal approval to draft the necessary legislative amendments. These proposals will aim to provide greater certainty in the timeframe for decision-making in the planning process.
I also intend to issue statutory planning guidelines under section 28 of the 2000 Act, requiring mandatory pre-application public participation in respect of windfarm development, which will serve as a pilot case to assess how best to obtain the benefits of public participation in respect of SID projects. The outcome of this pilot will feed into a general review of existing planning legislation to determine if any other changes are necessary in respect of strategic infrastructure projects in the light of experience and following on from the recommendations of the Expert Group on the Review of An Bord Pleanála.
I am confident that implementation of the range of measures set out in the Government's Strategic Policy Framework for data centres will speed up the planning consent process for future data centres, without diminishing the crucial role of public and community consultations in the consideration of individual proposals for development.
339. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the way in which rent increase caps appear not to govern student accommodation (details supplied); and his plans for changes to prevent such large rent increases. [17125/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI refer to the reply to Questions No. 1491, 1556 and 1579 of 17 April 2018 which sets out the latest position in the matter.
340. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if funding will be provided for Dublin Fire Brigade to purchase new ladders that can reach up to 42 m in height; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17143/18]
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 Acts, 1981 and 2003.
My Department supports the fire authorities through setting national policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding, including recoupment (within the overall funding available) of costs incurred by fire authorities in relation to the approved purchase of fire appliances and emergency equipment, as well as construction and upgrading of fire stations.
Dublin City Council provides fire services on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities. My Department has recently received an update report from Dublin City Council in relation to its fire appliance fleet and will liaise with the Council in relation to determining priority projects for financial support in the years ahead. Continued investment in the fire appliance fleet is one of the key national priorities for the Fire Services Capital Programme.
My Department announced a new national joint-procurement programme in 2017 to purchase 20 new fire appliances, under which Dublin City Council's Fire Service received an allocation of three new ‘Class B’ appliances. In 2015 under a similar programme, Dublin's Fire Service were also allocated three ‘Class B’ appliances. They requested and received approval to substitute the cost of one of those appliances to purchase a pre-used turntable ladder. In addition to these, since 2008, my Department has also funded four ‘Class B’ appliances and one turntable ladder for Dublin.
Management of the number, type and age profile of fire appliances is a matter for each of the fire authorities. In the assessment of their fire cover needs, including the provision and management of a fleet adequate to their requirements, fire service management use evidence based on multi-annual data of actual fires in determining fire station area risk categorisations and have regard to standards set out in the national policy document “Keeping Communities Safe” for benchmarking their services. My Department also includes the area risk categorisation process in determining priority projects for financial support.
All requests for funding from my Department's Fire Services Capital Programme will be considered within the constraints of available resources and will have regard to local authorities' priorities, the value for money offered by proposals and the totality of requests from fire authorities.
341. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans to open up the pyrite remediation scheme nationwide to assist homeowners that are adversely affected by same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17148/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Pyrite Resolution Act 2013 provides the statutory framework for the establishment of the Pyrite Resolution Board and for the making of a pyrite remediation scheme to be implemented by the Board with support from the Housing Agency.
The provisions of the Act apply only to dwellings affected by significant damage attributable to pyritic heave consequent on the presence of reactive pyrite in the subfloor hardcore material and not to damage arising in any other circumstance, e.g. such as pyrite in concrete blocks.
The pyrite remediation scheme is a scheme of “last resort” for affected homeowners who have no other practical option to obtain redress and is limited in its application and scope. The full conditions for eligibility under the scheme are set out in the scheme which is available on the Board’s website, www.pyriteboard.ie.
The scheme is applicable to dwellings, which are subject to significant damage attributable to pyritic heave established, in accordance with I.S. 398-1:2013 - Reactive pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material – Part 1: Testing and categorisation protocol. In this regard, it is a condition of eligibility under the scheme that an application to the Board must be accompanied by a Building Condition Assessment with a Damage Condition Rating of 2. Dwellings which do not have a Damage Condition Rating of 2 are not eligible to apply under the scheme. This ensures that, having regard to the available resources, the focus of the scheme is on dwellings which are most severely damaged by pyritic heave. I have no proposals to amend this eligibility criterion.
As matters currently stand, the scheme is based on the information that was available to the Board at the time of its adoption in February 2014 and having regard to the detail set out in the Report of the Pyrite Panel (July 2012).
The Panel undertook a desktop study, in conjunction with a stakeholder consultation, to establish certain facts in relation to the potential exposure of pyrite in dwellings. The information was gathered from a number of sources including local authorities, structural guarantee providers, representatives of homeowners, private builders, construction professionals and public representatives and was cross referenced to verify, as far as practicable, its validity.
Seventy-four estates were identified to the Pyrite Panel, as possibly having pyrite. At that time all of these estates were located in the five local authority areas of Dublin City, Fingal, Kildare, Meath and Offaly, although the scheme was subsequently amended in February 2015 in the light of relevant information that emerged in the local authority areas of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin with regard to pyritic heave in a small number of housing developments, i.e. one development in each of the two local authority areas.
Any proposal to amend the scheme is, in the first instance, a matter for the Pyrite Resolution Board and any such proposal would require detailed consideration of the evidence. The recommendations of the Pyrite Panel, which informed the establishment of the pyrite remediation scheme, were premised on a number of pertinent factors. Similar factors would need to be examined by the Pyrite Resolution Board in advance of extending the scheme to other areas, given the scheme is ultimately one of last resort.
As a minimum, in order to consider the appropriateness or otherwise of amending the scheme, I understand that the Board would require a report addressing the following information: -
- the extent and severity of damage to dwellings in the local authority area caused by pyritic heave in the subfloor hardcore;
- verification, if available, that the damage has been caused by pyrite;
- the background to the occurrence of the damage;
- details of any structural warranty policies for the dwellings;
- the history of the estate’s construction, numbers, type of dwellings etc;
- the source of the hardcore supplied to dwellings in the estate; and
- any supporting geological assessments.
In addition to the above, the Board may also make such further enquiries as it considers necessary in order to assist it in considering the matter. In this regard, it would be advisable for the residents to confirm the nature of the pyrite problems in the area, i.e. do the problems stem from reactive pyrite in the subfloor hardcore material which is giving rise to pyritic heave and consequential significant pyritic damage.
The Board may be contacted by phone at Lo call 1890 252842 or by email to info@pyriteboard.ie or alternatively at oireachtasinfo@pyriteboard.ie.
342. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if the staffing request by Galway County Council to appoint a branch librarian at Ballygar Library, County Galway, will be approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17162/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department received a staff sanction request from Galway County Council for a Branch Librarian, Ballygar, on 5 April 2018 and following consideration of the request, the post was approved on 16 April 2018.
343. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of new local authority houses or voluntary houses built in Galway city and county respectively in each year since 2011; the number of private houses purchased for social housing purposes in this period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17182/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThrough the supports made available from my Department, funding is available to all local authorities to deliver additional social housing stock through new construction projects, through the acquisition of new and previously owned houses/apartments and through working with approved housing bodies under a range of delivery options.
Details on the number of properties purchased and built in each local authority area, including Galway City and County local authorities, for letting to those on the social housing waiting lists, are available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.housing.gov.ie/node/6338. Information on quarter four of 2017 will be published shortly.
344. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if funding provided by his Department to Kildare County Council to repair houses has been returned; and if so, the amount. [17191/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 58 of the Housing Act 1966 provides that the management and maintenance of local authority housing stock is a matter for each individual local authority in the first instance, including housing maintenance and repairs.
My Department does provide exchequer support to local authorities in respect of housing refurbishments in certain situations and, for example, in 2017 through the Voids Programme, Kildare County Council was assisted with around €200,000 in funding to refurbish 8 vacant/derelict social houses so they could be returned to productive use.
This funding was fully drawn down and I am not aware of any instance where funding has been returned by Kildare County Council to my Department under this programme.
345. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme applications received to date by local authority area; the number of loans approved, declined and still under consideration, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17215/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs with the previous local authority home loan offerings, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, which was introduced on 1 February 2018, is a local authority product and loan applications are made directly to the local authority in whose area the property proposed for purchase is situated. My Department does not collect information on the number of enquiries to local authorities regarding the loan, the number of completed loan applications received by local authorities, or the reasons as to why a loan application may be declined.
As is currently the case, my Department will continue to publish information on the overall number and value of (1) local authority loan approvals and (2) local authority loan drawdowns on its website at the following link: www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/house-prices-loans-and-profile-borrowers/local-authority-loan-activity.
This information is currently updated to end Q3 2017; it is anticipated that Q4 data will be published shortly.
