Written Answers Nos. 543-558
543. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 150 of 20 November 2014, the position regarding correspondence received by him from Sligo County Council (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46190/14]
View answerI regret that the reply to Question No. 150 of 20 November 2014 contained incorrect information; an administrative error resulted in the correspondence from Sligo County Council being filed erroneously. I did receive a request from the Cathaoirleach and members of Sligo County Council as outlined in Question No. 150 of 20 November 2014. As advised in the response to that Question, I met with the Chief Executive of Sligo County Council and his senior management team on 13 November 2014 to discuss the Council’s financial situation with them. I will ensure that the Deputy who submitted the original Question is informed of this error and will request that the Editor of Debates amends the official record to reflect the correct position.
544. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will seek an immediate EU derogation for Tipperary County Council to begin to re-align a series of dangerous bends on the R-498 Nenagh-Thurles road at Latteragh, County Tipperary; the efforts his Department have made to address this dangerous situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46204/14]
View answerUnder section 179 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, and Part 8 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, a local authority may undertake specific development works subject to the procedures set out in Part 8 of the Regulations. Such works include the construction, widening or realignment of a road of over 100 metres in an urban area, or of over one kilometre in any other area. However, where the project relates to:
- a new road of four or more lanes, or the realignment or widening of an existing road so as to provide four or more lanes, where such new, realigned or widened road would be 500 metres or more in length in an urban area, or eight kilometres in length in a rural area; or
- any road development which would be likely to have significant effects on the environment,
the relevant authority must, in accordance with the provisions of EU Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in respect of the project and submit it to An Bord Pleanála for approval under section 51 of the Roads Act 1993, as amended.
Neither I nor my Department have any role in relation to the carrying out of road developments by local authorities. Road policy is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.
546. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if Irish Water are part of an association (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46224/14]
View answerSince 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 has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 578 578.
I have on this occasion raised the issue with Irish Water and I have been informed that the utility has no formal associations with any international bodies or institutions to date. However, Irish Water is in contact with and avails of technical information from international sources in the course of its operations.
Irish Water professional staff, in a personal capacity, are also members of various international professional and technical bodies in their relevant specialist fields.
549. Deputy Michael P. Kitt asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide on-going funding for the community offices on the non-Gaeltacht islands after 31 December 2014; the amount of funding involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46235/14]
View answerI refer to the reply to Question No. 83 on today’s Order Paper which sets out the position in this matter.
553. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 512 of 17 July 2014, if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are significant differences in the breed specific dog legislation in place here and that in place in the the UK, as outlined (details supplied); if, having taken this into account, he will commission an independent evaluation of the domestic and international evidence regarding breed specific dog legislation with the aim of bringing Irish regulations in line with international best practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46284/14]
View answerSpecific control requirements in relation to certain dog breeds are set out in the Control of Dogs (Restriction of Certain Dogs ) Regulations 1998. The specific control requirements in these Regulations are a balanced and workable arrangement which recognise the rights of dog owners as well as the needs of society to be protected from dogs with a significant capability to inflict very serious injury.
As outlined in the reply to Questions Nos 509, 510, 511 and 512 of 17 July 2014, several jurisdictions have addressed the matter of restrictions of particular breeds of dogs in a similar way to Ireland. I do not plan to launch a review of dog control legislation on the basis of a different list of breeds being restricted in other jurisdictions.
554. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding his Department's review on international developments on potential health effects of EMF emanating from transmission grid infrastructure; the date that EirGrid will announce the preferred route for Grid Link and the alternative underground route; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46286/14]
View answerThe issue of the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields was the subject of an Expert Group Report commissioned by the Government and published in March 2007. This report, entitled Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields, which considered issues such as digital signals, microwaves and mobile phone masts, is available for download on my Department’s website at: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Environment/EnvironmentalRadiation/.
My Department recently commissioned a study to review and report on international developments on the potential health effects of electro-magnetic fields emanating from the transmission grid infrastructures. The study is examining international developments in non-ionising radiation (NIR) and electromagnetic fields (EMF) research, since publication of the 2007 Report. The study, which I expect will be completed shortly, will also examine how the issue of NIR/EMF is dealt with in other jurisdictions.
The analysis and findings of this study will be used by a Steering Committee, convened and chaired by my Department, to make specific proposals relating to the future management of these matters including, inter alia, any consequent legislative amendments and provision of appropriate technical expertise and associated resources.
Matters relating to the preferred route for Grid Link are the responsibility of EirGrid rather than for my Department.
555. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form on a county basis the total per annum interest payment due under the land aggregation scheme in 2015. [46289/14]
View answer556. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form on a county basis the total value of land accumulated under the land aggregation scheme in 2015. [46290/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 555 and 556 together.
The Land Aggregation Scheme (LAGS) was introduced in 2010 as part of revised arrangements for the funding of land for social housing purposes. The primary purpose of the Scheme was to assist in the unwinding of loans taken out by housing authorities to purchase land for the social and affordable housing investment programme. As such the relevant valuation for the purpose of the scheme is the value of the loans involved and, in that regard, applications to the value of some €163 million in loans were accepted into the Land Aggregation Scheme.
The figure of €163 m includes €111 m in respect of loans which were, under the first phase of the scheme, fully redeemed by local authorities with funding recouped from my Department, under the original terms of the Scheme. There are no interest payments due on these loans. The remaining €52 m accepted into the Scheme under its second phase is in the form of annuity loans, for which local authorities are making repayments to the Housing Finance Agency. Local authorities may recoup the capital and interest payments from my Department on condition that related LAGS lands have transferred to the Housing Agency. To date, nine of the 26 sites accepted following the introduction of the second iteration of the Scheme have transferred to the Agency. Once all accepted land in LAGS is transferred to the ownership of the Housing Agency it is estimated that the local authorities involved will be eligible to claim recoupment in full in the order of an estimated €2.68 million a year, based on current interest rates.
The table provides a County breakdown in relation to the loans accepted into LAGS under the second Iteration of the scheme.
*ANNUITY LAND ACQUISITION LOANS TRANSFERRED TO LAGS
|
- |
Local Authority |
Amount transferred to LAGS |
|
- |
Carlow County Council |
€960,509.63 |
|
- |
Cork County Council |
€14,110,037.08 |
|
Louth County Council |
- |
€4,158,868.08 |
|
Fingal County Council |
- |
€8,839,961.43 |
|
Offaly County Council |
- |
€622,331.21 |
|
Sligo County Council |
- |
€8,830,266.81 |
|
Laois County Council |
- |
€5,712,239.96 |
|
Offaly County Council |
- |
€4,836,977.68 |
|
Wexford County Council |
- |
€3,981,148.71 |
|
Limerick County Council |
- |
€99,397.31 |
|
- |
TOTAL |
€52,151,737.90 |
My Department does not hold information relating to interest due in 2015 with regard to individual loans. The Housing Finance Agency is responsible for the administration of the loans including the calculation of interest due on individual LAGS loans based on the historic nature of and redemptions made on the loan. When a local authority whose land has successfully transferred to the Housing Agency applies for a recoupment of its annuity loan repayment, it is a matter for the individual Local Authority to provide proof of the capital and interest payment it made to the Housing Finance Agency.
557. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of money that has been spent on the establishment and running of Irish Water to date; the amount of money that will be required to run Irish Water in 2015; when it is estimated that Irish Water will cover its own running costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46318/14]
View answer558. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the person who will fund any shortfall in the revenue generated from Irish Water; the expenditure required to run Irish Water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46319/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 557 and 558 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 has incurred €155.7 m in establishment costs to the end of October 2014. In addition to establishment costs, in 2014, Irish Water has incurred operational costs of €591.2 m and capital expenditure of €463.4 m to the end of October.
Details of Irish Water’s costs are outlined in their revenue and water charges plan which was reviewed by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). Details of the review and the CER’s decision are available at www.cer.ie.
The CER imposed an annual efficiency challenge of 7% on Irish Water’s costs as submitted and following the Government announcement of 19 November, an adjustment to operational costs will be made to reflect the proposal that water services infrastructure will be exempt from commercial rates. A note on the financing of Irish Water in 2015 and 2016, reflecting this position, has been published on my Department’s website - http://www.environ.ie/en/PublicationsDocuments/FileDownLoad,39557,en.pdf.
Irish Water’s costs will be funded through a mix of revenue from the domestic and non-domestic sector, third party finance (such as the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, EIB, bank lending and capital markets facilities) and State support which may be in the form of capital, operational subvention and working capital loans.
