Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

708. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his Department's priorities for the remainder of this Dáil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29584/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My priority will be to continue to deliver on those commitments within the Programme for Government for which I have responsibility. As the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have clearly stated, the focus of the Government is to broaden and deepen the economic recovery so that it is felt by individuals, families and communities in their daily lives. The overarching objective of my work will be to ensure that, building on the progress already made, my Department continues to contribute to sustainable economic growth and to ensuring that all members of society reap the benefits of that growth. Social housing is a key priority for Government, as evidenced by the additional €2.2 billion in funding announced in Budget 2015 and the publication of the Social Housing Strategy 2020 in November 2014. The targeted social housing provision of over 110,000 social housing units, through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units and meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme, will address the needs of the 90,000 households on the housing waiting list in full, with flexibility to meet potential future demand. Importantly, the Strategy restores the State to a central role in the provision of social housing.

I have set ambitious targets for local authorities for the period 2015 – 2017 in my announcement on 1 April 2015, with an investment of €1.5 billion in a combination of building, purchase and leasing schemes which will accommodate 25% of those currently on the social housing waiting lists. On 5 May 2015, I announced funding of €312 million to support some 100 separate housing projects, providing 1,700 units of accommodation across all 31 local authorities. I will be making further announcements in the coming weeks and months.

I will continue to progress the Government approved Implementation Plan on the State's Response to Homelessness. This national plan is designed to achieve the Government’s stated commitment to ending involuntary long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough by 2016. I will continue to engage with Government colleagues, housing authorities and Non-Governmental Organisations to meet the challenges of the increasing number of individuals and families presenting as homeless, particularly to reduce the numbers falling into homelessness and to provide appropriate emergency accommodation for those who require it.

I want to continue the enhancement of planning legislation to ensure we have a robust and effective system. I am progressing the Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015 during the current term and will bring forward the Planning No. 2 (Office of the Planning Regulator) Bill in the autumn.

Building on progress such as the recent lifting of Boil Water Notices for 11,300 Irish Water customers in Roscommon, I will also continue to drive implementation of new arrangements for water management under the Government’s Water Sector Reform Programme, working closely with Irish Water, to ensure that the challenges of meeting water demands in critical locations for industrial and commercial development, facilitating economic recovery and assisting job creation are addressed.

My Department will continue to oversee the implementation of a range of policy decisions first signalled in the Action Programme for Effective Local and given statutory effect subsequently under the Local Government Reform Act 2014. Work on a review of local government arrangements in Cork and Galway by independent statutory committees is proceeding and I have also established boundary committees to examine local authority boundaries in Athlone, Drogheda, Carlow and Waterford. Reports and recommendations from these committees are due in 2015 and early 2016.

I will continue to advance the roll out of the new Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP). My priority, as part of the programme of local government reform, has been the establishment of Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) in all local authority areas. These Committees, comprising public-private socio-economic interests, have responsibility for, and will oversee and manage, local and community development programmes on an area basis, including my Department’s SICAP. The roll out of the new Leader Programme under the Rural Development Programme 2014 to 2020 will also be a priority.

I will continue to prioritise environmental issues and my Department will remain heavily involved in a broad range of environmental matters in the international arena, covering areas such as climate change (including full engagement in the negotiations of a new global deal on climate under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to be concluded in Paris in December) and the continued development of the National Mitigation Plan, which will set out Ireland’s first statutory low carbon development strategy for the period to 2050, as well as the broader sustainable development agenda. It is essential that our recovery is based on sustainable development with a long term horizon and I am committed to the enactment of the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill, together with a new national roadmap to help Ireland meet its climate change targets. I have also recently announced changes to the regulatory regime for household waste collection, including new enforcement measures and the move to pay-by-weight waste collection requirements commencing from July 2016, which I expect will further reduce our reliance on landfill and lead to greater recovery and recycling of waste in the State.

The implementation of the Government’s Civil Service Renewal Action Plan and the wider public service reform programme will be key priorities for my Department in the coming months.

I will also be continuing the Government’s programme of rebuilding trust in politics and I look forward to the outcome of the engagement and consultation process currently being conducted by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on the establishment of an Electoral Commission.

In addressing this wide-ranging brief, I am committed to driving the work of my Department to ensure it plays a significant part in or country’s economic and social recovery.