Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Statement of Strategy 2005 - 2007
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MISSION To promote sustainable development and improve the
quality
of
life
through
protection
of
the
environment and heritage, infrastructure provision, balanced regional development and good local government
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PREFACE BY THE MINISTER
Dick Roche, T.D. Dick Roche, Minister for the T.D.
Noel Ahern, T.D.
Batt O’ Keeffe, T.D.
Minister of State
Minister of State
Environment, Heritage and Localfor Government Minister the Environment, Heritage
The business agenda of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is diverse and challenging. Together with Minister Noel Ahern and Minister Batt O’Keeffe, I am pleased to take delivery of this Statement of Strategy 20052007.
Social and demographic changes, environmental issues, continued rapid economic growth and intensified EU and international cooperation all call for different responses from the Department.
The aim of the Ministerial team and the staff of this
Department is to support a dynamic and competitive Irish economy through
continuing investment in infrastructure,
streamlining planning and environmental approval processes, and
improving the regional balance of development by progressively implementing the National Spatial Strategy.
The growth of Ireland’s economy and population poses obvious challenges for sustainable development.
Economic
development must not be at the expense of environmental degradation. Progress already being made in waste prevention and recycling, energy and water conservation, use of cleaner fuels and sustainable transport show us the way forward. It is vital that Ireland’s development is fixed on a sustainable course.
Local authorities deliver most of the frontline services promoted by my Department. They face particular challenges in the coming period in relation to modernising waste management services, ensuring a firm and transparent approach to planning and environmental enforcement, and developing integrated programmes to promote local development and social inclusion. A proactive approach to housing services, particularly the delivery of social and affordable housing, is vital in this context. In the period ahead, the Department will encourage and support local authorities towards the higher standards of performance and customer service which are increasingly demanded of all public service providers..
In all of this work, we can benefit from innovative delivery mechanisms and by forging new partnerships with local authorities and with the private sector. We already have evidence of the latter in well developed producer responsibility initiatives for recycling and in public private partnerships for housing. There will be opportunity to increase the scope of these arrangements and, I believe, to extend them into other areas such as built heritage protection.
We look forward with confidence to the many challenges and opportunities of 2005-2007.
Dick Roche T.D. Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
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Contents
PART I INTRODUCTION......................................................................................... 5 SECRETARY GENERAL’S FOREWORD ...................................................................................................... 6 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.................................................................................................................... 7 MANDATE ............................................................................................................................................ 11
PART II OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES ........................................................... 13 ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL HERITAGE ............................................................................................... 14 BUILT HERITAGE AND PLANNING........................................................................................................... 19 LOCAL GOVERNMENT .......................................................................................................................... 22 HOUSING ............................................................................................................................................ 25 SUPPORTING THE PROVISION OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND LOCAL SERVICES ............................................. 27
PART III IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................................. 31 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS .............................................................................................................. 32 RESOURCING AND MANAGING THE DEPARTMENT .................................................................................. 34 SERVING OUR CUSTOMERS ................................................................................................................. 37 KEY INTER-RELATIONSHIPS……………………………………………………………………………………40
MONITORING AND REVIEW ................................................................................................................... 45
APPENDICES .......................................................................................................... 46 APPENDIX 1
PROCESS FOLLOWED IN THE PREPARATION OF THE STATEMENT OF STRATEGY ................ 47
APPENDIX 2
STRUCTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT ................................................................................. 48
APPENDIX 3
LOCATION OF THE DEPARTMENT'S MAIN OFFICES............................................................ 49
APPENDIX 4
AGENCIES ..................................................................................................................... 50
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PART I INTRODUCTION Secretary General's Foreword
Environmental Analysis
Mandate
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Secretary General’s Foreword This Statement of Strategy commits the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to a challenging range of objectives over the next 3 years. It holds us accountable to the Government, the Oireachtas, our stakeholders and the wider community in relation to achieving these goals.
Our job within central government is to lead the promotion of sustainable development; this includes economic, social, and environmental components. The Department must
develop practical policies and measures to keep Ireland on a sustainable path in rapidly changing circumstances;
create conditions for effective action by our partner local authorities and other agencies by providing necessary powers and resources;
energise and encourage our own organisation and our partner bodies towards high performance; and
intensify cooperation with the private and voluntary sectors, and with other Government Departments and agencies, so as to introduce new thinking and solutions, and establish broader support, in relation to our objectives.
We take considerable encouragement from outcomes achieved under our last Statement of Strategy 2003 – 2005:
water quality continues to improve;
there has been major growth in recycling, supported by business/industry and householders; and
housing supply and the housing market have continued to improve, as has the scale and impact of programmes to make housing more affordable and to address special housing needs.
The period 2005 – 2007 will however present the Department with new and continuing challenges:
to progress modern waste infrastructure, as targeted in the Department’s Waste Management: Taking Stock and Moving Forward (2004);
to ensure that the regional objectives of the National Spatial Strategy are advanced through relevant national and sectoral plans and programmes;
to increase and diversify the provision of social and affordable housing; and
to build greater capacity in local authorities in relation to enforcement of planning and environmental legislation.
This Strategy will help the Department to undertake these and other tasks in a structured and systematic way, with a focus on value for money and with the benefit of the improved working arrangements verified to have been put in place by us under Sustaining Progress. During 2005 – 2007, the Department will be engaged in re-locating its Dublin based operations to Wexford (headquarters) and other towns in the South East. I do not under-estimate the demands or the scale of change involved in this task. It is encouraging however that the Department, and some of its agencies, already operate extensively from locations outside Dublin.
This practical experience will stand to us as we engage with the challenges of the present Decentralisation
Programme.
Niall Callan Secretary General May, 2005
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Environmental Analysis
A number of key Government policy documents1 set the agenda for the identification of goals and objectives for the development of strategies in this Statement of Strategy. We are operating in a favourable economic environment with recent growth rates among the highest of the OECD countries and with continuing positive conditions likely.
We are also experiencing strong population growth.
To achieve our full
economic potential and to minimise environmental pressure we need to continue a programme of targeted infrastructural development and also improve the environmental efficiency of our economic growth. Alongside the positive transformation of our society, economic growth has led to additional waste, higher energy consumption and rising greenhouse gas emissions, threats to biodiversity and natural resources and to our built and natural heritage. The challenge, therefore, is to maintain growth and prosperity while avoiding environmental degradation.
In meeting this challenge, we have the benefit of detailed policy frameworks and implementation strategies which have been developed by the Department in recent years in areas such as waste management, climate change and biodiversity. These have been particularly influenced by our shared commitment to European and wider international objectives and take account of our obligations arising from EU environmental legislation and wider international conventions.
It is also necessary to
intensify the enforcement of environmental protection legislation, and this has been reflected in the establishment of the Office of Environmental Enforcement and the commitment of substantial funding from the Environment Fund for local authority waste enforcement programmes.
Further international developments will influence policy development and implementation over the period of this Statement of Strategy. For example, a review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy is due to be completed in late 2005; the coming into effect of the Kyoto Protocol in February 2005 triggers a process on quantified greenhouse gas emission limitation and reduction commitments by Parties, including Ireland, in the post-2012 period, and the Protocol requires that consideration of these commitments must be initiated at least seven years before the end of 2012; and a major EU initiative on the control of chemicals (the REACH Directive) is likely to be adopted and implemented towards the end of the period covered by the Strategy.
Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 new relationships based on mutually beneficial partnerships and equality have been established between administrations North-South and on a broader East-West basis.
These have
provided an opportunity for enhanced North South co-operation and joint action in relation to such areas as environmental research and protection (including waste management, water quality management, environmental impacts of agricultural activities and natural heritage), planning, regional development, fire services and emergency planning. enhanced co-operation in these areas will continue to be taken forward.
Initiatives involving
A programme of work involving enhanced co-
operation on areas of common interest, including impacts of climate change and adaptation, waste management, radioactive waste from Sellafield, integrated coastal zone management and follow up action to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, is also being taken forward through the British Irish Council Environment Sector.
Programme for Government, the National Development Plan 2000 – 2006, Sustaining Progress and subsequent mid-term review, Better Local Government, Making Ireland’s Development Sustainable, National Climate Change Strategy, National Spatial Strategy, National Heritage Plan, National Biodiversity Plan, National Anti-Poverty Strategy, the National Children’s Strategy, Regulating Better, New Connections, the National Disability Strategy and Sectoral Plans, Equality Acts and the commitments of the Health Strategy Quality and Fairness. 1
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The introduction in 2004 of a 5 year multi-annual framework of capital expenditure will enable the Department and its agencies to plan and manage more effectively investment programmes to meet Government priorities while ensuring that a proper balance is maintained across different areas of investment. The framework or capital envelope of almost €9.1 billion approved for the period 2005 to 2009 will enable policy implementation to be better supported by a predictable and stable provision for social and environmental investment.
Strengthening environmental infrastructure to provide critical support to industrial and other forms of economic activity, including new residential development, is among the strategic objectives underlying the funding of new water and wastewater facilities through the Department’s Water Services Investment Programme.
The Programme has been advanced on a
three year rolling basis since 2000.
Sustainable development includes not only an environmental component but also social and economic dimensions. The interconnection between these aspects is particularly important in planning our settlement patterns and delivering housing for our growing population.
The population of the country is now estimated at 4.04 million. The rapid growth in incomes and
employment, the significant increase in the number of people in the key household formation age groups, and high immigration have generated a strongly increased demand for housing in recent years. The Department and local authorities must continue to optimise conditions for increasing housing supply and particularly the supply of social and affordable housing. The lack of suitable housing, in the right place and at the right price, would compromise Ireland’s social wellbeing and its competitiveness. Policies to date have succeeded in boosting supply. 2004 was the tenth year of record housing output with almost 77,000 house completions.
On its own the market will not meet all housing needs. It is generally acknowledged that despite the substantial economic success of Ireland in recent years, there remain problems of disadvantage, deprivation and social exclusion. New issues have emerged, in part due to social and economic progress, including the need to respond to greater cultural diversity, requirements for special needs housing and the affordability problems experienced by some middle income groups particularly in urban areas.
Targeted measures are important in addressing these issues and helping to build sustainable communities. The key
mechanism for ensuring the effective delivery of the appropriate multi-faceted response to the requirement for social and affordable housing are the five year Action Plans 2004-2008. These plans build on the opportunities offered by the new multiannual approach to capital spending and allow local authorities to plan programmes in an integrated and holistic manner. In this way, we aim to ensure the optimum level of quality social and affordable housing is delivered.
More balanced regional development within and between regions and between urban and rural areas will be one of the key elements in maintaining economic growth and competitiveness. It is one of the main objectives of the NDP and is endorsed in the Programme for Government.
The National Spatial Strategy recognises that regions of the country have different roles
and seeks to organise and coordinate these roles in a complementary way making all regions more competitive according to their strengths. It seeks also to promote a high quality urban environment, as well as vibrant rural areas. A significant milestone was reached during 2004 with the adoption by all regional authorities of Regional Planning Guidelines which will help structure and inform more local planning. For the first time, guidelines of this nature have now been put in place throughout the whole country setting the strategic policy agenda which planning authorities must address in their development plans and creating the crucial linkage needed between overall national spatial policy as set out under the NSS and local planning policies.
Other major milestones in respect of the implementation of the NSS by 2007 would include ongoing development of the major inter-urban routes between Dublin and the regional gateways (programme to be completed by 2010); regional gateways to have substantially implemented development frameworks to facilitate and drive development; establishment of development
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frameworks for regional hubs; progress on cross-border aspects of NSS implementation in conjunction with Northern Ireland authorities, e.g. on the Letterkenny-Derry linked gateway and the Border Regional Planning Guidelines; regional gateways’ population growth to have accelerated to ensure they reach the 2020 targets set out in the Regional Planning Guidelines; all towns with population in excess of 1,500 having access to broadband. The provision of appropriate infrastructure, transport, water, waste etc., will be a vital element in the achievement of more balanced regional development. The NSS will have a major influence in determining investment priorities at national and regional level in the period post 2006 (including in any successor to the NDP).
Considerable progress has been made in delivering improved infrastructure. The need to bring greater speed to our approval procedures for major public infrastructural projects is a priority for the Government. The Department will work to bring forward more effective development consent procedures which will ensure full consideration of their environmental impacts but with greater certainty regarding the time frame for decision making.
Local government is a key influence in shaping local economic and social development. Local authorities are increasingly working across different levels of Government, and with many agencies and local bodies, in leading the provision of local public services, promoting social cooperation and cohesion, and addressing the cross-cutting areas that are critical to development locally and regionally. The Department will continue to support and develop a capable, effective and responsive local government system, and to work with relevant Government Departments in facilitating successful co-ordination of local development by local authorities, particularly through County Development Boards.
In order to fulfil its requirements, local government needs to be adequately resourced and to have an appropriate level of responsibility for the raising of the necessary resources.
To progress this area, a major independent review of local
government funding is being completed. Standards and delivery of public services impact on people’s quality of life. Service indicators demonstrate the progress being achieved on the commitments given in Sustaining Progress towards improved customer service. Services and initiatives have been improved through One-Stop Shops, a focus on delivery of services at area level and increased delivery of services on-line in areas such as motor tax and planning. A revised set of service indicators issued to local authorities in January 2004 will make these improvements more visible from mid-2005. From the policy point of view, the broadening of the Department’s remit in 2002 to encompass the built and natural heritage functions provides a wider, more holistic environmental mandate. The Department has a range of policy, regulatory, educational and promotional roles in this regard and will seek to discharge these actively. We will also continue to seek ways to strengthen the capacity of local authorities to deal with heritage matters, freeing up central Government time to focus more on policy guidance activities.
At an operational level over the next three years, the Department will face a major challenge in facilitating the effective implementation of the Government's decentralisation programme.
The Department already submitted to the
Decentralisation Implementation Group an implementation plan for the transfer of some 680 staff to four locations including Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny and New Ross. The Government approved the proposal of the Implementation Group to include the Department in a group of potential early movers with the transfer of 258 staff to Wexford. The indicative timescale for construction/completion of the Department’s Headquarters in Wexford is the second quarter in 2007. The Department has submitted a revised implementation Plan and will cooperate in civil service wide arrangements for transfers of staff in support of the overall Decentralisation Programme. Documenting work processes, review and re-engineering of our internal business processes and the induction and training of new staff will increase our capacity to meet this major challenge.
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The Department’s Human Resources Strategy (2002) has given greater impetus and structure to the advancement of progressive human resources measures which are to the mutual advantage of staff and the organisation. In a business environment where reduced staff numbers both in the Department and its subsidiary bodies must carry out more work to a high standard, the Department will implement a number of further key human resources measures over the lifetime of this Statement of Strategy. The Department’s Training and Development policy will seek to equip staff to meet the challenges. It aims to provide training and development opportunities for all staff thus creating a learning environment that encourages the realisation of everybody's full potential. A structured deployment of staff in a Mobility Policy will energise people to carry out new tasks. The Departments’ Occupational Health Policy published in 2004 identifies measures which are aimed at supporting staff to pursue lifestyles that support a high quality of health and well being. In line with the Government’s agenda on competitiveness the Department will continue to pursue its Better Regulation Programme through the simplification of administrative procedures, better quality public consultation and the increasing use of Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) process. The Department, at the request of the Department of the Taoiseach, is currently completing a pilot regulatory impact assessment of the EU Groundwater Directive which will provide for mutual learning and best practice in the area of regulatory reform. Significant work has already been achieved with the consolidation of legislation in the areas of planning, local government and water services. Following on our successful implementation of Motor Tax Online the Department will also continue to build on its successes in the provision of services electronically. In line with the Government’s Public Service Modernisation Programme the Department has assigned priority to the development of a Management Information Framework, Information and Communications Technologies and Human Resource Management. The Department has commenced the development of an ICT Strategy which will be implemented over the next 4 years. We will also maintain our efforts in the areas of Quality Customer Service by building on the good progress already made to serve the public to the highest possible standards.
A Customer Charter has been published and we will be
evaluating and reporting on our commitments in this Charter in our Annual Reports. Good quality and timely data are very important for the effectiveness of the Department’s work. In line with the Government’s policy for a formal data/statistics strategy, the Department will continue to examine and develop the statistical basis of its key indicators. Significant progress has been made with the development of a new house price statistics system (which is expected to go live in 2005), an integrated housing system for local authorities (piloted in 2004) and the development of a national spatial data infrastructure to enhance capacity for strategic planning and policy development and underpin better services for the citizen. We will also fund research in areas such as planning and spatial policy to support evidence based policy making.
Operating within the national policy framework the Department will play its full part in a range of policies and initiatives that link with our Agencies and other Government Departments. In formulating policy, the Department consults with wide range of nongovernmental organisations, including the social partners, business and sectoral representatives, research forums and institutions, and EU and international bodies.
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Mandate The Department has a key role in improving the quality of life of people in Ireland and exercising a positive influence in international fora.
Through our responsibility for the quality of the environment, for housing and other infrastructure, for
physical and spatial planning, and for local government, we impact significantly on the daily lives of all people in this country.
In the Agreed Programme for Government, commitment is given to implementing an ambitious environmental programme covering responsibility for water, waste and air/climate and additional responsibilities for the built and natural heritage, Met Éireann and nuclear safety. Our mission - to promote sustainable development and improve the quality of life through protection of the environment and heritage, infrastructure provision, balanced regional development and good local government - embraces our enhanced environmental mandate and also places that mandate in a broad sustainable development context.
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The concept captures the important ideas that development has social, economic and environmental dimensions which together contribute to quality of life; that development will only be sustainable if a balance is achieved between these three dimensions; and that development must not result in later generations having insufficient stocks of social, economic or environmental resources to enjoy a quality of life at least as high as our own.
Comhar has identified
sustainable development as being concerned with satisfaction of human needs by efficient use of resources; social equity, and equity between generations and between countries and regions; respect for ecological integrity and biodiversity, and for cultural heritage and diversity; and good decision making.2 In practical terms, sustainable development means following a comprehensive approach by, for example, meeting people’s housing needs, ensuring clean air and good quality water supplies, providing optimum mobility and accessibility, adopting modern waste management practices, helping regions reach their full development potential, protecting our built and natural heritage and, for individuals, instilling a real sense of participation in decisions on these issues affecting their own lives. Importantly, sustainable development is also about individuals and communities sharing and accepting responsibility for the economic, social and environmental needs of the wider community of which they are part and for the needs of future generations.
Sustainable development is more than an environmental concept although that is an important and fundamental element. Rather, sustainable development requires us to combine a dynamic economy with social inclusion, giving opportunities for all in a high quality environment. Sustainable development is, therefore, at the heart of the Department's mandate and mission. We have responsibility for the development and implementation of strong policies in support of the environment, for promoting integration of environmental considerations into economic/fiscal and sectoral policies and for promoting the achievement of balanced regional development. We have responsibility for many elements of our built and natural heritage which forms part of the national sense of identity and provides resources of social, educational, recreational and aesthetic value. We have responsibility to provide, through local authorities and in partnership with the private sector, much of the infrastructure (housing, non-national roads, water services, waste management facilities, fire and emergency, library and amenity) which Ireland needs to realise full development potential, but this infrastructure must be provided in ways which minimise impacts on the environment and maximise environmental gain.
We must seek to secure the objectives for the Department’s main
functional areas of responsibility, as set out in Part II, without significantly affecting economic growth or the prospects of individual sectors or regions of the economy, and with due regard to the social issues of equity and fairness. Equally we must support good local government and further reflect the citizen participation in sustainable development through promoting
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democratic governance and public participation, particularly at local level, in the sometimes difficult choices necessary involved. All persons ordinarily resident in Ireland are entitled to vote at local elections. This means that participation in Irish local government is open, not just to Irish citizens, but to the substantial numbers of people from other countries now coming to live and work in Ireland.
Local government continues as a central element of the Department's mandate and is critical to much of our work. We work in partnership with local authorities to deliver on the various policy and service objectives. We have a responsibility to ensure that the local government system has the capability to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible.
2
Principles for Sustainable Development – Comhar the National Sustainable Development Partnership - 2002
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PART II OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES In Part I, we outlined our mission towards which the work of the Department3 is directed. In this Part, we identify the objectives and associated strategies for the next three years which flow from the mission and set the agenda for the Department’s main functional areas:
Environment and Natural Heritage
Built Heritage and Planning
Local Government
Housing
Supporting the Provision of Infrastructure and Local Services
We set each objective and the key strategies within a policy context linked to the concept of sustainable development. The key performance indicators to assess performance against these objectives are listed.
These strategically-focussed
indicators will be elaborated further in the Department's business plans. The Department’s key inter-relationships with other Departments and agencies are detailed at Part 111.
3
Met Éireann is a constituent part of the Department. However given its de facto autonomy as an organisation unit, it prepares and publishes its own Statement of Strategy.
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Environment and Natural Heritage Objective To promote and protect a high quality natural environment and heritage, protect human health and secure the integration of environmental considerations into economic and sectoral policies.
Key Strategies
Provide the legislative and policy framework for the protection of the environment, the management and reduction of waste, underpinning the provision of sustainable water services and the delivery of an appropriate input to the international effort to limit climate change.
Ensure timely transposition of EU and international environmental obligations and maintain effective monitoring and enforcement systems through action by the Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, local authorities and other public bodies.
Promote sustainable development by interacting with other Departments and Agencies on the integration of environmental considerations into their policies, by partnership with non-Government sectors through Comhar and other inclusive initiatives, by disseminating environmental information and awareness materials and by active participation in EU and wider international work to address regional and global environmental problems.
Promote co-operation on North-South and East-West (British-Irish) environmental issues in such areas as waste management, environmental research and protection, water quality management, and natural heritage.
Monitor the implementation of safety commitments at Sellafield, continue to oppose the MOX plant at the site and to seek the safe closure of the installation, and influence EU and international policy so as to take full account of the health, safety and environmental risks of nuclear energy.
Keep up-to-date nuclear emergency plans, so as to protect human health in the event of a major nuclear accident abroad.
Provide for and implementation of the appropriate legislative and policy framework for effective conservation and protection of the natural heritage.
Identify, inventory and assess the natural heritage and designate elements requiring special protection measures.
Work with landowners and all concerned parties to conserve the natural heritage outside State care.
Acquire, conserve, manage and present national parks and nature reserves to the highest standards.
Integrate biodiversity concerns into all relevant sectors through implementation of the National Biodiversity Plan and promote co-operation on North-South and British-Irish biodiversity plans and strategies.
Policy Context A high quality environment is essential for a good quality of life and is a key component of sustainable development. The policy commitment to the environment is well reflected in a range of documents, including Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland, Making Ireland’s Development Sustainable; Waste Management: Changing Our Ways; Preventing and Recycling Waste: Delivering Change; Waste Management: Taking Stock and Moving Forward; National Climate Change Strategy, Litter Action Plan, Heritage Plan and National Biodiversity Plan.
Ireland has a modern body of environmental legislation but this needs regular updating, particularly in line with EU Directives. The EU Water Framework Directive is being implemented through a range of measures arising from its transposition into national law, including an allocation of some €55 million under the NDP to establish River Basin District Projects for the management of all waters. Extensive co-operation is also ongoing with Northern Ireland authorities for the management of cross-border waters. Measures to implement the Directive on the Control of High-activity Sealed Radioactive Sources and
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Orphan Sources (HASS) will provide for enhanced security in relation to the storage of unused nuclear material in Ireland, with clear benefit in terms of protection of the environment and human health.
Action taken for the benefit of the environment includes record levels of investment in waste recycling facilities, water services infrastructure, development of water catchment management strategies with associated action in relation to nutrients and phase-out of phosphate-based domestic laundry detergents, a national strategy under OSPAR 4 for the management of liquid radioactive wastes, and adoption of regional waste management plans.
Further actions include the introduction of
environmental levies on plastic shopping bags and landfilling operations, success in decoupling energy production emissions from economic growth, reduction in the rate of waste growth, extended bans/voluntary agreement on smoky coal, and the National Development Plan 2000 - 2006 (NDP) commitment to substantial investment in public transport and the provision of quality bus corridors and cycle lanes. Ireland is committed to full implementation of the Nitrates Directive and improved agrienvironmental practices to protect water quality against pollution from agricultural sources, while also reducing the generation of greenhouse gases and transboundary air pollutants. Ireland’s National Action Programme under the Nitrates Directive was formally submitted to the European Commission in October 2004. Ireland maintains a high international reputation for the extent and quality of information disseminated in relation to environmental issues. Today, the quality of Ireland’s environment remains relatively good overall, as outlined in the E.P.A. publication “Ireland’s Environment 2004”, but there are increasing pressures associated with economic growth, related consumption patterns and underdeveloped environmental infrastructure.
The three specific challenges identified in the Environmental Protection
Agency’s report are: meeting international commitments on air emissions (greenhouse gases and acidifying gases); eutrophication prevention and control; and waste management. It also identified two general challenges: better integration of environmental and natural resource considerations into the policies, plans and actions of economic sectors; and improving the enforcement of environmental legislation.
Addressing these challenges successfully requires ongoing policy development, more effective implementation of environmental controls, greater integration of environmental and biodiversity conservation considerations into economic/fiscal and sectoral policies, providing information and raising awareness towards behaviour change and continuing to encourage a partnership approach and the concept of shared responsibility in relation to environmental issues. The Department has accepted its own responsibility in this matter by successfully achieving accreditation to ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management systems, for its main offices at the Custom House, Dublin. This accomplishment will enable the Department to have a positive influence, both directly and indirectly, on the environmental performance of other Departments by providing practical examples for the guidance and information of other public bodies. Strong internal and inter-departmental coordination mechanisms are important to ensure a comprehensive approach to environment policy and implementation and this is further elaborated in the Key Inter-Relationships chapter.
The sustainable use of natural resources places waste management in its appropriate context, marking a shift away from the bottom of the waste hierarchy towards the top, i.e. waste prevention and minimisation through more efficient use of natural resources. The Government have embarked on an ambitious waste prevention programme and are developing and expanding producer responsibility and markets for recycled materials.
Considerable progress has been made since the publication of the 2003 Strategy Statement in achieving the objective of developing modern integrated waste management services and accompanying infrastructure to promote and protect a high quality natural environment and the integration of environmental considerations into economic and sectoral policies.
4
Oslo Paris Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic
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‘Taking Stock and Moving Forward’ the most recent waste policy statement was published in April 2004, and reaffirms the Government’s commitment to the implementation of the internationally recognised waste management hierarchy. The policy document sets out Key Action Points for the coming years. These tasks range from the development of more Producer Responsibility Initiatives (building on the success of Repak), to the development of markets for recycled materials, to the provision of additional funding for waste enforcement activities and to the national awareness campaign ‘Race Against Waste’.
The challenge of the enforcement of environmental legislation is emphasised in the number of enforcement actions being taken by the EU Commission against Ireland. We fully recognise the need to address these actions comprehensively with a view most importantly to the achievement of our environmental objectives. The Office of Environmental Enforcement has been established and is dedicated to the implementation and enforcement of environmental legislation, with the core objectives of improving compliance and ensuring that those who flout environmental law and cause environmental pollution are held responsible for their actions. The Environmental Protection Agency is also developing an environmental management system to help oversee local authority environmental performance. We participate actively in policy development at EU and international level, including in the context of follow-up to Ireland’s EU Presidency in 2004.
The EU Sustainable Development Strategy adopted in 2001 and the 6th EU Environment Action
Programme agreed in 2002 and the review of the 1998 EC Biodiversity Conservation Strategy continues to provide the key frameworks for policy development and action at EU level.
Provision of appropriate levels of water services and waste infrastructure is a key component of the sustainable development agenda.
Complimentary policy initiatives, including producer responsibility initiatives, the application of the polluter pays
principle and the consolidation and modernisation of the underlying legislation support the achievement of this objective. These are addressed in greater detail later in this statement.
Radon gas in Irish homes, schools and workplaces is recognised as a significant threat to the health of our population. The Department is committed, along with the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, to raising awareness of this important issue and encouraging all householders and employers to have their premises tested for this naturally occurring, carcinogenic gas.
Climate change will continue to dominate the international agenda during the period of the Statement. As a Party to the Kyoto Protocol, Ireland has committed to limiting its greenhouse gas emissions in the period 2008-2012 to 13% above 1990 levels, and to demonstrating progress in this regard by 2005. The National Climate Change Strategy (adopted in October 2000) will be reviewed in 2005/2006 to ensure, inter alia, that adequate and appropriate measures are in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the commitment under the Protocol. The process of developing a National Allocation Plan (NAP) for the 2008-2012 Kyoto Protocol commitment period will be initiated in 2005; the NAP will be prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency and submitted to the European Commission for approval in mid-2006. An important element of Ireland’s preparations to meet its Kyoto target is participation by the Irish trading sector (designated industrial and power generation activities) in a three-year pilot phase of emissions trading within the EU from 1 st January 2005. Emissions trading will facilitate cost effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the installations concerned. The EU trading scheme will be reviewed in 2006. In addition to emissions trading, arrangements will be finalised in 2005 for the trading sector to participate also in two other flexible mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol, i.e. joint implementation (JI) and cleaner development mechanism (CDM). Institutional arrangements will also be finalised in 2005/2006 to enable the State to purchase carbon allowances as a supplementary measure to emissions reductions and EU emissions trading.
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Ireland is opposed to the use of nuclear energy as it believes the environmental, health and safety risks and impacts outweigh the benefits arising from this industry. Ireland recognises that this view is not shared by some other countries. However, in so far as nuclear plants are being operated and commissioned in other jurisdictions Ireland takes the view that such plants must comply fully with all relevant conventions and legal provisions in regard to health, safety, environmental impact and economic justification. The Government regards the continued existence of Sellafield as an unacceptable threat to Ireland and will use every diplomatic and legal route available to work towards its safe and orderly closure.
The Government recognises that the maintenance of up-to-date emergency plans is key to minimising the harm to public health in Ireland in the event of a nuclear accident aboard. It is committed to the ensuring that Ireland’s National Emergency Plan for Nuclear Accidents (NEPNA) is in line with best international practice. The Department, as lead department under the NEPNA, will ensure that the framework for the operation of the plan is robust and that the plan is exercised regularly.
The European Commission is now progressing proposals for GMO releases through the authorisation processes.
The
Department will work with other relevant bodies, such as the Department of Agriculture and Food and the Department of Health and Children, to ensure consistency in the National Approach, the safe use of such products and their co-existence with nonGM crops.
Respect for ecological integrity and biodiversity are key components of sustainable development. A systematic approach to conserving natural heritage is reflected in the National Heritage Plan and the National Biodiversity Plan.
The Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 together with the support offered by the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1997 has not only enhanced protection levels directly through additional site designations, but it has also alerted the public to the need to conserve threatened habitats and species. The Department designates Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas in line with EU Directives. Natural Heritage Areas are designated under the Wildlife Act 2000. Under the EU Directives or Natura 2000 programme good progress has been made on designations and the list so far accounts for about 11% (close to the European average) of the national territory and additional marine sites. Sites are monitored in order to ensure that they are not being damaged or otherwise interfered with in a manner which would threaten the integrity of such sites.
The Department owns a significant number of heritage properties comprising some of the most important natural heritage areas in the State where best practice in conservation can be effected. To this end, a new management planning process for the country’s six National Parks is being put in place, commencing with the adoption and launch of the Wicklow mountains National Park Plan 2005-2009. The NDP Border, Midland and Western and Southern and Eastern Regional Operational Programmes have funded the conservation and development of these sites.
Key Performance Indicators
Implementation of key strategic policies and measures included in Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland, Making Ireland’s Development Sustainable, Heritage Plan and National Biodiversity Plan.
Implementation of key strategic policies and measures included in the National Climate Change Strategy; finalisation of arrangements for Irish trading sector participation in the Kyoto Protocol flexible mechanisms, and of institutional arrangements for the purchase by the State of Kyoto emissions allowances; and approval of policy direction for a National Allocation Plan for the commitment period 2008-2012.
Adequacy of legislative framework and the implementation systems for environmental legislation, timeliness of transposition and compliance with EU Directives and international obligations.
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Increased measurements of domestic and work-place radon gas exposure.
Level of emissions to air, water, and soils and the associated air/water quality.
Progress in implementation of Litter Action Plan.
Progress towards the achievement of the objectives and targets as set out in the policy statement “Taking Stock and Moving Forward” to prevent/minimise waste, increase public awareness of the issues involved and secure increased diversion away from landfill disposal.
Early implementation of action programmes under the Nitrates Directive in all areas, in consultation with interested parties.
Achievement of the targets for ENFO as set out in the Customer Service Action Plan 2001 - 2004.
Achievement of the infrastructural objectives set out in the Water Services Investment Programme in an environmentally sustainable manner and having regard to the polluter pays principle.
Implementation of key water services policies, including the Government’s water pricing policy framework.
Enactment and implementation of the Water Services Bill and Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Bill.
Progress in relation to enhanced North/South cooperation on the Environment.
Influencing EU and wider international policy developments so as to take full account of the health, safety and environmental impacts of nuclear energy.
Seeking through legal, diplomatic and other means the safe and orderly closure of the Sellafield Nuclear Installation.
Provision of storage facilities required under the HASS Directive.
Maintenance and co-ordination of the National Emergency Plan for Nuclear Accidents.
Monitor threats to conservation status of heritage sites.
Publication of species and habitats surveys and report on monitoring of conservation status of habitats and species.
Implementation of species action plans and report on invasive species, jointly with northern Ireland authorities.
Promote wider co-operation on North-South and British-Irish biodiversity strategies and plans.
Publication of guidelines and codes of best practice for natural heritage conservation.
Conserve and develop national parks and nature reserves with improved visitor numbers and visitor satisfaction.
Complete designation of Natura 2000 sites (SACs and SPAs) and progress designation of ecological and geological NHAs.
Adapt management plans for all national parks and 300 Natura 2000 sites.
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Built Heritage and Planning Objective To protect and promote appreciation of the built heritage5 and to provide a policy and legislative framework which facilitates and encourages development patterns consistent with the principles of proper planning and sustainable development, balanced regional development, conservation of the natural and built environment, quality in construction and urban and village regeneration.
Key Strategies
Provide an appropriate legislative and policy framework for the effective conservation and protection of the built heritage.
Identify, inventory and assess the built heritage and to promote an increased national awareness of its importance.
Promote better protection of the built environment through developing the complementary roles of the Department, the Office of Public Works, the Heritage Council and local authorities.
Lead and manage implementation of the National Spatial Strategy by mobilising action across the widest possible spectrum of interests towards the achievement of balanced regional development.
Maintain an up-to-date legislative and policy framework to facilitate an efficient, effective, balanced and quality planning system that is transparent, accessible and customer orientated in its operation and which promotes the principles of proper planning and sustainable development.
Develop and maintain in cooperation with local authorities, relevant Departments, agencies and other relevant interests, targeted and integrated urban/town/village renewal programmes aimed at the sustainable regeneration of such areas.
Promote high quality, safe and sustainable design and construction.
Develop an ongoing spatial planning research programme to support evidence-based policy making.
Policy Context Respect for cultural heritage and diversity are key components of sustainable development. Heritage makes an essential contribution to quality of life, giving a context and coherence to the present that acknowledges the contribution of the past. A systematic approach to conserving the built heritage is reflected in the National Heritage Plan.
Ireland is endowed with a rich heritage. That heritage is inextricably linked with our sense of identity and affirms our historic, cultural and natural inheritance. It has the ability to enhance and enrich the context of everyday existence and is deserving of the highest levels of protection and management thus securing its future for coming generations.
A prerequisite to protecting our heritage is a knowledge of its extent and its importance. It is vital, therefore, that the process of identification and inventory of the heritage is kept up-to-date and the information thus yielded is made widely available.
The State can mitigate the threats to heritage through a variety of measures spanning legislation, policy, and promoting awareness and best conservation practice. There exists a broad span of legislation covering the Department’s regulatory roles in relation to the protection of the archaeological and architectural heritage. On the archaeological heritage side, the National Monument Acts 1930 – 2004 set out the statutory framework for the protection of archaeological sites and monuments identified under the Archaeological Survey of Ireland. The legislation was updated in 2004 to improve the regulation of archaeology in connection with roads and
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motorways. A National Monuments Bill, to consolidate and modernise national monuments legislation to meet the increasing development led demands being placed on the heritage in accordance with modern Regulatory Policy is currently at drafting stage. The Department is also charged with carrying out the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, which focuses on the more recent architectural heritage and invariably involves structures still in use. The Inventory involves the recording of structures, many of special architectural value which will feature in the Records of Protected Structures set up by the Local Authorities. The Department also promotes best architectural practices to remove impediments to the achievement of a built environment of good quality through the Action on Architecture 2002 – 2005, which will be reviewed during the period of this Strategy. The physical planning system seeks to facilitate and encourage development within sustainable patterns of settlement whilst fostering protection of the natural and built environment and promoting the efficient use of land and infrastructure. It plays a key role in facilitating delivery of the infrastructure programmes in the NDP and in addressing housing supply requirements. The system is directly operated by the local authorities and An Bord Pleanála. The Department’s primary role is to provide the essential legislative framework and policy guidance while seeking to minimise the regulatory burden and cost of the system. In addition, the Department provides an expert advisory service on heritage/conservation issues to planning authorities and to An Bord Pleanála. Over the period of the Statement, the Department will seek to enhance service and quality in the planning system, not just by promoting better performance and efficiency in its delivery, but also in terms of the quality of outputs such as development plans, integrated area-based urban renewal schemes and design quality of new development. Quality is also a key focus of the Department’s building control system. It has the twin aims of promoting high quality, sustainable building and securing the health and safety of people in and around buildings. Planning policy is set to develop substantially over the next few years in line with the Government’s objective, set out in t he NDP, of achieving more balanced regional development. The National Spatial Strategy for Ireland 2002 to 2020 promotes a better spread of job opportunities, a better quality of life and better places in which to live. The approach being taken is to consolidate the development of the Greater Dublin Area, while promoting places in the regions with sufficient scale and critical mass to attract significant investment and job opportunities. The Strategy is informing and directing decisions in relation to investment, planning matters and spatial policy over its twenty year time frame.
It sets out how people, services and
infrastructure will be brought together so that new opportunities for investment and employment growth will be opened up across the country. The Minister is leading the Strategy’s implementation. The Strategy is being implemented at three broad policy levels:
At national level, the NSS is being embedded in the high level plans and programmes of relevant Government Departments and Agencies and increasingly is influencing the determination of future investment priorities in the context of the NDP and beyond;
At regional level, following the adoption by Regional Authorities of Regional Planning Guidelines, implementation frameworks are being developed;
At county and city level, development plans are being framed within the context of the NSS and Regional Planning Guidelines.
Urban renewal policies and programmes are making a significant contribution to the achievement of our broad planning objectives by tackling urban decay, promoting social inclusion, maintaining the vitality of, and improving the quality of life in, city
5
Throughout this Statement of Strategy, “built heritage” encompasses both archaeological and architectural heritage.
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and town centres and offsetting pressures for suburban development. The challenge now will be to adapt and refocus these programmes in the light of our ongoing strong performance and the anticipated limitations in State financial supports after 2006.
The national Building Regulations and the related Technical Guidance Documents must be continuously reviewed and revised to promote design and construction to modern and environmentally sustainable standards. Emerging harmonised European standards for structural design (Eurocodes) and construction products (under Directive 89/106/EEC) must be implemented, on a phased basis, in the coming years. A major challenge will be the implementation of EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which will require, inter alia, the energy performance certification (“labelling”) of all new buildings and all existing buildings when existing buildings are offered for sale. The EPBD must be legally enforced by January 2006; and the certification provisions must be fully operative no later than January 2009. The building code must be adapted to cater for timber frame construction, as recommended by the TFHC Report on “Timber Frame Housing in Ireland” (2003). Stricter enforcement by local building control authorities must be actively encouraged. The Building Control Bill, due to be publishe d in 2005, will provide for stricter enforcement powers for these authorities and for registration of architects, building surveyors and quantity surveyors; and implementation of the EPBD.
Key Performance Indicators
Publication and implementation of a National Monuments Bill that updates and consolidates the existing statutory code.
Publication of archaeological and architectural surveys.
Publication of guidelines and codes of best practice for architectural and archaeological heritage conservation.
Establishment of a Trust type organisation to promote the conservation of architectural heritage.
Setting up a pilot project to increase the capacity of local authorities to promote and conserve archaeology.
The provision of high quality and timely responses to planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála in relation to development applications affecting the built heritage.
Degree of awareness and support for the National Spatial Strategy among key national, regional and local bodies and extent to which policies, plans and programmes of such bodies are consistent with the objectives of the Strategy.
Extent to which public and private investment is focussed on the development centres identified in the NSS.
Development of spatial data base to monitor implementation and impact of the NSS.
Establishment of spatial planning research programme to support evidence-based policy making.
Effective, efficient and high quality planning system with a high standard of performance and a broad adoption of EPlanning across planning authorities.
Adoption and consistent enforcement of modern and environmentally sustainable building standards.
Timely implementation of the EU Energy performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
Enactment and implementation of the Building Control Bill.
Extent to which objectives of urban/town/village renewal programmes are achieved in a sustainable manner in targeted areas.
Review of compulsory purchase legislation and procedures to contribute to more efficient and cost-effective delivery of social and affordable housing and public infrastructure.
.
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Local Government Objective To support and strengthen local government capacity to perform to the highest possible standards; underpinned by democratic decision making, human resource management, and financial management systems; a modern electoral and statutory framework and an enhanced focus on community development and social inclusion.
Key Strategies •
Enhance the democratic mandate and policy role of elected members, with effective input from local interests, through relevant participative and decision making structures.
Strengthen the relevance of local government with effective input to public services delivered locally and enhance the social inclusion and community development roles of local authorities.
Strengthen quality customer service in local government, with a particular emphasis on good service delivery.
Maintain and develop a modern and effective legislative and ethical framework for local government to deliver on its areas of responsibility.
Ensure local government has an adequate and appropriate funding system to meet existing and emerging challenges.
Develop and support modern local authority financial management systems and distribute central funding equitably.
Maintain and develop the National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) to ensure optimal management of motor taxation, the main element of the Local Government Fund.
Strengthen and support the Local Government Audit Service.
Support and promote best practice in human resource management in local authorities.
Develop and implement a modern and efficient electoral administration.
Policy Context The local government system is the forum for the democratic representation of local communities and for associated decisionmaking at local level and provides an opportunity for people, through their representatives, to influence the economic, social and cultural policies affecting their areas. Local government is responsible for the delivery of a range of essential public services. A key concern for the Department is to support and strengthen local government’s capacity to provide these services to the highest possible standards.
Many other public services not in the remit of local authorities are being provided locally by other public service agencies. All services should be delivered in a manner which maximises essential synergies between them and allows local democratic input into how they are planned and shaped. Local authorities need to expand their horizons in addressing in innovative ways the many economic, social, cultural and other needs which exist in their communities through, in particular, interaction and coworking with other agencies both statutory and non-statutory.
Public policy development now operates in a more open environment and through structures which facilitate the wider participation of civil society both in the development and in the implementation of public policies.
The County and City
Development Boards and the Strategic Policy Committees offer a more strategic and integrated approach to policy making with effective input from local sectoral interests, including the social partners. These structures are essential in the delivery of social inclusion and sustainable development and will have a key role in the implementation of policies of both local and national importance, such as the Disability Strategy and environmental protection. We will actively support these structures, and work with other Departments and Agencies as necessary in this regard.
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Local authorities’ capacity to deliver on their extensive remit and to maintain a wide range of high quality public services requires substantial financial resources. Clearly, the level of funding available at national level for all sectors is not unlimited and taking account of national budgetary strategies, we will ensure, as far as possible, that local government is adequately funded.
In that context, to build on the success of the Local Government Fund arrangements, an independent review of the
local government funding system, including efficiency and accountability issues, is being carried out. The Department will seek to ensure that available funding will be distributed to local authorities in an equitable manner. Motor taxation is a key component of the Local Government Fund. The Department’s Vehicle Registration Unit based in Shannon is central to the management of motor taxation and maintains the National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) which is the national database controlling and consolidating local authority data on vehicles and drivers. In 2003 a facility for renewal of motor tax online for most vehicles was introduced and this will be extended to other vehicles.
The Department will progress the efficiency agenda for local government by further developing and deepening the use of new financial management policies and systems in local authorities.
Recent modernisation of the regulatory financial regime
governing local authorities will be further improved by replacing the existing law on rating some of which dates back to the 19th century with consolidated modern legislation. This will be complemented by the introduction of legislation on Business Improvement Districts to provide a legal basis for voluntary partnership arrangements between local authorities and the business community towards enhanced services and facilities in commercial areas.
The Local Government Audit Service provides independent scrutiny of the financial and regulatory stewardship of local authorities and other audited bodies.
Its formal audit opinions are incorporated in the audited bodies’ annual financial
statements and the audit reports cover matters of a general nature and those requiring further action by the audited bodies. The Local Government Audit Service also promotes the achievement of value for money in local authorities by undertaking and publishing value for money studies.
Much has been achieved under the modernisation programme for local government in areas such as underpinning legislation, financial management, human resource management, information technology and democratic structures. Also, there is a more strategic approach to business with a strong emphasis on improving customer service. The challenge is to ensure that all of these structures and systems are used to their maximum potential with the end objective of excellent local government and excellent local services.
We will also be pressing forward with an agenda of modernising the electoral administration,
principally through the extended use of electronic voting and counting.
Key Performance Indicators
Support provided for the effective operation of the Strategic Policy Committee and the County and City Development Board structures.
Complete implementation of the Local Government Act 2001 by establishing and supporting the operation of the Local Government Commission.
Adequacy of the electoral legislative framework.
Improved customer service in local authorities based on demonstrated performance and effective customer service structures and systems.
Complete and publish a major independent review of local government funding.
Continue to refine the Needs and Resources Grant Distribution Model to improve equity in the distribution of general purpose funding from the Local Government Fund.
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Further develop the new financial management systems in local authorities to facilitate value for money assessment.
Progress the Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) and Rating legislation.
Update and maintain NVDF records and generate system outputs in accordance with the Department’s Customer Service Action Plan.
Extend the online motor tax renewal facility to more motorists.
Number of audits completed within the audit cycle and number of Value for Money reports produced.
Progress in implementing initiatives and effective support for best practice in human resource management in local authorities.
Progress in implementation of the electronic voting and counting project.
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Housing Objective To enable every household to have available an affordable dwelling of good quality, suited to its needs, in a good environment and, as far as possible, at the tenure of its choice.
Key Strategies
Oversee and seek to maintain an efficient housing market by implementing a multi-stranded approach to address housing needs as these evolve. This will include
Facilitate the optimum market response to meeting housing demand and seek to ensure that housing is delivered in a sustainable manner consistent with the principles of the National Spatial Strategy.
Seek to ensure the existence of appropriate standards in housing provision.
Facilitate the availability of a broad range of accommodation options having regard to individual choice and needs whether through forms of home ownership or access to the private rented sector.
The promotion of social and affordable housing measures including the Affordable Housing Initiative under Sustaining Progress, addressing the special housing needs of the elderly, disabled, homeless persons and Travellers and the development and implementation of a flexible and graduated system for the provision of support for those with a long term need for housing which is not addressed through market mechanisms. It also involves the promotion of efficient and effective management of the social housing stock.
Policy Context Economic development and social equity are key themes of sustainable development. Access to good quality affordable accommodation is an essential element of economic and social policy.
The general principle underpinning the housing
objective is that those who can afford to provide for their housing needs should do so either through home ownership or private rented accommodation and that targeted supports should be available to others having regard to the nature of their need. The primary strategy is to oversee and seek to maintain an efficient housing market by implementing a multi-stranded approach to address housing needs. The associated detailed strategies relate to various interventions and supports in the private and public housing domains to promote social inclusion and to facilitate appropriate standards of housing provision through the promotion of housing that is sustainable, affordable, energy efficient, architecturally appropriate, uses best available construction techniques and is adaptable to changing needs over its lifetime. In view of recent demographic and societal change it also involves facilitating the availability of a broad range of accommodation options including the modernisation and development of the private rented sector.
The NDP has provided the framework for addressing the infrastructural deficit in the size of the national housing stock. The Government’s approach has been further reflected in the Government policy statement, Action on Housing (June 2000), the Agreed Programme for Government and Sustaining Progress, Social Partnership Agreement 2003 - 2005 (SP). The NESC Report, Housing in Ireland: Performance and Policy (2004) will be a central element in the consideration of housing policy development in the medium term. The Housing Forum will continue as a key mechanism to facilitate inputs into housing policy development by the social partners. The Department will also participate as required in the various groups established to steer actions and review progress under SP.
Local authorities have prepared five year action plans to deliver across the full range of social and affordable housing programmes including remedial and regeneration works and supporting measures for the period 2004 to 2008. The main
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objective in developing these action plans, is the need to ensure that the investment available for these programmes achieves the desired effect in the long term by tackling real need and breaking cycles of disadvantage and dependency having regard to the funding available under the 5 year multi annual capital envelopes. Thus the action plans identify the areas of need and set out how the local authority proposes to address such needs over the period of the plan. A mid term review of plans will be undertaken in 2006 which will take account of any new policy initiatives arising in the interim and the results of the assessment of housing need undertaken in March, 2005.
Key Performance Indicators
Effectiveness of monitoring and response to trends in the affordability of housing and in the pace at which house completions meet requirements especially in areas of high demand.
Qualitative development of the national housing stock with regard to environmental and sustainability factors.
Extent to which the requirements of those in need of housing are met, including persons with social or special housing needs.
Degree of delivery of social and affordable housing measures in local authority Action Plans.
Effective implementation of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended.
Progress in delivering units under the affordable housing initiative contained in Sustaining Progress.
Progress on the implementation of the Rental Accommodation Scheme.
Extent to which the accommodation needs of Travellers as set out in the local authority Traveller accommodation programmes 2005 to 2008 are met.
Completion of the review of the Government’s Integrated and Preventative Homeless Strategies.
Implementation of the Residential Tenancies Act, including operation of the Private Residential Tenancies Board and other measures to develop the private rented sector, with particular regard to the Commission report on the sector.
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Supporting the Provision of Infrastructure and Local Services Objective To promote and support the provision of infrastructure by local authorities, including the development of efficient and cost effective mechanisms for the procurement of infrastructure and services, in the areas of housing, non-national roads, water services, waste management facilities, fire and emergency services, library and other amenity services which support local communities.
Key Strategies
Ensure that infrastructure provision by the local authorities is fully delivered on a timely basis and consistent with the policy objectives of the National Spatial Strategy and Regional Planning Guidelines.
Promote and support the implementation through local authorities of measures for the provision of social and affordable housing.
Promote and support the implementation through local authorities of programmes for the improvement and maintenance of non-national roads.
Providing resources, policy leadership and the legislative framework for the timely provision, development and management of water services infrastructure.
Providing leadership in the development and management of investment programmes in environmental management infrastructure, improvement of the environment and the satisfactory management and reduction of waste.
Ensure an effective development consent system to facilitate the timely provision of infrastructure
Assist and support local authorities in their role of ensuring that people, property and local infrastructure are protected in fire and other emergency situations.
Support local authorities in developing the public library system.
Encourage and support the use of public private partnerships within the local government sector as a way of delivering infrastructure and quality public services in a timely and cost effective manner.
Ensure regular review of the performance of the construction industry as well as promoting good practice, productivity and innovation within the industry.
Assist local authorities to modernise their procurement practices and processes by way of implementation of the recommendations in the Local Authority Strategy for eProcurement.
Facilitate improvements in the process of the procurement and construction of Public Capital projects in co-operation with the Forum for the Construction Industry.
Policy Context Local authorities provide a range of services which support local economic, social and cultural development thus contributing to the sustainable development of their areas. Infrastructural provision is a key element of this and the Department supports local authorities in a number of ways including the provision of legislative, policy, financial and other supports for the water, waste water, waste, housing, non-national roads, fire services and libraries programmes. We also assist infrastructural development through our role in overseeing the planning and environmental regulatory process, public private partnerships and our role in relation to the construction industry.
It is important that Ireland has a development consent system for infrastructure projects that supports the delivery of such projects in the right place at the earliest possible time and in a cost effective way. The development consent system must be
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capable of mitigating the effect of such projects on heritage, the environment and the public, in compliance with all relevant national and international legal requirements, while minimising the regulatory burden and cost of the system. Legislation is being prepared as a priority to ensure that major infrastructure projects are subject to a streamlined development consent procedure.. The Department will invest €9.1 billion over the period 2005 to 2009 providing an effective base for investment in economic and social infrastructure.
The NDP has provided the framework for addressing the infrastructural deficit in the size of the national housing stock, arising from economic, demographic and societal change. The Government’s approach has been further reflected in the Agreed Programme for Government and Sustaining Progress, Social Partnership Agreement 2003 - 2005 (SP). The NESC Report, Housing in Ireland:Performance and Policy (2004) will be a key element in the consideration of housing policy development in the medium term. As referred to under the Housing functional area of this Statement, local authorities have produced five year action plans to deliver across the full range of social and affordable housing programmes for the period 2004 to 2008. The total housing provision for 2005 is in the order of €2 billion which will enable the needs of over 13,000 households to be met. There has been record levels of investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in recent years under the NDP 2000 – 2006. Significant progress has been made in meeting EU and National requirements in relation to water quality and urban wastewater discharges and in strengthening our economic infrastructure to facilitate industrial and residential development. There will be a continuing need over the period 2005 – 2007 to maintain the momentum that has been built up.
The
Department will meet this challenge through the three-year rolling Water Services Investment Programme, involving the use of public private partnerships and the application of the polluter pays principle.
The forthcoming Water Services Act will provide a modern regulatory platform to support the development of water services and facilitate ongoing sustainable economic and demographic growth. Licensing will be introduced for the group water scheme sector to address ongoing quality problems in the sector. In addition, water services strategic planning in each city and county area will facilitate the synchronisation of water services infrastructure development with strategic planning in other sectors. Development of water services provision continues against the background of the Government’s national water services pricing policy framework, which requires local authorities to recover the full cost of providing services from users of those services, with the exception of householders using the services for domestic purposes. Metering of all non-domestic users by the end of 2006 target provided in the framework will facilitate a more transparent application of the policy to the sector.
Public Private Partnerships (PPP) have since 1999/2000 represented a further method of delivering public infrastructure and services. The Local Government Sector has been to the fore in embracing PPPs in the areas of water, waste water, waste, housing and local services. There are 117 PPP projects at various stages of the procurement process and a further 74 potential projects have been identified. The estimated capital cost of the projects underway is €2.1 billion. In the Water and Wastewater Sector 99 projects are underway. These are Design, Build and Operate contracts where the Exchequer funds the capital works. Private finance will fund Waste PPPs as well as providing social and affordable housing at no cost to Dublin City Council in the Fatima Mansions and O’Devaney Gardens Housing Redevelopments. The Department’s role is to encourage and support the use of PPPs within the local government sector. The Department has a key responsibility for the construction industry which is now a greater force in our economy than at any previous time. The industry currently accounts for 21% of GNP and employs, directly and indirectly, around 285,000 people or 15% of the total workforce. The overall performance of the industry is critical to the improvement of the country’s
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economic and social infrastructure.
The need to increase the operational capacity of the industry and to curb the rate of
construction inflation (estimated at 6% in 2004 down from a peak of 12% in 2000) have been addressed with significant success but remain important and will require ongoing attention. The Department is determined to effect a smooth transition to fixed price contracts for construction projects within its remit, in line with the Government decision of May 2004.
The Department will work with local authorities to modernise procurement practices and processes and enhance the use of electronic procurement (eProcurement) in line with the Strategy for the Implementation of eProcurement in the Irish Public Sector. Following Government approval for this Strategy, a further strategy for the local authority sector entitled Local Authority Strategy for eProcurement was produced. This Strategy provides for a seven-year implementation period. The first phase, which consisted of demonstration and capacity-building projects and was focussed on creating awareness across the local government sector of the potential opportunities and benefits, was completed at the end of 2004. The second phase – the mobiliation phase – commences in 2005. This will involve rolling-out the demonstration and capacity building projects to the sector as well as putting in place procurement standards, policies, procedures and performance management frameworks. The recent waste policy statement, “Taking Stock and Moving Forward”, has provided the framework for intensified action to provide modern waste management facilities. This involves infrastructure that will adequately support waste recycling and recovery, including waste-to-energy facilities and the disposal in landfill of residual waste. Non-national roads account for 94% of this country’s road network and carry 54% of all road traffic. These roads are vital to local enterprises, agriculture, forestry and tourism, as well as having a valuable social and community function. The main focus of the Non-National Roads Programme is to complete the Restoration Programme which aims, by the end of 2005, to restore all local and regional roads deemed to be deficient in 1996. The NDP provides for expenditure of €2.43 billion on non-national roads in the 2000 to 2006 period. In the Agreed Programme for Government commitment is given to continuing with the programme of investment in non-national roads up to 2005 and to following this up with a further significant improvement programme. A further Pavement Condition Survey has been carried out which will identify the extent and funding needs of the improvement programme beyond 2005. The Department’s role in relation to fire and emergency services relates in particular to the legislative, financial and other support we give to local authorities as fire authorities.
We will continue to support authorities in the development and
maintenance of a quality fire-fighting and rescue service and in their fire safety and prevention programmes. The Department will continue funding and staffing support for a central training programme for the fire service, administered by the Fire Services Council, which supplements the fire authorities’ own training programmes. The Report on the Strategic Review of Fire Safety and Fire Services in Ireland (March 2002), recommends an ambitious change agenda for the development of the fire and emergency services regime and will further inform developments in this area.
We will support local authorities, within the national framework for emergency response, in their planning for and response to major emergencies. We will work with the European Union to develop international support mechanisms in this area including the development of a European Community Civil Protection Mechanism to facilitate reinforced cooperation in civil protection assistance interventions. The development of the mechanism will be one of the key activities in the area of civil protection for the Department over the coming years.
The implementation of our major investment programme to develop the public library system will enable that system to fulfil the key role it has been given in the Government’s strategy for widening access to the Information Society. The integration of the cultural role and the cultural resources of the library service with the Information Society will add value and content together with wider access.
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Key Performance Indicators
Priority enactment and implementation of the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Bill.
The degree to which the local authority Action Plans for housing are implemented.
Timely identification of, and response to, critical factors affecting the construction industry.
The delivery of high quality water supply and wastewater services to the public and industry in accordance with objectives underpinning the Water Services Investment Programme, including meeting the needs of social economic development, compliance with EU and National requirements in relation to urban wastewater discharges, drinking water quality and sludge management.
Enactment and implementation of Water Services Bill 2003.
Bringing water services strategic planning into operation at city and county level.
Progress towards the achievement of the waste infrastructure objectives as set out in the policy statement “Taking Stock and Moving Forward”.
The number and range of PPP projects advanced.
The degree to which the recommendations in the Local Authority Strategy for eProcurement are implemented by the end of 2007.
Publication of the Review and Outlook for the Construction industry in August of each year; preceded by preliminary assessments in March and May
Progress (in terms of kms improved and schemes completed) in relation to the Restoration Programme and the strategic non-national roads programme. Meeting the performance indicator targets set out in the BMW and SE Regional Operational Programmes covering the period 2000 to 2006 inclusive.
Effective delivery of the Fire and Rescue Services Capital Programme. Progressively commence the Licensing of Indoor Events Bill, including the making of underpinning Regulations.
Progress in improving and modernisation of local fire services having regard, inter alia, to the Report on the Strategic Review of Fire Safety and Fire Services in Ireland.
Implementation of Branching Out - A New Public Library Service recommendations
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PART III
IMPLEMENTATION
Part II of this Statement set out objectives, strategies and performance indicators for the main functional areas for which the Department has responsibility. In this Part we identify Critical Success Factors for the achievement of these objectives. We identify objectives, strategies and performance indicators for Resourcing and Managing the Department, Serving Our Customers including eGovernment, Better Regulation and Improving Coordination and Key Inter-Relationships. We also set out how this Statement will be monitored and reviewed.
Critical Success Factors
Resourcing and Managing the Department
Serving Our Customers
Key Inter-Relationships
Monitoring and Review
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Critical Success Factors We are very conscious of our core objective of achieving a high quality service for the Government and for the public as customers and clients. These services include the provision of policy advice, the simplification of regulation and improvements in the regulatory processes, improved coordination with key partners such as local authorities and agencies and the delivery of particular services directly to the public through a channel of choice.
Effective management of the resources available to the Department will be key to our success. The major challenge is to deploy reduced staffing resources more effectively to deliver increasing demands and new initiatives. Availability of sufficient finance to fund our programmes in changing economic circumstances will be the main determinant of levels of activity in many areas. We will continue to seek efficiencies and improvements in our internal financial management and control systems through arrangements for expenditure reviews, internal audits and completion of the development and roll-out of the Management Information Framework. Most of the Department's spending is channelled through local authorities. The capability of local authorities, therefore, is critical to the success of our infrastructure programmes and in particular the ambitious targets set down in the NDP, the implementation of our polices and the delivery of other services.
An effective and competitive construction industry is critical to the achievement of key objectives of this and other Departments in terms of delivery of infrastructure by both the public and private sectors. The Department's interaction with the construction industry is outlined in the chapter on Key Inter-Relationships.
Sustainable development is understood to be about, inter alia, individuals and communities accepting greater responsibility for their economic, social and environmental needs. Wider public acceptance of a shared responsibility for addressing key problems associated with the achievement of the Department's objectives is critical to the successful implementation of our strategies towards improving quality of life in Ireland with reference to our mandate. While the Government framework of law and regulation and its implementation is essential for the achievement of a balance between individual and community or national interest the ultimate determinant of that balance is the behaviour of individual members of society.
As a society we aspire to goals such as protecting the environment, conserving our heritage and housing every household but attempts by the Department and our partners including local authorities and our agencies to achieve these are often hampered by conflicting aspirations at individual and community level. The achievement of these goals sometimes necessitates the making of difficult choices. It is important, therefore, that we continue to work closely with all our customers and in particular with elected representatives, with non-governmental organisations and with the voluntary and community sector towards achieving our goals.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can provide valuable support in the work towards sustainable development and are increasingly engaged in issues across the economic, social and environmental agendas. Partnership processes have assisted in bringing about this change. The Department has developed good working relationships with many NGOs representing various interests and these are identified in the chapter on Key Inter-Relationships. We will seek to further develop such relationships and improve our liaison with and support for the community and voluntary sector, in particular in relation to policy development and service and programme delivery and in accordance with the direction set in the Government's White Paper on Supporting Voluntary Activity. In order to secure maximum mutual benefit from these relationships, it will be important that NGOs develop coordinated, cross-sectoral capacity which supports more effective engagement with the policy process. In the
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environment area, the Department has already provided some financial assistance, and signalled its willingness to provide further funding towards appropriate capacity building.
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Resourcing and Managing the Department Objective To support the Department’s staff in maximising their contribution to the achievement of the Department’s objectives and to develop further the strategic approach to the management of the Department.
Key Strategies
Seek to ensure that staff resources meet the operational needs of the Department.
Implement the Department's Human Resources Strategy including embedding PMDS and improving internal communications.
Maintain and improve the provision of comprehensive and efficient support services for staff including accommodation, information and communications technology (ICT), equipment and accounting and finance.
Implement the Government’s decentralisation programme for the Department.
Implement the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard for the Department's main office at the Custom House and extend it to other Departmental buildings as appropriate.
Ensure the continued development of a positive health and safety culture and practices in the interest of staff well being.
Continue to progress the public service modernisation programme.
Develop an enhanced financial and management information system.
Review of expenditure programmes to identify the extent to which objectives are being met and to provide a basis for reordering priorities.
Review the adequacy of the Department’s internal control and risk management systems through internal audit.
Policy Context The analysis in Part I identified some of the key challenges facing the Department over the duration of this Statement including delivery on a range of commitments.
These include: -
The Government’s new initiative in relation to affordable housing
-
The priority being given to delivering a national waste strategy – including making full use of the environment fund to support the campaign
-
The legal requirement to rehabilitate the site of the former Irish Steel Company. This is a significant undertaking by the State which has to be addressed in response to a court ruling following the collapse of the private company which took over the running of the facility.
-
The EU demands under the Habitats Directive to designate and monitor areas of natural significance
-
The need to further improve the level of service in local authorities by setting specific performance indicators for local authorities. That system will be co-ordinated and benchmarked by the Department,
A Human Resources Strategy for the Department, developed through the Partnership process, was published in 2002. It provides the framework within which the Department manages its human resources (HR) to do the business of the Department. It provides the policies and practices to underpin sound HR management.
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Key importance attaches to the recruitment, retention and assignment of staff to achieve the Department’s objectives. We will be challenged in ensuring that reduced staff resources meet the operational needs of the Department. Constraints on the administrative budget, coupled with increasing demands and new initiatives, will increase our need to seek efficiencies in operations, in how we assign and manage work and in the deployment of staff. In meeting these challenges we will seek to adopt the approach and implement the actions set out in the HR Strategy.
Over the next three years, the Department will face a major challenge in facilitating the implementation plan for the transfer of some 680 staff to four locations including Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny and New Ross.
As a potential early mover with the
transfer of some 258 staff to Wexford the Department will implement arrangements for the transfer of staff into and out of the Department in accordance with agreed protocols negotiated centrally with the Department of Finance and Sub-Group of General Council.
Documenting work processes, review and re-engineering of our internal business processes and the
induction and training of new staff will maximize our potential to meet this major challenge. While the dispersed locations of the Department’s staff facilitates local delivery of service and suits staff whose preference is to live and work in these locations it also presents management challenges including more limited mobility and promotion opportunities for some staff and difficulty in maintaining effective communications across the organisation. Internal communications, therefore, are of vital importance. Over the duration of this Statement we will build on the progress made in the Department in recent years so as to improve further internal communications across the organisation. This will be advanced through the Partnership process, through various networking opportunities including senior manager conferences and divisional conferences, through training programmes and through developing further the strategic approach to the management of the Department.
In recognising that the health and well-being of staff, is a key factor in achieving work/life balance the Department published a document on Occupational Health Policy. This document identifies a number of measures which are directed at supporting individuals to pursue lifesyles that support a high quality of health. These occupational health and safety measures will be developed through the Partnership process and updated safety statements, where necessary, will be put in place to reflect the changes in the Department’s structure. Health and safety organisational issues will be reviewed to ensure that they reflect best practice and promote a positive health and safety culture.
While staff are the key resource of the Department they in turn need resources to enable them to perform effectively. These include suitable accommodation for everybody, ICT, tools and equipment for specialist work. In the light of the expansion of the Department’s accommodation infrastructure we will review and put in place arrangements for optimal service provision across the organisation.
The requirements of the ISO 14001 environmental management standard accreditation for our offices in the Custom House, Dublin, confer on us a duty to improve our environmental performance on a continual basis. This includes the development of measures aimed at maximising the efficient use of resources, whether energy, air, water, paper, equipment or other consumables. A particular emphasis is on aiming our green procurement specifications at reducing the quantities of waste entering the waste streams from our offices by engendering more sustainable consumption practices.
One of the overarching goals of the Strategic Management Initiative is to make more effective use of resources in the public service. This includes ensuring that staff and other resources are deployed effectively. To facilitate this, a new Management Information Framework is being implemented by the Department and will provide improved information for planning and resource allocation in the future.
The Department is committed to ensuring that our internal financial management and control systems are efficient. The Department’s Internal Audit Unit reviews our internal control systems and also verifies the effectiveness of the management
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and control systems in respect of EU co-financed operations for which the Department and its agencies are responsible. The Internal Audit Unit is overseen by the Department’s Audit Committee which also provides advice on the Department’s financial reporting process, internal control, risk management and audit matters.
It is also important that all of our programmes are subject to regular review to ensure that they are achieving their objectives. Our major capital programmes are subject to rigorous ongoing appraisal by external evaluators under the requirements of the Economic and Social Infrastructure Operational Programme and Regional Operational Programmes. Other programmes are subject to examination under the Expenditure Review process which is overseen by the Department of Finance.
In continuing to progress the public service modernisation programme we will embrace the new vision for the programme as it emerges with the energy, enthusiasm and pragmatism that the Department has adopted to date with success.
We
acknowledge that real change can take time and that the modernisation programme must be taken on by staff at all levels in the organisation if it is to have meaning and be sustained. Our approach thus far has allowed us to be flexible and accommodating in implementing the Strategic Management Initiative and we will maintain that approach in moving forward.
Key Performance Indicators
Implementation of actions identified in the Human Resources Strategy, including the extent to which targets relating to the Government’s equality and disability action plans are met.
Training and development expenditure to meet target 4% of payroll.
Satisfaction with the level and quality of internal communication as measured by staff surveys.
Ready accessibility to each staff member of the full range of information and communications technology, equipment and other supports and services necessary to support his or her work.
Progress in meeting targets and objectives set out in the environmental management system for the Department's main offices.
Implementation of actions identified in the Occupational Health Policy.
Progress in developing the customised management information framework.
Extent of use of business planning and the PMDS in the management of the Department.
Extent to which internal financial management and control systems are in place.
Extent to which the public service modernisation programme is progressed and implemented in the Department and reported to Performance Verification Group (PVG)
Progress in implementation of decentralisation programme.
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Serving Our Customers Objective To provide a very high level of quality customer service which takes account of changing needs and expectations .
Key Strategies
Implement the Customer Service Action Plans and Customer Charter.
Support the Parliamentary process and the operation of Government business.
Enhance access to and delivery of information and service to the Department's customers through the use of technology.
Achieve better regulation by improving the process of policy formulation, ensuring legislative quality and enhancing the effectiveness and coherence of regulation.
Ensure good two-way cooperation and communication with local authorities.
Maintain good consultation with the local government representative associations.
Ensure the effective operation of the agencies under our aegis.
Promote procurement management reform by developing policies, process and practices in support of a more strategic approach to procurement within the Department and bodies under the aegis of the Department.
Serve the Political system efficiently.
Policy context Part II of this Statement sets out the objectives and key strategies geared towards achieving the Government’s aims in the various areas for which we have responsibility. In working towards the achievement of these objectives and in implementing these strategies we engage with a broad customer base which includes individual members of the public, elected representatives, local authorities, our agencies, other Government Departments and Offices, international organisations and the many voluntary and representative groups whose business interacts with the Department.
The Department's approach to providing a quality service to its customers is outlined in the Customer Charter and Customer Service Action Plan 2001 - 2004 for the Department. The Customer Charter was published in June 2004 and a revised Action Plan will be published in 2005 to cover the period 2005 - 2007 The Department’s business generates a large volume of documentation for Government business, Parliamentary Questions, adjournment debates and discussions at Oireachtas committees. The Department has a remit in the issue of regulation of lobbyists as part of the reform of standards in public life and in facilitating progress on the Seanad Reform Agenda. Ministers must also deal with a heavy workload of public engagements, meetings, representations and other correspondence. All of these Ministerial duties require a very high level of support work throughout the Department for which challenging standards of service are set.
The provision of a quality service to the Department's customers is also influenced by two key drivers of change - eGovernment and Better Regulation. eGovernment offers the potential to improve significantly the quality of services to the Department’s customers and to facilitate more efficient working within and across Departments. eGovernment also has implications for Better Regulation particularly with respect to the accessibility of regulations and the eCabinet and eLegislation Projects as outlined in New Connections, the Government’s action plan on the Information Society.
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In adopting the Quality Customer Service Principles, the Department gave a commitment to an eGovernment approach to the delivery of its services in particular with reference to the principles of Timeliness and Courtesy, Choice, Better Coordination and Information as set out in the Customer Service Action Plan 2001 – 2004. New Connections promotes eGovernment as part of the key infrastructures that are the necessary basis for progress as an Information Society, and advocates a key leadership role for Government in driving wider engagement with ICT through its own business processes and service delivery arrangements. A headline aim of New Connections is to have all public services that are capable of electronic delivery available online, through a single point of contact, by 2005. With the development of Motor tax online in 2004 the greater focus ongoing from 2005 will be on the Government to business and Government to Government services. In line with Government policy for a formal data/statistics strategy the Department will continue to examine and develop statistical potential of its key indicators. Significant progress has been made in this area with the development of a new house price statistics system (expected to go live in 2005), and the Department is supporting the development, in conjunction with the Local Government Computer Services Board, of an Integrated Housing System for local authorities. Work is also continuing on the development of a national spatial data infrastructure which will enhance capacity for strategic planning, policy development and underpin better services for the citizen. The proposed establishment of an ongoing spatial planning research programme to underpin evidence-based policy making is also relevant in this context.
In partnership with the local authorities and the Local Government Computer Services Board, the Department will continue to develop a system to provide for electronic tendering for water services projects; to provide for online access to planning applications including the lodging of appeals and the electronic submission of comments on draft plans and on planning applications and to provide for greater use of electronic statistical data on planning. The Department will work with local authorities to modernise procurement practices and processes and extend and enhance the use of electronic procurement in line with the Strategy for the Implementation of eProcurement in the Irish Public Sector.
The recent completion of the National Vehicle and Driver File, which provides online access to the national database of vehicles and drivers from all motor tax offices, has provided for better customer service to a range of the Department’s motor tax customers including an Garda Síochána, the National Car Testing Service and the motor trade. It also provides a number of opportunities for the Department and motor tax offices to enhance the services they provide to vehicle owners and drivers. Following on the successful introduction of motor tax online it is planned to extend the service to include a facility for customers to be able to notify the Department of a change of vehicle ownership online and we will work with the Department of Transport to enable applications for driving licences to be received over the internet.
In addition, the Department will progress the implementation of the electronic voting and counting system, referred to in Part II of this Statement, in modernising electoral administration.
The Department will continue to pursue its Better Regulation programme by simplifying administrative procedures, improving the quality of regulation and reducing the quantity of regulation through greater advance consultation, as well as minimising barriers to enterprise. Legislation for which the Department is responsible, will be kept under review and where possible, will be consolidated or repealed. The Department will continue to introduce legislation having regard to the principles of Better Regulation, the Regulatory Impact Analysis process and the development of the Government's White Paper on Regulation.
The Department depends on local authorities and other agencies for the delivery of many of its services and the implementation of its policies. Through improved coordination with local authorities and with agencies, the Department strives for the effective and efficient implementation of its policies so that a better quality of service is delivered to customers. Intensive consultation with local authorities has become the norm with arrangements in place for structured dialogue at official
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and political levels, as well as specialised working groups for particular tasks.
We will seek to further improve our
communications and our consultative processes and arrangements with local authorities and with the local government representative associations so as to improve mutual understanding and co-working. There are 16 agencies6 under the aegis of the Department and we rely on their effective operation for the successful implementation of many of our strategies. Specific references to the Department's liaison with these agencies are outlined in the chapter on Key Inter-Relationships. The agencies are in the main, non-commercial, undertaking quasi-judicial/regulatory, advisory and developmental functions and the provision of services for local government. Over the period of this Statement we will seek to enhance the synergies between the agencies and the Department, between the agencies themselves and between the agencies and local authorities. And we will keep under review the functions and the organisational arrangements for our agencies having regard to the progress made in the implementation of this Statement, to changes in our operating environments and to the Department’s Corporate Governance responsibility in relation to the agencies.
Improved coordination and more active collaboration between Government Departments is a key theme and principle of the Government’s modernisation programme.
The Department leads on or participates in a range of cross-Departmental
initiatives as detailed in the chapter on Key Inter-Relationships. The effective and efficient support and cooperation of other Departments and their agencies will be critical to the successful implementation of many of our strategies. We will seek to further enhance our cross-Departmental working relationships over the duration of this Statement.
Key Performance Indicators
Implementation of new systems to improve service delivery across the Department.
Extent of online renewal of motor tax use.
Further development of the online Motor tax system to include first licensing and change of ownership.
The extent to which the actions, insofar as they relate to the Department, set out in New Connections are implemented by the end of 2007.
The extent to which the recommendations, insofar as they relate to local authorities, set out in the Strategy for the Implementation of eProcurement in the Irish Public Sector are implemented by the end of 2007.
The extent to which administrative procedures have been simplified.
The extent to which legislation is assessed by reference to the Quality Regulation Checklist.
Evaluation of Customer Service Action Plans and Customer Charter.
The volume, quality and timeliness of responses to Parliamentary Questions, representations an support services to the Houses of the Oireachtas.
6
These are listed in Appendix 4
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Key Inter-Relationships Many of the Department’s goals and objectives outlined in this Statement of Strategy are dependent on a “whole of Government” approach. Effective negotiation and implementation of Government policy including the commitments agreed under the Programme for Government requires active collaboration.
The Government have put in place a number of
interdepartmental structures to ensure a coordinated approach to the delivery of policies. Local authorities are key to the delivery of the Department’s policies and strategies in most areas. Details of the key inter-relationships under each of the functional areas of the Department are set out below.
Environment and Natural Heritage A high quality environment will not be achieved without integration of environmental considerations into economic/fiscal and sectoral policies. The environment is influenced by a wide range of public policies and activities so a comprehensive approach to environment policy and implementation is required across the governmental system. In accordance with the National Biodiversity Plan all Government Departments must ensure that their policies and actions do not damage biodiversity, but that they take a proactive role in enhancing biodiversity.
This Department has leadership and facilitative roles in relation to environmental protection and sustainable development. To this end, there is regular contact with other Departments and agencies and a range of mechanisms are in place, which are regularly reviewed and updated, to help ensure that this comprehensive approach and the necessary policy coherence and internalisation of environmental considerations, including biodiversity conservation considerations, are achieved. Reciprocal contacts are essential with other Departments and agencies including Departments of Finance, Taoiseach, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Transport, Agriculture and Food, Revenue Commissioners, Health and Children, Foreign Affairs, Office of the Attorney General, Defence and Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the EPA, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, Bord na Mona, Coillte, Teagasc and the Heritage Council.
Integration of environmental policies and contact is also essential with a number of important agencies, public bodies and other stakeholders, including Met Éireann, the EPA and the Office of Environment Enforcement and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland. Under the National Emergency Plan for Nuclear Accidents a number of Government Departments, local authorities and agencies are co-ordinated by this Department to provide for protection of human health in the event of a major nuclear accident abroad. Local authorities are legally responsible for implementation of much of the body of environmental legislation, for implementation of the water services investment programme, for the operation and management of water services and the protection of water resources.
To achieve its objectives, the Department must have good working arrangements with the social partners and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), and build wide public support through better communication and partnership towards progressive environmental policies and sustainable development. Comhar - the National Sustainable Development Partnership provides the key forum for national consulation and dialogue, with the relevant stakeholders, on all issues relating to sustainable development. In addition, the Department maintains important relationships with a range of economic and social organisations and environmental NGOs.
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In relation to rural water supplies, which rely heavily on voluntary group schemes, the Department has promoted a partnership approach involving the local authorities, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes and the National Rural Water Monitoring Committee in order to secure necessary improvements in standards.
There is a significant international dimension to our work in relation to the environment, resulting in participation in fora such as the EU, UN, The Council of Europe, OECD and OSPAR. There will be heightened engagement by the Department with the international environmental and sustainable development agenda in the period of this Statement associated in particular with follow-up to the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 and Ireland’s holding of the EU Presidency in 2004. The Department consults with colleagues in Northern Ireland and Great Britain on matters pertaining to nature conservation, including biodiversity conservation, nuclear safety and the security of nuclear installations.
In addition the
Department supports the Cabinet Committee on European Affairs. Working within an enlarged EU presents new challenges not least in regard to the need to develop strong bilateral relations at all levels with our EU partners, especially the new Member States.
Built Heritage and Planning In relation to heritage matters the Department works closely with a number of Government Departments and a range of public bodies including the local authorities, Heritage Council, National Roads Authority, Bord na Móna, Bord Gáis, Coillte, An Bord Pleanála, Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, National Museum of Ireland, European Commission and the Departments of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Office of Public Works, Transport Arts, Sport and Tourism. In addition, the Department also maintains important relationships with environmental non-governmental organisations.
In the context of its overall responsibility for planning policy and legislation and the effective operation of the planning system the Department maintains on-going contacts with local authorities and An Bord Pleanála. The Department works closely with other Government Departments on a wide range of planning-related issues e.g. Communications, Marine and Natural Resources on telecommunications infrastructure; Health and Children and Justice, Equality and Law Reform on childcare policy; Enterprise, Trade and Employment on major accidents legislation. Cross-Departmental consultation is a core feature of implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive (85/337/EEC); and, more recently, the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (2001/42/EEC). Consultation on the above issues also involves relevant State agencies such as the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation, the Health and Safety Authority, the Heritage Council, Industrial Development Authority and Forfás.
With regard to urban renewal programmes, the Department liaises with the Department of Finance and DG 4 (Competition) of the European Commission in relation to the financial incentives and with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly and the Border, Midlands and Western Regional Assembly and the Special EU Programmes Body in relation to implementation in their respective areas.
Issues addressed under the National Spatial Strategy cross into most Government Departments in the context of transport, education, rural development, enterprise, infrastructure, tourism and finance.
In recognition of the need for effective
coordination across Departments and State-sponsored agencies, both at strategic and operational levels, an Interdepartmental Steering Committee was established to oversee development of the Strategy. Arrangements were also put in place for wideranging consultation with regional bodies, local authorities, local development bodies and the social partners. The crossdepartmental/agency and widely consultative approach to the Strategy's preparation will be carried through in its implementation.
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The Department in partnership with the National Standards Authority of Ireland and the Irish Agrément Board monitors and inputs to the development of harmonised European construction standards by the European Commission, via the EU Standing Committee on Construction, the European Standards Organisation-CEN and the European Organisation for Technical Approval. The Department will have primary responsibility for the coordination of the implementation of the proposed EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings – EPBD (2002/91/EC). The Department develops national building code proposals, in consultation with the statutory Building Regulations Advisory Body and the construction industry/consumers, via a formal public consultation process. The Department maintains regular liaison with national and local regulators in Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a view to maintaining a broadly common building code for these islands. This facilitates healthy cross-border competition in construction.
The Department liaises closely with the non-governmental sector involved in the planning, land use and built environment areas, including An Taisce, Dublin Civic Trust and the Irish Georgian Society. We also work closely with representative bodies such as the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation, the Building Materials Federation and the Construction Industry Federation. Regular contact is also maintained with the bodies representing the relevant professions, such as Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, Irish Planning Institute, Royal Town Planning Institute, Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland, Institute of Engineers of Ireland and the Society of Chartered Surveyors.
Local Government While the Department has the key role for the achievement of the strategies outlined in the Local Government functional area we work in close tandem with local authorities, regional authorities, regional assemblies, the Local Government Management Services Board, the Local Government Computer Services Board and representative bodies such as the General Council of County Councils, the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland, the Local Authority Members' Association, the County and City Managers' Association and specialist groups such as personnel officers and finance officers.
Our work, particularly in the areas of social inclusion and community development, involves close contacts with a number of other Government Departments including the Departments of the Taoiseach, Social and Family Affairs, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, and Justice, Equality and Law Reform, state agencies including the Equality Authority, the Combat Poverty Agency and Area Development Management and the social partners in both the development and implementation of policy. We will continue to play an active and positive role in the various cross-cutting fora which help to deliver a cohesive public service response to issues where responsibility is shared between Departments and public bodies, for example, implementation of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy and the National Children’s Strategy in relation to the Department’s role in RAPID (Revitalising Areas by Planning Investment and Development) and in the strategies of City and County Development Boards which arose through the Inter-Departmental Task Force on the Integration of the Local Government and Local Development Systems.
We will continue to work within the framework of the Council of Europe with regard to the European Charter of Local Self Government as ratified by Ireland on a range of other related activities.
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There is an extensive legislative programme in the local government and electoral areas which requires close workings with the Oireachtas and the Office of the Attorney General.
In relation to the electoral system we liaise closely with the Standards in
Public Office Commission, the local authorities and returning officers.
Housing The Department works with a range of different stakeholders in implementing its housing strategies. This involves close relationships with other Government Departments and participation in a number of Cabinet Committees and Cross-Department Teams. In this context, the Department works closely with the Departments of the Taoiseach, Finance, Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Social and Family Affairs, Transport, Education and Science, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Health and Children, and Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
The Department works actively with the Cross-Departmental Teams which under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach support Cabinet Committees on Housing, Infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships, Social Inclusion, Drugs and Rural Development, Immigration and Children.
The Department leads the Cross-Departmental Team on Homelessness and
participates in the Department of Health's Inter-Departmental Group on the Needs of Older People, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform's Coordination Group on Prisoner Re-integration and the monitoring committee on the implementation of recommendations in the Task Force Report on the Travelling Community. The Department is represented on the High Level Group on Travellers, which under the aegis of the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion is examining ways in which the provision of services to Travellers, including accommodation, may be better co-ordinated. The Department also supports the development and implementation of a number of key cross-Departmental Government strategies led by other Departments, including the National Anti-Poverty Strategy which now includes a significant housing dimension; the National Drugs Strategy in relation to significantly reducing the harm caused by the misuse of drugs; the Health Strategy, Quality and Fairness A Health System for You in relation to Homelessness; the National Children's Strategy which will guide policy in relation to children’s issues up to 2010; the Youth Homelessness Strategy and the Traveller Health Strategy in relation to implementing the relevant accommodation related actions proposed in that strategy.
In developing proposals for the private rented sector, this
Department has the lead role, but other Departments such as the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and Social and Family Affairs play an important role in achieving targets in this area. The Department’s relationship with the local authorities is critical to the successful achievement of the housing objectives. Other key stakeholders include the Housing Finance Agency, the National Building Agency, the Local Government Computer Services Board, the Rent Tribunal, the Private Residential Tenancies Board and the Housing Unit established jointly with the County and City Managers' Association.
The Department also works with organisations in the voluntary and cooperative
housing sector and those working with elderly, disabled and homeless persons and Travellers.
The mortgage lending
agencies, including the Central Bank and IFSRA, the house building industry, relevant professional bodies and bodies providing structural guarantees are also central to achieving our housing objective
Infrastructure and Local Services Key partners of the Department in relation to the Construction Industry include the Departments of the Taoiseach, Finance, Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Forum for the Construction Industry. In relation to PPPs, the Department works closely with the Department of Finance and the new National Development Finance Agency to ensure the best mix of private
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and public funding to support the investment programmes and with local authorities, external agencies and other Departments to promote PPP and secure its successful implementation.
The Department is also closely involved with the Border Midland and Western Regional Assembly and the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly who are the Managing Authorities under the NDP. In relation to the EU Co-Financed Specific Improvement Grants Scheme there is also contact with the Department’s EU/Internal Audit Unit, the Department of Finance, the EU Commission and the ERDF and Cohesion Fund Financial Control Unit of the Department of Finance.
The Department works in close partnership with local authorities and the Fire Services Council in relation to fire services and emergency planning matters. With the Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety the Department shares the chair of the Fire Services Cross Border Working Group. The Department also works with the National Safety Council on matters in relation to fire safety education and awareness.
In the area of emergency planning, the
Department participates in the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, the Interdepartmental Working Group in Emergency Planning and the Interdepartmental Committee on Major Emergencies. The Department also has lead responsibility for representing Ireland on EU civil protection (emergency planning) matters and forms part of a network of all member states.
The Department has the lead role in relation to libraries in partnership with An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, and in relation to water safety in partnership with the Irish Water Safety Association.
Resourcing and Managing The Department liaises closely with the Department of Finance and with staff unions in relation to personnel, including pay issues. The Department works with CMOD and a number of external training providers on training and development; with both the Departments of the Taoiseach and Finance in relation to the public service modernisation programme; with the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee in relation to expenditure and financial management and with the Office of Public Works in relation to their responsibility for office accommodation and maintenance of the Department’s offices.
Serving Our Customer In the implementation of the Customer Service Action Plans, eGovernment strategy and Better Regulation programme, the Department liaises with all its customers but in particular has close working relationships with the Department of the Taoiseach, Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Ombudsman and the Oireachtas including the Joint Committee on European Affairs and the Reach Agency. In the delivery of electronic services to vehicle owners and drivers the Department has a close working relationship with the Department of Transport. In addition, the Department participates on the Inter-Departmental High Level Group on Regulation and provides support to the Cabinet Committee on the Information Society.
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Monitoring and Review This Statement of Strategy reflects the demands and challenges that confront us at present and seeks to set a direction for the work of the Department towards the implementation of Government programmes over the next three years.
We recognise that we are operating in a changing environment: new demands and challenges will undoubtedly arise beyond those which we have anticipated. It is essential therefore that we monitor and review progress towards the achievement of our objectives. This monitoring and review will enable us to redeploy our resources and reorder our priorities to meet the demands of a changing environment and of changing customer needs and consumer preferences. It will assist us in our ongoing efforts to align activity at all levels across the Department. It will take place at various operating levels.
The ongoing monitoring and review of the Statement is an integral part of the strategic management and planning role of the Department's Management Advisory Committee.
Our Business Plans serve as an essential tool in monitoring and
reviewing progress at the business unit level. They are produced on an annual basis and are reviewed periodically throughout the year. The Performance Management and Development System, provides a framework for the monitoring and review of performance at individual level.
Reporting on progress The Department will publish an Annual Report detailing our progress in implementing this Statement. The Annual Report will outline progress towards the achievement of our objectives and on the implementation of our strategies. It will address issues that have arisen since the publication of this Statement and it will also detail the measures which we have adopted in response. Progress in implementing the Customer Service Action Plans and Customer Charter will also be reported in the Annual Report.
Other opportunities will be provided for monitoring and review in reports made regularly by the Department in relation to specific functional areas; these include Environment Bulletins, Housing Statistics Bulletins, the annual reports of the Local Government Audit Service and Met Éireann, Construction Industry Review and Outlook and the National Climate Change Strategy Progress Reports. The Department submits progress reports to the Performance Verification Group (PVG) on its Action Plan under Sustaining Progress and subsequent mid-term review. In addition the annual and other reports of the agencies under the aegis of the Department provide further opportunity for monitoring and review in relation to particular areas; examples include the Environmental Protection Agency's Ireland's Environment - A Millennium Report as well as the Agency’s, Air Quality Monitoring Annual Report.
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Part IV APPENDICES
Page 46 of 53
Appendix 1
Process
followed
in
the
preparation
of
the
Statement of Strategy The Secretary General has statutory responsibility under the Public Service Management Act 1997 for the preparation and submission of a strategy statement to the Minister within 6 months after the appointment of the new Minister. This Statement of Strategy has been prepared and submitted with the support of the Management Advisory Committee and through a process of consultation within the Department and with key stakeholders.
The consultation process within the Department involved meetings of the Management Advisory Committee and meetings within each Division.
In addition, the preparation of the Statement was considered by Comhar - the National Sustainable Development Partnership, the County and City Managers' Association and the agencies under the Department’s aegis at respective meetings held with them.
This external consultation process provided the opportunity for external input to the development process.
The output from the internal and external consultation processes was considered by the Management Advisory Committee in drafting the Statement.
In the course of finalising the Statement, the draft Statement of Strategy was made available to all members of staff to provide them with a further opportunity to provide input and comment on the document.
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Structure of the Department
Appendix 2
Environment
Water and Natural Heritage
Heritage and Planning
Legal Adviser
Local Government
Local Government Audit Service
Housing
Corporate Services
Tom O’Mahony Assistant Secretary
Tom Corcoran Assistant Secretary
Mary Moylan Assistant Secretary
Dermot Humphreys
Geraldine Tallon Assistant Secretary
Noel O'Connell Inspector of Audits
Des Dowling Assistant Secretary
Michael Canny Assistant Secretary
Environment Policy
Water Services Investment
Heritage Policy and Architectural Protection
Local Government Project Development
Housing Policy and Finance
Personnel
Environment International, Environment Awareness and North/South
National Parks and Wildlife (Biodiversity Protection and Science)
National Monuments
Local Government Policy
Affordable Housing
Corporate Development and Decentralisation
Air/Climate
National Parks and Wildlife (Conservation Management
Building Standards and Environmental Assessment
Local Government Personnel
Social Inclusion and Traveller Accommodation
Departmental Finance, Accounts and Financial Management Unit
Nuclear Safety
Water Services Policy
Urban and Village Development
Local Government Finance
Housing Construction
Organisation (incl. ICT and FOI)
Public Private Partnership and Construction
Vehicle Registration Unit & Motor Tax Policy Waste Infrastructure and Water Quality Regulation
Planning
Franchise
Private Housing Sector
Waste Prevention and Recovery
Spatial Policy
Fire Services and Emergency Planning
Housing Procurement and Services
Roads and Local Services
Voluntary Housing and Housing Grants
ENFO
Internal Audit: Gus Murray, Assistant Principal Officer Met Éireann (Director: Declan Murphy) is a constituent part of the Department. However, given its de facto autonomy as an organisation unit, it prepares and publishes its own Statement of Strategy and Annual Report.
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Location of the Department's Main Offices
Appendix 3
The location of the Department's main offices are detailed below
o
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Irish Life Buildings, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1.
7 Ely Place, Dublin 2.
Dún Scéine, Harcourt Lane, Dublin 2.
Government Offices, Ballina, Co. Mayo
Secretariat to the Minister, Ministers of State and Secretary General Press and Information Unit Majority of sections from the following divisions: Corporate Services, Environment, Housing, Local Government. Building Standards and Environmental Assessment Planning Spatial Policy Urban and Village Development Water Quality
Water Services including Inspectorate Public Private Partnership and Construction Internal Audit Financial Management Unit Roads and Local Services
National Parks and Wildlife
National Monuments Heritage Policy and Architectural Protection
Voluntary Housing Housing Grants Water Services (Rural Water Programme) Accounts Local Government Superannuation
LoCall:1890 20 20 21
LoCall:1890 20 20 21
LoCall:1890 321 421
LoCall: 1890 321 421
Tel : (01) 888 2000
Tel : (01) 888 2000
Tel : (01) 647 3000
Tel : (01) 411 7100
Fax : (01) 888 2888
Fax : (01) 888 2888
email :
[email protected] website : http://www.environ.ie
[email protected] [email protected] LoCall : allows callers anywhere in the country to contact the Department at the local call rate
Vehicle Registration Unit, Shannon Town Centre, Shannon, Co. Clare. Vehicle registration
ENFO, 17 St. Andrew Street, Dublin 2.
LoCall:1890 30 50 30 (Housing Grants) 1890 20 20 21 (other offices in Ballina) Tel : (096) 2 4200
LoCall:1890 412
LoCall:1890 200 191
Tel : (061) 36 5000
Tel : (01) 888 2001
Fax : (096) 2 4221 (Housing Grants) (096) 2 4222 (other offices in Ballina)
Fax : (061) 36 3480
Fax : (01) 888 3946
411
Environmental Information Service
email:
[email protected] website: http://www.enfo.ie
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Appendix 4 Agencies Details of the agencies operating under the aegis of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government are set out below
An Bord Pleanála
An Bord Pleanála is responsible for the determination of
64 Marlborough Street,
planning appeals and certain other planning matters.
Dublin 1. Tel: (01) 858 8100 LoCall: 1890 27 51 75 Fax: (01) 872 2684 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.pleanala.ie
An Chomhairle
An Chomhairle Leabharlanna provides assistance to local The Library Council,
Leabharlanna
authorities and makes recommendations to the Minister for 53-54 Upper Mount Street, the Environment and Local Government in relation to the
Dublin 2.
improvement of the public library service.
Tel: (01) 676 1167 Fax: (01) 676 6721 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.librarycouncil.ie
Building Regulations The Building Regulations Advisory Body advises the Advisory Body
Room 2.13, Custom House,
Minister on all aspects of the National Building Regulations Dublin 1. including the related technical guidance documents on
Tel: (01) 888 2371
how to comply with the Regulations.
LoCall: 1890 20 20 21 Fax: (01) 888 2693 email:
[email protected]
Comhar
Comhar was established to provide a forum for national
17 St. Andrew Street,
consultation and dialogue on all issues surrounding
Dublin 2.
Ireland's pursuit of sustainable development.
Tel: (01) 888 3990 LoCall: 1890 200 327 Fax: (01) 888 3999 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.comhar-nsdp.ie
Dublin Docklands
The Dublin Docklands Development Authority was
Custom House Quay,
Development
established to secure the social and economic
Dublin 1.
Authority
regeneration of the Dublin Docklands Area on a
Tel: (01) 818 3300
sustainable basis, to secure improvements in the physical Fax: (01) 818 3399 environment of that Area and to secure the continued
email:
[email protected]
development in the Custom House Docks Area.
website: http://www.ddda.ie
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Environmental
The Environmental Protection Agency is an independent
Protection Agency
body with a wide range of powers and functions to promote Johnstown Castle Estate, improved environmental protection in Ireland.
PO Box 3000,
Co. Wexford. Tel: (053) 60600 Fax: (053) 60699 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.epa.ie
Fire Services Council The Fire Services Council provides courses of instruction
Custom House,
for fire service personnel and other persons and advises
Dublin 1.
the Minister in relation to the educational and training
Tel: (01) 874 4760
needs of fire service personnel.
Fax: (01) 888 2955 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.environ.ie
Heritage Council
The Heritage Council’s role is to propose policies and
Rothe House,
priorities for the identification, protection, preservation and Kilkenny. enhancement of the national heritage.
Tel: (056) 777 0777 Fax: (056) 777 0788 email:
[email protected] website:http://ww.heritagecouncil.ie
Housing Finance
The Housing Finance Agency lends money to the housing Eden House,
Agency
authorities for their functions under the Housing Acts.
15-17 Eden Quay, Dublin 1. Tel: (01) 872 5722 Fax: (01) 872 5878 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.hfa.ie
Irish Water Safety
The Irish Water Safety Association is charged with
Association
promoting public awareness of water safety and providing Galway.
The Long Walk,
instruction in water safety, rescue, swimming and recovery Tel: (091) 564400 drills.
LoCall: 1890 42 02 02 Fax: (091) 564700 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.iws.ie
Local Government
The Local Government Computer Services Board’s
Phoenix House,
Computer Services
organises and provides a service for the supply of
27 Conyngham Road,
Board
computer facilities for local authorities and to co-ordinate
Dublin 8.
and secure compatibility in the use of computers by local
Tel: (01) 645 7000
authorities. It aims to provide or promote training,
Fax: (01) 645 7001
education and research and to furnish advice, information email:
[email protected] and assistance to the Minister and to local authorities.
website: http://www.lgcsb.ie
Page 51 of 53
Local Government
The Local Government Management Services Board
Cumberland House
Management Services provides services for staff negotiations purposes and such Fenian Street, Board
other management services as may be required to local
Tel: (01) 6099560
authorities and other bodies as designated.
Fax: (01) 6099590 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.lgmsb.ie
National Building
The National Building Agency is a consultancy firm
Richmond Avenue South,
Agency
specialising primarily in housing, architecture and
Milltown,
construction management, and undertakes redevelopment Dublin 6. work, bringing together local authority, private and
Tel: (01) 497 9654
voluntary interests.
Fax: (01) 497 2540 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.nba.ie
Private Residential
The Private Residential Tenancies Board’s main functions Canal House,
Tenancies Board
are to provide a dispute resolution service for tenants and Canal Road, registered landlords and operate a tenancy-registration
Dublin 6
system. The Board is also responsible for a range of
Tel: (01) 888 2960
monitoring, research, information and policy-advice
LoCall: 1890 20 20 21
functions in relation to the private rented sector.
Fax: (01) 888 2819 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.environ.ie
Radiological
The Radiological Protection Institute is the national
3 Clonskeagh Square,
Protection Institute of organisation with regulatory, monitoring and advisory
Clonskeagh Road,
Ireland
Dublin 14.
responsibility in matters pertaining to ionising radiation.
Tel: (01) 269 7766 Fax: (01) 269 7437 email:
[email protected] website: http://www.rpii.ie Rent Tribunal
The Rent Tribunal is the arbitrating body in the
Custom House,
determination of the terms of tenancy of dwellings, which
Dublin 1.
were formerly rent controlled under The Rent Restrictions Tel: (01) 888 2000 Acts, 1960 to 1981.
Fax: (01) 888 2012 email:
[email protected]
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ISSN 1649-6884. PRN A5/0541
Design : Desktop Publishing Unit Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
The document (English and Irish language version) is available on the Department's website: http://www.environ.ie
Copies of this document may be obtained from the:
Quality Customer Service Officer, Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Custom House, Dublin 1.
LoCall: 1890 20 20 21 Tel : 01 - 888 2091 Fax : 01 - 888 2888 Email :
[email protected]
This document is also available in Braille (on request).
Page 53 of 53
