Deputy Nulty said “This building was originally acquired by the OPW over a decade ago for almost  €1.5 million by the taxpayer. Yet it has been allowed to remain complete idle ever since then”.

“I walk through Blanchardstown village on an almost daily basis and there are almost a dozen vacant or abandoned buildings there for one reason or another”.

“This former AIB building in public ownership should be put to immediate community usage. For example, I was recently contacted by the local scout group in Blanchardstown who require a permanent scout den – why could they not be allocated this premises?”

“That would in my view be a productive use of the public investment rather than waiting endlessly for a commercial buyer who may never materialise”.

DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr. Brian Hayes, TD

by Deputy Patrick Nulty

for WRITTEN ANSWER on Tuesday, 11th June, 2013.  

 *  To ask the Minister for Finance the position regarding a building (details supplied) in Dublin 15 owned by the Office of Public Works; the date on which the building was acquired by the OPW; the cost at which the building was acquired by the OPW; the financial outlay by the OPW or other Government authority in respect of this building since its acquisition; the ongoing annual cost of insuring and making secure this building; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a number of local voluntary and charitable organisations have made enquiries regarding the potential for using this building; the detail of any such enquiries made to the OPW or to him directly; if he will make this building available on a temporary basis to local voluntary and charitable organisations, pending a decision on the building’s long term future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

                                                                                           - Patrick Nulty TD

 REPLY.

The building was acquired in April 2002 at a cost of €1,358,620 (excl. VAT). 

 The Probation and Welfare Service was originally earmarked to be located in this property. 

However, a subsequent decision was made by the Probation and Welfare Service not to locate to the property.

 As no alternate State requirement could be identified for this property, at that time, the OPW decided that the property was surplus to requirements and as part of the rationalisation programme it was placed on the market.  While there have been expressions of interest in the purchase and/or leasing of the property, it remains on the market.

 As the property is State owned there are no insurance costs.   The average annual costs are approximately €5,000 covering works to prevent any deterioration of the building, care and maintenance, general repairs and upkeep of the building. 

 More recently the OPW engaged with the Department of Social Protection on the potential to provide a service but that Department has ruled out using this property.

 As the property remains on the market it would not be appropriate to enter into any licensing arrangement for community use at this time.

Deputy Nulty said “While I appreciate that it takes a certain amount of time to turnaround homes that are vacated it has to be priority for the council to renovate and allocate these homes faster”.

“It is devastating for people from the local area or living nearby to see homes lying idle while literally thousands of families are on the housing list for years trapped in rented accommodation”.

“This is a problem right across Dublin 15 but there is a concentration of dwellings boarded up in Corduff at present which is a huge source of frustration for the community”.

“There are lots of fantastic things happening in the area at present such as the fourth green flag for the junior school but housing remains a massive problem that the authorities are failing to tackle”.

“Residents have a right to demand action and it is simply not acceptable that such a degree of unallocated properties should be allowed to exist at the one time”.

Fingal Council reply

Dear Deputy Nulty,

Regards,
Housing
Estate Management Team

A strong and determined campaign by parents and pupils was the key factor in CCC getting the ‘go ahead’ for the long promised extension

Dublin West TD Patrick Nulty has welcomed news that Castleknock Community College is to be included in a new works programme announced by the Department of Education today.

Deputy Nulty said “This announcement is a tremendous victory for the entire community in Castleknock and Carpenterstown. The campaign mounted by parents, pupils and local residents was strong and determined and they deserve great credit”.

“This project has been waiting a long time for formal approval and the new classrooms and gym hall will be a tremendous asset to the school”.

“Parents can be rightly proud of the work they’ve done to advance this project and we will now be awaiting construction to start as soon as possible”.

Details are available here – http://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/Building-Works/pbu_school_project_stimulus_2013.pdf

The development will consist of a new 3 storey Secondary School building for about 1,000 pupils including a Special Needs Unit with associated car parking and space for a bus drop off area.

The school is due to open in September 2014 and an information evening is being held for parents in Ongar Community Centre on Thursday June 13^th at 7pm to provide parents with more details about the new school.

The closing date for enrolment is Friday September 27^th 2013.

2 in 5 complaints to the PRTB are in relation to deposits.

Dublin West TD Patrick Nulty has welcomed news that the Minister for Housing Jan O’Sullivan intends to amend the Residential Tenancies Bill 2012 to include a deposit retention scheme for tenants in the private rented sector.

Deputy Nulty said “This is a very welcome development. Last year I published a bill to introduce a deposit retention scheme which many housing agencies have been campaigning on for many years”.

“The indication from Minister O’Sullivan that she now intends to introduce such a scheme is most welcome. Obviously we will need to see the detail of the proposed scheme but a well-functioning system of retaining deposits would take huge pressure off the Private Residential Tenancies Board”.

“43% of all disputes dealt with by the PRTB are in relation to deposits which shows the level of pressure on the system”.

“A transparent system is in the interests of good landlords and tenants throughout the country”.

Deputy Nulty said “The end is now in sight for this long and protracted saga. Householders in Clonae and Ongar often paid large amounts for homes at the height of the boom with the promise of a train station on their doorstep”.

“Due to bad planning this station remained a ‘ghost station’ for some time. However thanks to a strong and concerted campaign from the community the station is likely to open in a matter of weeks”.

“This will significantly improve transport options for residents within Dublin 15 and will mark the end of an incredibly long process endured by local residents”.

“Work is near completion and I understand Hansfield Station will open officially around the end of June”.

Deputy Nulty said “It is ironic that many government ministers waxed lyrical about the need for reform and open government while in opposition but yet as Ministers they are shutting down democratic discussion”.

“This financial emergency measures bill just like the social welfare bill and the bill establishing the property tax is being rushed through without proper debate despite the fact that workers have not even had a chance to express their views on the new deal yet”.

“What is particularly galling is that the government presently plans no sitting of the Dail next week when that time could be used to discuss these critical issues of national importance”.

Today in the Dáil Deputy Patrick Nulty (Dublin West) and Deputy Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West) jointly raised the implications of last month’s European Court of Justice ruling in relation to the court case taken by former Waterford Crystal workers regarding their pension protection. The ruling contained a number of clarifications regarding the transposition of EU Directive 2008/94EC which concerns the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer. The ECJ found in favour of the workers on all the major points that were at issue.

If the Government allows this case to go back to the High Court and the Waterford Crystal workers win the case, there will potentially be a very significant and immediate exposure for the taxpayer in the order of several hundred million. It would make much more sense for the Government to negotiate an arrangement to provide for staged payments to meet workers pension requirements.

Deputies Nulty and Shortall said,

“Our principal concern is that the Government should immediately engage with the former Waterford Crystal workers’ representatives to negotiate a fair and just pension settlement.

The actuaries working for the Waterford Crystal workers have calculated that annual payments of initially less than €2.5 million eventually rising to a peak of €18 million in the 2030s would fully reinstate the pensions expected by the Waterford Crystal workers. On the face of it, this approach would seem to make a lot more sense for the Irish taxpayer as well as the Waterford workers. Annual payments represent a more efficient approach than settling for an unknown capital sum through the Courts. Annual payments avoid the need to purchase annuities which are a very expensive way of generating an annual income for life. This approach would also avoid further significant legal fees.

To date, there has been no engagement with the workers by any representative of the Government. This head-in-the-sand-approach potentially exposes the Irish taxpayer to a far higher bill.

On the wider pensions issue, there is an urgent need for workers in other companies both solvent and insolvent companies to be adequately protected. Where the employer is solvent, they should be required to stand over the pension commitments that they have made to their workers in the past. Where the employer is insolvent, a safety net is urgently required, as has been implemented in the UK and other jurisdictions, and we urge the Government to produce the long-promised legislation to ensure pension protection for workers in defined benefit schemes.”

Deputy Nulty said “The revelation that the government is not proceeding with this measure is a body blow to citizens with long term illness who need to visit their GP’s on a regular basis”.

“Minister Reilly has been on his perch now for over two years. It is totally incredible that he was not aware of so called legal difficulties until now. His model for the future of health is based on an American model of for profit insurance companies not a system of universal care”.

“In my view he should resign because his policy has meant that patients, frontline staff like nurses and other healthcare professionals have lost confidence in the department of health”

“Contrary to the rhetoric of government many constituents of mine in Dublin West with serious conditions have received notice that they are losing medical cards. So in reality access to health care is becoming more difficult not better under James Reilly and his apologists in government”.

“The introduction of the Children First Bill is a commitment from the programme for Government. When I asked the Taoiseach yesterday at the order of business, he said the Government has no plans to introduce these Guidelines in the current session.”

“This delay is extremely disappointing. The Guidelines are designed to ensure that all children in Ireland grow up safely. It is of paramount importance that they are introduced as quickly as possible.”

“I am calling today for the Government to reconsider the legislative programme and ensure that there will be time in this Dáil session for the introduction of legislation to give effect to the Children First Guidelines.”