Written Answers Nos. 302-311
303. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the date he and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform will introduce amending legislation to address the issue of 51-week leases in investment owned student accommodation. [23349/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have been engaging with Minister O’Brien and our officials on the decision of some private student accommodation providers to move to 51-week leases from the traditional leases which reflected the academic year. I recognise that while there may be a market for 51-week leases among some members of the student population, it is not desirable for the vast majority of third level students.
With the support of Government, both I and Minister O’Brien are keen to advance legislative amendments to the RTA before the Houses of the Oireachtas rise for the summer recess to ensure that enhanced tenancy protections for students are in place before the 2024/2025 academic year.
Our officials are examining legislative amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004-2022, which will require Government approval. These proposed amendments are to support student specific contracts to reflect the academic year period in the first instance, subject to the necessary approvals. A series of engagements with the sector have also taken place.
Án Taoiseach in his former role in my Department, wrote to all relevant local authorities, including Dublin City Council to seek support and advice with regards to the planning permissions for student specific accommodation and engagement is ongoing.
Student specific accommodation is within the remit of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). The RTB provides a confidential dispute resolution service. Investigations can commence based on information received from a member of the public. A student with specific concerns regarding their accommodation should make contact with the RTB in the first instance to seek advice or register a complaint.
304. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total number of craft apprentices currently waiting to undertake phase 2, 4 and 6 off-the-job training; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23350/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraA craft apprenticeship takes 48 months to complete. This is based on progression through off-the-job training phases within training capacity and does not reflect delays due to deferring training, assessment delays or other individual circumstances.
Currently, two craft apprenticeships out of 25 total craft programmes have completion times significantly over 48 months, and those are Electrical Instrumentation at 59 months, and Pipe-fitting at 58 months. The National Apprenticeship Office are focusing on speeding up the delivery of training for those programmes.
As soon as an apprentice enters into phase 2, 4, or 6 off-the-job training they become classed as "waiting for training". Because an apprentice can enter their off-the-job training phase at any time of the year, waiting times for that training can vary depending on where an apprentice is on their own learning path and how that ties in with the Education and Training Board class start dates and Technological University academic start cycles of September, January and April. Low uptake on courses can also lead to delays in scheduling training until class size requirements are met.
In April 2024, a total of 7,295 craft apprentices are waiting to undertake off-the-job training with 5,601 Phase 2 apprentices, 1,360 Phase 4 apprentices and 334 Phase 6 apprentices.
A normal waiting time for phase 2 off-the-job training is 3 to 6 months. In April 2024, 2,976 Phase 2 apprentices are waiting 6 months or longer.
Actions being taken to achieve the reduction of craft apprentice training wait times include a targeted recruitment campaign for instructors and ETBs being mandated to deliver three intakes of training per workshop per year. Final year apprentices also continue to be fast tracked to complete their qualification.
It my priority that progress is sustained in 2024 in achieving further reductions in training delays.
305. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when the Local Authority Control of Dogs Statistics Report 2023 will be released; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23388/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra306. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development what her Department is doing to tackle the non-payment of dog control fixed charge notices; how many fixed charge notices from 2022 have been paid since the 2022 report was issued; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23389/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra307. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development how several local authorities such as Galway city, Longford and Tipperary did not issue any dog control on-the-spot fines during 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23390/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra308. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will consider creating a centralised funding mechanism for the dog warden service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23391/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 305 to 308, inclusive, together.
The Department of Rural and Community Development has overall policy responsibility for the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 to 2014. Local Authorities have responsibility for all operational matters under the Control of Dogs Acts including licensing and enforcement. Local Authorities are well placed to target measures in their areas.
My Department has no role in the issuing of fixed penalty notices but I believe Dog Wardens are well placed to detect and deal with offences under the Acts. To support the work of the wardens my Department is part funding a national training programme for dog wardens to ensure consistency and a standardised approach to enforcement. This training commenced in April.
My Department publishes annual statistics in respect of a range of the dog control responsibilities of local authorities. Information up to and including 2022, including the numbers of on-the-spot fines issued, by county and in tabular form, is available on the dog control statistics page on gov.ie. My officials have requested 2023 statistics from all Local Authorities and once all returns are received, collated and analysed they will be published on gov.ie. I look forward to publishing these on gov.ie in the coming weeks.
I very much appreciate all the work of Local Authorities in collating and making statistics available. These statistics form the evidence base needed for better policy making and I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with them in improving national policy in this area.
I am committed to improving outcomes in relation to Dog Control in Ireland and in this context in November 2023, I increased ‘on-the-spot’ fines for offences under the Control of Dogs Act, including trebling the fines for most serious offences from €100 to €300. Multiple fines can be issued where more than one offence occurs.
In addition, I announced the establishment of a high level stakeholder group to consider and make recommendations to strengthen policy in relation to control of dogs issues. Membership of the stakeholder group will comprise a broad range of expertise including academics, veterinary surgeons, local authorities, farming interests, charities working in the field and animal welfare experts. This stakeholder group will also consider if legislative changes to the Control of Dogs Act are required. The first meeting of this group took place recently and the next meeting will take place in June.
I believe it is important for dog owners to be aware of their responsibilities, not just to the general public but also to their dogs. For this reason, I launched a major national awareness campaign to alert dog owners to their responsibilities and to raise awareness of the dangers that can be posed to people and to livestock by uncontrolled dogs.
309. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if her Department will intervene to ensure that the Robert Emmet Community Development Project can continue to deliver essential services in the south west inner city; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23398/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraRobert Emmet Community Development Project receives funding for the delivery of the Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme (SICAP) in Dublin on behalf of my Department. They are part of a broader consortium of 13 Dublin inner city community development organisations that deliver SICAP throughout the city and Robert Emmet CDP deliver these services in the South West Inner City.
This consortium of community development organisations have come together to ensure the development and delivery of social, economic and cultural services continues within their communities. Collectively they are known as the Dublin City Community Co-Op.
SICAP is Ireland’s primary social inclusion intervention with an allocation of €47.4 million this year. The overall funding for SICAP is subject to the annual budgetary process, with funding allocations then made based on levels of relative affluence and deprivation across the programme’s 53 Contract Areas, ensuring SICAP is targeting disadvantage fairly and helping those in greatest need to receive supports.
The total funding for SICAP is allocated in full at the start of each year and as such, no additional SICAP funding is available at this time. I would, however, recommend that Robert Emmet CDP contact their Local Authority on other potential funding avenues, and to ensure they are aware of any new funding opportunities as they become available.
310. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when funding will be approved for a project (details supplied) under the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme 2023, in respect of measure 3 of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23406/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) is funded by my Department under Our Rural Future. The scheme provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways and blue ways throughout rural Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme in 2016, funding of over €113 million has supported more than 1,700 projects across the country.
At the end of March last, I was delighted to announce the approval of 151 successful projects to the value of over €4.1 million under measure 1 of the 2023 scheme. This was in addition to 50 projects with funding of €2.3 million approved last year through the project development measure under ORIS 2023.
Applications submitted under measures 2 and 3 of the 2023 scheme, which includes the Durrow Community/Family Cycle Trails application, are currently being assessed. I expect to be in a position to make a further announcement very shortly on the successful projects under these measures.
311. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the total costs incurred by her Department from 2019 to date relating to the placing of advertisements in online/digital media platforms; the names of the online platforms involved, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23452/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department's total expenditure in relation to online advertising from 2019 to date is laid out in the table below. The costs outlined for 2024, for the year to date, relate to costs incurred for online/digital media platform advertisements as part of a wider campaign. The final costs may be subject to change depending on the final outputs for that element of the campaign.
|
Year |
Online advertising spend |
Name of Platform |
|
2019 |
€6,754.07 |
X (formerly Twitter) |
|
2020 |
€167 |
X (formerly Twitter) |
|
2021 |
€4,798.52 |
X (formerly Twitter) |
|
2022 |
Nil |
Nil |
|
2023 |
€8,271.07 |
Google Search, Google Display, Google Discovery, YouTube, Meta |
|
2024 (to date) |
€88,419 |
Tuairsc, Irish Farmers Journal, Agriland, Audio One, Audio XI, Spotify, OMG Programmatic Display, OMG Marketplace Display, Meta, LinkedIn, Tiktok, Google Adwords |
