Written Answers Nos. 174-182
174. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Finance when the new temporary business energy support scheme will be operational and open for applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58617/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraDetails of the new Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) are set out in Finance Bill 2022. The scheme will provide support to qualifying businesses in respect of energy costs relating to the period from 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023 and will be available to tax compliant businesses carrying on a trade or profession the profits of which are chargeable to tax under Case I or Case II of Schedule D where they meet the eligibility criteria.
The TBESS is subject to State aid approval. It is expected that the scheme, which will be administered by the Revenue Commissioners, will be open for registration on the weekend of 26 November, and for claims from the week commencing 5 December. Subject to State aid approval being received, payments will be made following the enactment of the Finance Bill later in December.
175. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the details of correspondence and discussions that her Department and the authorities of Dublin University Trinity College have had on the skulls illegally removed from Inishbofin, County Galway in the 19th century and that are now in Trinity College; if she has advised that these human remains should be returned to the island for reburial in the place they were taken from; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58576/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI recognise that there is a growing awareness internationally and among the public of the need to address the spoliation, looting and illicit trade of cultural heritage objects, as well as the restitution of same.
In relation to the specifics of the question, however, the material mentioned is held in Dublin University Trinity College. My Department has no role in the governance of the University. It is also noted that the exhumation of the remains was in the 19th century, therefore predating the 1922 Monuments Act, and as a result falls outside of the remit of the National Museum of Ireland.
176. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will instruct Donegal County Council to provide urgent funding for temporary accommodation for families affected by the mica scandal, who currently live in very dangerous properties with no access to other accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58508/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing on from the Government decision of the 30 November 2021 in respect of the enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks (DCB) Grant scheme, the Government approved the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022 on 21 June and the Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President on the 23 July, 2022.
The purpose of this Act is to implement and give legislative underpinning to a series of measures to improve and enhance the scheme as agreed by Government on 30 November 2021. Full details can be found at https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/328d7-minister-obrien-welcomes-progress-on-enhanced-defective-concrete-blocks-grant-scheme/.
Under the Enhanced Grant Scheme, as provided for by the Act, alternative vouched accommodation costs will be an allowable cost, subject to a maximum of €15,000 in the event that the applicant of a house affected by defective concrete blocks has to move out when approved remediation works are ongoing. Removal of contents/house components and their temporary storage and reinstatement on completion will also be an allowable cost, subject to a maximum of €5,000.
Work on drafting the necessary Regulations to facilitate the commencement of the Act is ongoing and the Regulations will provide for all matters within the Act which are to be prescribed including but not limited to the grant rates, damage threshold, and the form and content of various reports, certificates, forms, and declarations.
Separately , with respect to immediate repair works, on 24 February this year, as an interim measure in advance of the introduction of the Act, I signed the Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks in Construction (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 which amend the Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2020 to make provision for the inclusion as an allowable cost ‘essential immediate repair works’, up to a value of €5,555 in the current grant scheme. These essential immediate repair works are identified by a competent engineer in a ‘building condition assessment report’ and relate to the structural stability of any part of a home affected by defective concrete blocks. The 2022 Regulations waive the requirement for a Stage 1 confirmation of eligibility to be in place prior to recoupment of the cost of the engineer’s fees for homeowners whose applications were received by the local authority before the 24 February, 2022 (the date the 2022 Regulations were signed into law). The funding of this interim measure will also be available under the enhanced grant scheme upon commencement.
Donegal County Council also engaged with my Department to seek approval for two facilitator posts in Donegal to support homeowners through the DCB process. The role of the facilitators will include guiding the homeowners through the DCB application process, and facilitating the homeowner to access all other relevant support services, including options for alternative accommodation/storage. A letter of approval supporting the posts of facilitators to assist homeowners through the enhanced DCB grant scheme process has issued from my Department to the Council.
My Department recently published a comprehensive and updated “Your Questions Answered” document on the Department’s website to ensure homeowners have the most up to date information available to them. It can be accessed at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/775c0-defective-concrete-blocks-grant-scheme-your-questions-answered/
177. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of technical staff who work in a part-time capacity in NPWS's marine ecology team, including specialists in ornithology, marine mammal and benthic ecologists to provide scientific advice regarding the development of offshore renewable energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58512/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra178. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the number of technical staff who work in a full-time capacity in NPWS's marine ecology team, including specialists in ornithology, marine mammal and benthic ecologists to provide scientific advice regarding the development of offshore renewable energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58513/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 177 and 178 together.
On the 17 November 2022, there were 29 full time ecologists working in the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s (NPWS) Scientific Advice and Research Directorate. There are no part time scientific staff in the Directorate at this time.
Workforce planning and assignment of staff to specific areas of work in the Directorate are a matter for my Department based on available resources and current priorities. Scientific staff in NPWS may work across a range of areas including matters relating to offshore renewable energy.
179. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if support is available for a young couple who have recently bought a rural cottage that requires some work (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58537/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn July, I launched the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant as part of the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund. The grant benefits those who wish to turn a formerly vacant house or building into their principal private residence. The grant was initially launched in respect of vacant properties in towns and villages but I am pleased to say that as of the 15 November, the expanded grant also includes eligible vacant properties in both cities and rural areas (in addition to those in towns and villages, which have been eligible since July).
A grant of up to a maximum of €30,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence, including the conversion of a property which has not previously been used as residential. Where the refurbishment costs are expected to exceed the standard grant of up to €30,000, a maximum top-up grant amount of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €50,000.
A range of individuals or households in which the property will be their principal private residence are eligible to avail of the Grant. These include First Time Buyers, those who qualify under the 'Fresh Start' principle, applicants who have specific needs such as older or disabled people and applicants who are moving from their current home which they are selling or have sold and want to refurbish and live in a vacant property. Purchasers benefitting from this scheme may also be eligible for a Local Authority Home Loan and retrofit grants under the SEAI Better Energy Homes Scheme.
Properties considered for inclusion must be vacant for two years or more and built before 1993. Proof of both vacancy and ownership are required to support the grant payment. Evidence that the property was built before 1993 will also be required.
Where a property has not been vacant for more than 2 years, grants may be available from the SEAI https://www.seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants.
180. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he intends extending the period for local authorities to purchase homes in which a tenant is in situ into the year to ensure that all purchases are completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58538/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraHousing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5bn funding through the Housing Finance Agency.
Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHB) and, with this, to reduce the numbers of social homes delivered through acquisition programmes. Acquisitions of second hand properties for social housing fall under a number of local authority and Approved Housing Body (AHB) acquisitions programmes.
A circular, issued to local authorities in April this year, reinstated delegated sanction to local authorities in respect of social housing acquisitions that could be completed in 2022. The reinstatement of delegated sanction has allowed local authorities to respond more flexibilily to secure acquisitions which support a household to exit or to prevent homelessness.
I have requested local authorities to be proactive in acquiring properties which can prevent homelessness, including properties where a notice of termination has been issued to the tenant. Local authorities have been informed that acquisitions which have commenced in 2022 but are not concluded by the end of the year will be funded by my Department in 2023. It is my intention to extend these delegated sanction arrangements into 2023.
181. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to any issue with persons who have been accepted on to the defective concrete blocks grant scheme being unable to remortgage their home to help fund the repairs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58549/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOversight of the financial institutions is outside the scope and remit of my Department but I did write to the Minister for Finance on these matters.
The Minister for Finance advised that neither he nor his Department have any role in relation to the commercial decisions of individual regulated entities, such as decisions they may make on applications for credit, or in respect of individual actions they may take to assist households with a mortgage which is secured on a residence affected by mica or pyrite.
Notwithstanding this, engagement is on-going with the Banking and Payments Federation on specific issues raised by Defective Concrete Block homeowners to see what can be done to address their concerns.
182. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which applicants under his Department's first home and-or shared equity scheme can submit an application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58552/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe First Home Scheme, launched on 7th July this year, supports first-time buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market through the use of an equity share model. Full information on the First Home Scheme is available at the following link: www.firsthomescheme.ie. The First Home Scheme Designated Activity Company (DAC) holds responsibility for operating and maintaining the First Home Scheme, including the processing of applications.
The application process is designed in such a manner that the whole process can be undertaken online via the website. However, applicants with additional issues or requirements in relation to the scheme itself, or the application process specifically, can utilise the other options available on the ‘Get in Touch’ page of the website, available at: https://www.firsthomescheme.ie/get-in-touch/. These other options enable applicants to e-mail the First Home Scheme directly, or to speak with a scheme representative by telephone.
