Written Answers Nos. 283-292
283. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if his Department has engaged consultants, other outside bodies or persons to conduct research, provide advice or assistance on the issue of the recent EUROSTAT designation of approved housing bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20343/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo date, my Department has not engaged external consultants or outside bodies to undertake research or analysis on this issue. However, I am aware that the AHB sector have independently engaged their own research into the matter, and my Department is evaluating the work that has been undertaken in that regard.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Minister for Finance has recently published the Draft Stability Programme Update for 2018. This included an analysis of the financial impact of the EUROSTAT decision to reclassify the majority of Tier 3 Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) as part of the local government sector. This was an important first step in the Government's assessment as to the impact of the EUROSTAT decision.
Following the completion of this analysis, which has defined the scope of the financial implications of this decision for the Exchequer, my Department will be engaging closely with the Department of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure that AHBs can continue to fulfil their full potential in the delivery of the targets set out in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan. In that context, arrangements are being made for further discussions on the next stage of this process, which will take place in the coming weeks.
The Government continues to see a central role for the voluntary housing sector in contributing to delivery of social housing under Rebuilding Ireland, and is committed to using all mechanisms and schemes, including through the AHB sector, to ensure that we maintain the momentum towards meeting the ambitious 50,000 social housing target under the Action Plan.
284. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of new social houses on which construction work was completed in 2017, by local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20347/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThrough the supports made available from my Department, funding is available to all local authorities to deliver additional social housing 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 new social homes delivered during 2017 under these funding initiatives, including those built in each local authority area, for letting to those on the social housing waiting lists, are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/attachments/1a2-sh-2015-2017-brkdn-final_2018_v3_0.xlsx.
285. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of times the National Homelessness Consultation Committee has met per annum since its establishment to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20365/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra286. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if his Department consulted with the statistics subgroup of the National Homelessness Consultation Committee in relation to the calculation of homeless figures for March 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20366/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 285 and 286 together.
The National Homelessness Consultative Committee (NHCC) was established in April 2007. The Committee included representatives from my Department and a number of the NGOs working in the area. It was established to provide a forum for a dialogue between the Department and NGO members in relation to policies to address homelessness. While an informal working group including members of the NHCC had been established at one point to examine data and reporting, there is no statistics subgroup of the NHCC in existence.
The number of meetings held between 2009 and 2017, including meetings held jointly with the Cross Departmental Team on Homelessness (CDT), are set out in the following table.
|
Year |
No of meetings |
|
2007 |
5 |
|
2008 |
3 |
|
2009 |
4 |
|
2010 |
2 |
|
2011 |
0 |
|
2012 |
1 |
|
2013 |
4 |
|
2014 |
4 |
|
2015 |
2 |
|
2016 |
1 |
|
2017 |
1 |
My Department meets regularly with NGO service delivery partners, outside the structures of the NHCC, to discuss issues of common concern.
287. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if the findings of the working group on rural housing will be published; the timeframe for the publication of new guidelines on rural housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20369/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing engagement between the European Commission and my Department regarding the 2013 European Court of Justice ruling in the "Flemish Decree" case, a working group, comprising senior representatives from my Department and planning authorities, was established in May 2017 to review and, where necessary, recommend changes to the 2005 Planning Guidelines on Sustainable Rural Housing, issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, with a view to ensuring that rural housing policies and objectives contained in local authority development plans comply with the relevant provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
This Working Group concluded its deliberations in September 2017 and taking account of the Group's analysis and recommended outcome, my Department has been engaging with the Commission on the matter, with a view to issuing a further circular letter to planning authorities as soon as possible, setting out revisions to the 2005 Guidelines that take account of the relevant ECJ judgment.
288. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number and amount of water charge refunds paid to date; the plans of Irish Water for further repayments; the purpose to which unspent money will be put; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20370/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn keeping with the spirit of the provisions for the refund of domestic water charges under the Water Services Act 2017, and the earlier recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services on this matter, all reasonable efforts have been made to refund in full relevant domestic Irish Water customers the amounts due to them.
My Department provided funding of €177,535,103 to Irish Water in 2017 to cover the costs involved in issuing a refund to some 995,000 domestic customers of the utility, who paid water charges in full or in part. This included a provision of €5,869,630 in respect of administration costs.
Irish Water has recently reported to my Department that as of 30 April 2018, it has issued cheques to some 951,720 customers at a total value of approximately €166,340,224. Irish Water is continuing to actively encourage remaining customers to provide details necessary to enable payments to be made. This would include customers that have changed address, where the name on the account has changed, accounts that are in the name of 'the Occupier' or 'the Owner', those who have moved abroad without a forwarding address and rental properties where the tenant has moved on.
While there is no cut-off date for the making of refunds, the low level of engagement by the remaining customers to be refunded at this stage suggests that Irish Water may not be able to refund many of these customers.
My Department is currently liaising with Irish Water in relation to the arrangements to close out the funding provision for making refunds and a mechanism will be agreed with Irish Water that will enable it to meet its ongoing liability to relevant customers who seek a refund at a future date.
289. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the stakeholders with whom he has met with a view to gathering a fund to establish a redress scheme for homeowners affected by defective mica concrete blocks in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20393/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Expert Panel on concrete blocks was established by my Department in 2016, to investigate problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Counties Donegal and Mayo.
The panel had the following terms of reference:
(i) To identify, insofar as it is possible, the numbers of private dwellings which appear to be affected by defects in the blockwork in the Counties of Donegal and Mayo;
(ii) To carry out a desktop study, which would include a consultation process with affected homeowners, public representatives, local authorities, product manufacturers, building professionals, testing laboratories, industry stakeholders and other relevant parties, to establish the nature of the problem in the affected dwellings;
(iii) To outline a range of technical options for remediation and the means by which those technical options could be applied; and
(iv) To submit a report within six months.
On 13 June 2017, the report of the Expert Panel was published and included eight recommendations which my Department are actively progressing with the relevant stakeholders.
My Department is prioritising the implementation of Recommendations 1 and 2.
With regard to Recommendation 1, the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) Technical Committee, established to scope and fast track the development of a standardised protocol, held its inaugural meeting on 11 September 2017 and has held several further meetings since. The standardised protocol will inform the course of action in relation to remedial works for all affected householders. My Department understands from the NSAI that the Technical Committee is in the process of finalising the standardised protocol, which will be available for public consultation shortly. The public consultation will run for a period of six weeks.
With regard to Recommendation 2, my Department has been in contact with Engineers Ireland in relation to the establishment of a register of competent engineers for homeowners/affected parties’ reference. Engineers Ireland have provided assurance that they will collaborate with the Department, the NSAI and others on measures to establish such a register once the standardised protocol is in place.
Last year I visited Donegal and Mayo and met with key stakeholders, including affected homeowners, elected members and officials of the local authorities and other interested parties. On 18 December 2017, I again visited Donegal and met with key stakeholders to provide an update on the progress to date. I made a similar visit to Mayo on 26 January 2018.
In addition, and in light of the information contained in the report, I am currently considering what further actions may be required to assist the parties directly involved in reaching a satisfactory resolution to the problems that have emerged in the two counties.
290. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the capital allocation across his Department in each of the years 2018 to 2022. [20453/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra291. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his Department's capital allocation for projects underway and projects already tendered or committed to spending contractually. [20470/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra292. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his Department's capital allocation in each of the years 2018 to 2022 disaggregated according to capital allocated to projects underway, projects contractually committed to and projects yet to be initiated. [20487/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 290 to 292, inclusive, together.
The capital allocation for my Department as announced in the National Development Plan 2018-2027 for the period 2018-2022 amounts to €10.232 billion.
The annual breakdown of funding is as follows:
|
Capital Allocations 2018-2022 (€m) |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Housing, Planning & Local Government |
€1,631 |
€2,033 |
€2,079 |
€2,209 |
€2,280 |
My Department has a wide and diverse business agenda including delivering on a wide range of social housing capital programmes under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan, the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund and Urban Renewal as well as a range of smaller scale capital projects including the Rural Water Programme, Fire Services and Met Eireann. My Department allocates significant resources to a wide range of organisations, including local authorities, dedicated agencies and non-statutory bodies, as well as to individuals. The information requested, related to individual capital projects, is not readily available in my Department in the format requested and its compilation would involve a disproportionate amount of time and work. If a more specific question is tabled relating to a particular area of funding from my Department, I will endeavour to provide the information sought.
