Results 17,201-17,220 of 21,489 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Administration (12 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. Under the Water Services Acts 2007-2013, Irish Water has statutory powers to request its customers and certain specified persons or bodies to provide it with information so that Irish Water can perform its functions under...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (12 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department is in discussions with Cork County Council in relation to the purchase of social housing arising from the Part V provisions and a decision in this matter will be made as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (12 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department provides funding to local authorities for various social housing supports, including for adaptations and extensions to the social housing stock to meet needs of local authority tenants with a disability or to address serious overcrowding. Funding provided by my Department meets 90% of the cost of such works, with each local authority providing the remaining 10%. The...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Proposed Legislation (12 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: I have received no representations in relation to this issue which is a matter reserved to elected members for decision in accordance with the provisions of sections 31 and 32 and Schedule 8 to the Local Government Act 2001, as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014. Section 32(1A) of the 2001 Act provides that where, prior to 1 June 2014, Limerick City Council used the title of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Expenditure (12 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: No Exchequer funds have been provided for the establishment costs of Irish Water. The only Exchequer funding provided to Bórd Gáis or Irish Water in 2012 or 2013 was a grant of €0.57m to Irish Water in 2013 to fund the cost of a pilot study in relation to Phase 2 of the Water Metering Programme which is targeted at metering those properties that were not meterable in the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (12 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: The number of vacant social housing units returned to productive use in 2014 with support from my Department was 2,333. The breakdown of the units per local authority was as follows - Local Authority Returned Units Carlow 42 Cavan 23 Clare 65 Cork City 212 Cork County 155 Donegal 167 Dublin City 467 Fingal 165 South Dublin 92 Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown 5 Galway City 24...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: House Purchase Schemes (12 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Currently, there are two types of house purchase loan s available from local authorities: standard annuity loans targeted at lower income first time buyers and those under the Home Choice Loan scheme which are available to qualifying middle income first time buyers. The terms and conditions governing the operation, including eligibility terms, of annuity mortgages and the Home Choice Loan...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homeless Persons Data (12 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. Data on...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Ministerial Meetings (12 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Neither I nor Mr. Paudie Coffey, T.D., Minister of State at my Department, have had meetings with the company referred to in the Question. The company concerned is involved in a pilot rural broadband initiative in a number of areas around Ireland. I understand that my colleague, Ms. Ann Phelan T.D., Minister of State with special responsibility for Rural Affairs has met with the company on...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Shared Services (12 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Shared services have been identified in the Local Government Efficiency Review and the Public Service Reform Plans as an important opportunity to make further savings in administrative costs, through streamlining and improving service delivery without impacting on front line services. This builds on practical experience, over many years, in the local government sector of local authorities...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Nitrates Action Programme Implementation (7 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: The EU Nitrates Directive and Ireland's National Nitrates Action Programme limit the amount of nitrogen from livestock manure which may be applied to land each year, including by the animals themselves, to 170 kg of nitrogen per hectare per annum. On 27 February 2014, after lengthy negotiation, the EU Nitrates Management Committee renewed Ireland’s derogation which enables farmers...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Provision (7 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: The social housing targets that I recently announced for all local authorities cover the period to 2017 and include almost 7,500 units that will be capital-funded and 15,400 current-funded units, which will support a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes by local authorities. My announcement also contained provisional funding allocations within the overall announcement of over...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Capital Assistance Scheme (7 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Proposals for this scheme were submitted and funding was approved under my Department’s Capital Assistance Scheme in 2014. As the design has now been amended, my Department has requested and is awaiting additional information from Cork City Council, to allow the altered proposal and design to be evaluated.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Public Sector Staff Retirements (7 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Representations have previously been received by my Department on this matter and were responded to. With regard to local authority employment, the position is that since the enactment of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004, the minimum age at which pensions will be payable to new entrants to the public service, from 1 April 2004, is age 65 and there is no...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grant (7 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: The provision of housing to support independent living by people with specific categories of need, including people with an intellectual, physical or mental health disability, older people, the homeless, returning emigrants and victims of domestic violence, is supported through my Department’s Capital Assistance Scheme. The scheme provides funding of up to 100% of the approved costs....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Public Sector Staff Increment Payments (7 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: It is not possible to extract historical increment financial data from the system on a global basis for the years 2008 - 2011. Historic costs could be calculated manually on an individual basis but this would take a prohibitively long time.  The number of increments awarded to staff in my Department, along with indicative approximate values of new increments paid, in each of the years...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Electromagnetic Fields Studies (6 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department has commissioned a study to review and report on international developments on the potential health effects of electro-magnetic fields, by examining international developments in non-ionising radiation (NIR) and electromagnetic fields (EMF) research, which have taken place since publication in 2007 of a report by the then Department of Communications, Marine and Natural...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Staff Recruitment (6 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: As announced in Budget 2015, the moratorium and the Employment Control Framework for the Public Service have been lifted but recruitment/promotion will be subject to adherence to binding 3 year pay ceilings. Staffing resources must be managed within these overall ceilings. Detailed arrangements in terms of the local government sector will be worked out between my Department and the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Motor Tax Collection (6 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Motor tax on cars registered prior to 2008 is based on engine capacity. Motor tax on cars registered since 2008 is based on CO 2emissions. I do not consider that either basis of taxation is regressive. In the case of cars taxed on engine capacity, the banding is structured so that the level of tax payable increases as the engine size increases. In the case of cars taxed on the basis of CO2,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management Regulations (6 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Among the measures included in the Government’s national waste policy, A Resource Opportunity - Waste Management Policy in Ireland, which was published in July 2012, was the establishment of an inter-Departmental working group to report to Government with options on minimising the impact of waste charges on low-income households. The working group, which comprises representatives of my...