Results 1,761-1,780 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (14 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: The Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (EIA Directive), 85/337/EEC as amended, requires that consent for projects should be granted only after prior assessment of the likely significant environmental effects have been assessed and that this assessment must be conducted on the basis of the appropriate information supplied by the developer. The transposition of the Directive is...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (14 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: In accordance with section 13 (2) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and other prescribed bodies are consulted on proposed variations to city or county development plans. The submission from my Department referred to in the Question was in response to a consultation from Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council in relation...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (14 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 361 and 362 together. Article 5.2 of Council Directive 1999/31/EC provided that the quantity of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill must be reduced to: 75% of biodegradable waste arising by 16 July 2006, 50% of biodegradable waste arising by 16 July 2009, and 35% of biodegradable waste arising by 16 July 2016. The above Directive on the landfill of...

Written Answers — Building Regulations: Building Regulations (14 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 363 to 365, inclusive, together. Responsibility for enforcement of the building regulations is a matter for the 37 local building control authorities. Half-yearly statistics on enforcement of the regulations, furnished by local building control authorities to my Department, do not give a breakdown of the prosecutions initiated for non-compliance with the 12...

Written Answers — Building Regulations: Building Regulations (14 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: My Department has not received a copy of the draft or final version of the Report referred to in the Question, although it has already had access to an extract from the executive summary to the Report. I understand that Sustainable Energy Ireland intend to publish the Report in the next eight weeks. My Department will not be commenting on the contents of the Report until the full version of...

Written Answers — Recycling Policy: Recycling Policy (14 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: Discussions are ongoing with the newsprint industry with a view to developing a producer responsibility initiative (PRI) for the recovery and recycling of newspapers and magazines. Discussions have focussed on waste prevention and minimisation issues in the newsprint industry specifically the practice of "Boxing Out" i.e. oversupply of magazines; recovery and recycling of unsold newspapers...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (14 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I intend to make regulations transposing Directive 2003/4/EC on access to information on the environment in the near future.

Written Answers — Voluntary Sector Funding: Voluntary Sector Funding (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 597 and 598 together. During 2006, my Department made payments totalling €737,710 from the Environment Fund to An Taisce. €726,358 of this was in grant assistance towards meeting An Taisce's costs arising from its involvement with a number of specific environmental awareness and education programmes throughout the country. A breakdown of the expenditure...

Written Answers — Water and Sewerage Schemes: Water and Sewerage Schemes (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: Funding for the Rural Water Programme, which includes an element for small public water and sewerage schemes, is provided by my Department to county councils through annual block grant allocations. The prioritisation and approval of individual proposals under the Programme is a matter for the council concerned.

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: The European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2006, which I signed into law on 19 December 2006, provide for the introduction of Building Energy Rating on a phased basis, as follows:new dwellings, with effect from 1 January 2007; new non-domestic buildings, with effect from 1 July 2008; and all existing buildings when sold or let, with effect from 1 January 2009. The...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: Building Energy Rating will be carried out by assessors registered with Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), who have successfully completed training which meets the requirements of the Training Specification published by SEI on 6 October 2006. A copy of the specification has been placed on the SEI website: www.sei.ie/epbd, and also in the Oireachtas Library. I understand that 62 assessors had...

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: The Government has recently established a Ministerial Taskforce on Climate Change to finalise the revised National Climate Change Strategy. I intend to publish a revised Strategy by April 2007.

Written Answers — Housing Grants: Housing Grants (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: There are a number of schemes currently in operation under which grant aid is available for the replacement of windows in private houses. The essential repairs grant scheme enables people in houses, which cannot be made habitable in all respects at a reasonable cost, to have basic works, including the replacement of windows, carried out to them. The scheme is directed primarily at older...

Written Answers — Water Conservation: Water Conservation (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: Water conservation works are ongoing in County Kilkenny on foot of the allocation of €1.3 million included for that purpose in my Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2005–2007.

Written Answers — Water and Sewerage Schemes: Water and Sewerage Schemes (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 608 to 615, inclusive, together. These schemes are approved for funding, either individually or as part of grouped projects, in my Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2005–2007. My Department is awaiting submission of Kilkenny County Council's Design Review Report for the Gowran / Goresbridge/ Paulstown Scheme, and of Preliminary Reports in the...

Written Answers — Farm Waste Management: Farm Waste Management (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: To address the issue of accumulated backlogs of farm plastic, designated facilities are being provided on a temporary, once-off basis by local authorities where farmers may deposit stockpiled farm film plastic and silage wrap. This arrangement operated on a pilot basis in the first instance in counties Galway, Clare, Mayo, Offaly and Waterford during June and July of last year. This...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: The Air Navigation and Transport Act 1950 is a matter for the Department of Transport. In so far as my Department is concerned draft Planning Guidelines on public safety zones around Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports are being prepared and are almost complete. It is intended to issue the draft Guidelines for public consultation shortly under the Planning and Development Act 2000. All...

Written Answers — Water and Sewerage Schemes: Water and Sewerage Schemes (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: The planning, design and location of public wastewater treatment infrastructure are matters for the relevant local authority, subject to relevant requirements in relation to public consultation and planning approval. Detailed provisions relating to buffer zones have been prescribed by my Department. However, the European Communities (Waste Water Treatment) (Prevention of Odours and Noise)...

Written Answers — EU Funding: EU Funding (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: Total voted expenditure by my Department for the period 2000-2006 amounted to €17.3 billion. The total EU funding allocated and eligible to be drawn down by the Exchequer from the EU on foot of expenditure which was to be undertaken by my Department under the NDP 2000-2006 amounted to €681 million, or approximately 3.9% of total voted expenditure by the Department in that period. The EU...

Written Answers — Fire Services: Fire Services (13 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: My Department has implemented a number of the important recommendations of the report Review of Fire Safety and Fire Services in Ireland. These include in particular the enactment of the Licensing of Indoor Events Act 2003, which addressed a number of legislative changes called for in the Review. In addition, a new Framework for Major Emergency Management, on which local authority, Health...