Written Answers Nos. 199-206
199. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the details of new voters on the supplementary register by local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22760/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe number of electors included on the supplement to the register of electors in advance of the forthcoming referendum is 118,389. A breakdown is available, by local authority area, on my Department's website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/supplement_to_register_-_may_2018.pdf.
200. Deputy Pat Casey asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the budget allocated to each local authority house building programme in each year since 2002 in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22775/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAnnual expenditure under the local authority construction programme, i.e. standard construction, turnkeys and rapid delivery, for the period 2005 to 2017, and to date in 2018, is set out in the following table. The data is provided from 2005 onwards in order to align with the introduction of my Department’s current financial management system during 2004.
The breakdown of the data at individual local authority level over the 14 year period is not readily available. However, if the Deputy is concerned about a specific local authority or local authorities, I will have the matter explored further on receipt of the relevant information.
|
Year |
Total Expenditure |
|
2005 |
€548.415m |
|
2006 |
€547.451m |
|
2007 |
€418.519m |
|
2008 |
€508.105m |
|
2009 |
€374.003m |
|
2010 |
€142.540m |
|
2011 |
€58.512m |
|
2012 |
€51.707m |
|
2013 |
€29.620m |
|
2014 |
€24.623m |
|
2015 |
€32.570m |
|
2016 |
€46.477m |
|
2017 |
€164.388m |
|
2018 (to 18 May) |
€93.704m |
In addition to standard construction, turnkeys and rapid delivery mechanisms, local authorities also deliver social housing through dedicated regeneration programmes which seek to address the causes of disadvantage in communities through a holistic programme of physical, social and economic regeneration. Total expenditure under the National Regeneration Programme by local authorities over the period 2005 to 2017, and to date in 2018, is set out in the following table.
|
Year |
Total Expenditure |
|
2005 |
€119.903m |
|
2006 |
€74.465m |
|
2007 |
€94.128m |
|
2008 |
€126.479m |
|
2009 |
€107.134m |
|
2010 |
€116.989m |
|
2011 |
€118.185m |
|
2012 |
€100.616m |
|
2013 |
€69.431m |
|
2014 |
€46.878m |
|
2015 |
€48.801m |
|
2016 |
€50.054m |
|
2017 |
€65.186m |
|
2018 (to 18 May) |
€25.113m |
201. Deputy Pat Casey asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the expenditure on the Rebuilding Ireland website and public relations since its inception in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22782/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has not incurred any expenditure on public relations since 2016. My Department’s Press Office provides public relations services and the engagement of external expertise is generally only considered where the issues involved require specific expert skills that are not readily available within the Department.
With regard to the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, a key part of its successful implementation is ensuring that all stakeholders and the wider public are fully aware of the commitments, understand the range of initiatives and actions being rolled out, and can access relevant and up-to-date information and reporting on progress. In this context, the overall cost to date of the consultation, communication and engagement strategy associated with Rebuilding Ireland is approximately €156,000 (incl. VAT). This includes:
- the development and management of a dedicated Rebuilding Ireland website, www.rebuildingireland.ie, for which total investment to date has been approximately €92,800 (incl. VAT);
- in addition to the standard provision of text and graphic information to view and download, the facilitation of engagement with the general public through the use of video presentations and social media, at a cost of approximately €61,000 (incl. VAT) to date; and
- costs of approximately €2,200 which arose in relation to one of a number of Pillar specific launches which took place during the launch phase of the Action Plan to build implementation momentum by allowing for a deeper focus on specific Pillar areas.
202. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when he plans for water to be brought to Murrisk and Lecanvey, County Mayo (details supplied); and his further plans to ensure this project is part of Irish Water's capital plan. [22841/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra203. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if it is part of the medium-term planning of Irish Water to pipe water from Westport to Louisburgh, County Mayo, and to bring clean drinking water to all areas in between. [22842/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 202 and 203 together.
Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. Irish Water, as a single publicly owned national water services authority, is taking a strategic, nationwide national utility approach to asset planning and investment, and meeting customer requirements.
Irish Water’s Water Services Strategic Plan (WSSP) published in 2015 sets out the strategic objectives for its delivery of water services over 25 years up to 2040 in order to ensure the provision of clean safe drinking water, effective management of wastewater, environmental protection and support for social and economic development. The Irish Water Business Plan, Transforming Water Services in Ireland to 2021 (also published in 2015), sets out its short to medium term planning in implementing the first phase of the Water Services Strategic Plan.
Irish Water is regulated by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) as the independent economic regulator. The CRU is responsible for setting the total level of revenue which Irish Water can receive, through Government subvention and from customers, to cover its efficiently incurred costs. This CRU process involves, inter alia, reviewing submissions from Irish Water, including on its investment plan, and thereafter setting appropriate revenue allowances for operating costs, capital costs and other items for given regulatory periods. Consequently, the actual allowed operational expenditure and capital investment is decided by the CRU.
On 21 May 2018, I published the Water Services Policy Statement 2018-2025 following its approval by Government. The Policy Statement gives clear direction to strategic planning and decision making on water and wastewater services in Ireland. The Policy Statement sets out a series of high-level policy objectives across the three thematic areas of Quality, Conservation, and Future Proofing, which must be pursued when planning capital investment and framing current spending plans. The Policy Statement is available on my Department’s website at the following link:
www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/water_services_policy_statement_2018-2025_0.pdf.
Within 3 months of publication of the Policy Statement, Irish Water must prepare a ‘Strategic Funding Plan’ setting out proposed operational and capital expenditure. Subject to its approval by me as Minister, the Strategic Funding Plan will ultimately feed into annual Exchequer decisions on spending.
Based on this Strategic Funding Plan, Irish Water’s next Capital Investment Plan for the five year period from 2020 to 2024 will set out the financial plan for capital investments to support Irish Water’s strategic objectives, as set out in the WSSP and in its Business Plan, to deliver improvements to water services where they are needed most. Irish Water will also take account of developing subsidiary programmes within its investment plan to assist in implementing the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan including the forthcoming Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies as well as ongoing reviews of local authority statutory land use plans. It is in that context that investment decisions in relation to individual projects will be made.
In the context of the Rural Water Programme my Department made enquiries with Mayo County Council which indicate that the Council recently engaged with the Murrisk and Lecanvey community with a view to them forming a Group Water Scheme for the area subject to co-funding under my Department’s Rural Water Programme. Such a Group Water Scheme for the area would be sourced from a public water connection provided by Irish Water. I understand that the Rural Water Section of the Council continue to be available to engage with the community on this option.
204. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if there is a significant backlog in the time taken for An Bord Pleanála to deal with appeals; the average waiting time before appeals are decided; if priority is given to applications that go directly to the board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22856/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder Section 126 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, An Bord Pleanála has a statutory objective to determine planning appeals within 18 weeks. Where the Board does not consider it possible or appropriate to reach a decision within 18 weeks (e.g. because of the particular complexities of a case or the requirement to hold an oral hearing), it will inform the parties of the reasons for this, and will indicate when it intends to make its decision.
Measured on an annual basis, the compliance rate with the statutory objective period for normal planning appeals was 64% in 2017, and the average time taken to determine those cases was 16.8 weeks, down from a 82% compliance rate and an average determination time of 15.5 weeks in 2016. The reduction in the compliance rate can be attributed to a number of factors.
Firstly, there was a reduction in Board capacity in mid-2017, arising from a time interval between the departure of five outgoing Board members, whose terms of office had expired in April and May, and the five new replacement Board members taking up their posts. While by September 2017 the Board complement had been fully replenished, this time interval impacted on the Board’s case work output.
In addition, An Bord Pleanála is also implementing a major ICT strategy which will facilitate the introduction of on-line planning services as part of an complete upgrade and replacement of core systems. In this regard, a new case management system was installed and became operational in Q4 2017. As is to be expected with such a fundamental and integrated project, the transition to the new system has caused some initial disruption to the processing of cases, resulting in a further increase in the backlog of cases on hand. However, measures are being put in place to ensure that the new system is bedded down and becomes operational at an optimal level.
Furthermore, during this period, there has been a general increase in cases received by the Board. For example, there was an increase of almost 12% on normal planning appeals received in 2017 compared to 2016. This upward trend has continued into 2018.
Now that the Board's full complement has been restored, combined with the measures that are being put in place in relation to the new ICT systems, it is expected that the backlog of cases will begin to reduce over the coming months, with an associated improvement in the compliance rate with the statutory objective period.
In relation to priority cases being dealt with by the Board, since July 2017, the Board has been determining planning applications for strategic housing developments (SHDs) made directly to it within the 16-week timeframe prescribed for such planning applications under the provisions of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016. At end-April 2018, 24 SHD planning applications had been made, with the Board issuing decisions in 16 cases, all of which were made within the prescribed 16-week timeframe.
Importantly, having regard to these additional functions, a new Strategic Housing Division of the Board has been established to decide on these applications, involving the recruitment of an additional dedicated 10 professional and administrative staff members in 2017. Two additional Boards members have also been sanctioned to serve this Division, with the first Board appointment being made in February this year and the second Board member due to take up duty in June.
In addition, in line with Government policy in relation to the provision of housing supply, all planning appeals in respect of housing developments of 30 units or more are prioritised by the Board for decision. The Board also prioritises developments which have a significant employment or economic potential on a national, regional or local scale as well as new, and extensions to, school buildings and educational facilities.
205. Deputy Pat Casey asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the measures being taken to expand the film industry in the mid-east region in view of the sale of the 32% shareholding in a studio (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22752/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe sale of the shareholding in the studio referred to by the Deputy is first and foremost a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Heather Humphreys.
Minister Humphreys did however consult me about the matter and both of us welcomed the acquisition of the studios to by a company which proposes to invest in the facility in the future.
The Government’s capital investment plan Investing in our Culture, Language and Heritage 2018- 2027 provides for funding of €200m to be invested in media production and audio visual industries through the Irish Film Board over the next 10 years which will have a positive impact right across the country.
This will assist in realising the vision under Pillar 4 of the Creative Ireland Programme to develop Ireland as a centre of excellence in media production. In the coming period, the Government hopes to publish a Plan for the Audiovisual Industry which will set out in greater detail how it is proposed to develop the industry further.
206. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of Údarás na Gaeltachta jobs created per county in 2017, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22778/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the Deputy is outlined in the following table.
|
County |
New Jobs created in 2017 |
|
Dún na nGall |
243 |
|
Maigh Eo |
60 |
|
Gaillimh |
211 |
|
An Mhí |
8 |
|
Ciarraí |
64 |
|
Corcaigh |
34 |
|
Port Láirge |
10 |
|
Total |
630 |
