Results 19,141-19,160 of 21,489 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Funding (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: Section 12(b) of the Water Services Act 2013 provides that Irish Water may borrow money for the purposes of carrying out its functions under the Act but before borrowing any money the consent of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Communications and Natural Resources and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Eligibility (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: Eligibility criteria for social housing are provided for in Section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011. In order to qualify for social housing support, applicants who are not Irish or UK citizens must have a legal right to reside in the State. The detailed requirements in this regard are set down in Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Funding (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: Irish Water's costs in the coming years will be funded through a mix of revenue from the domestic and non-domestic sector, third party finance (including bank lending and capital markets facilities) and State support which may be in the form of both equity and subvention. The Government have decided to provide the following subvention to Irish Water in 2015 and 2016: - An average subvention...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Election Management System (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: The primary role of my Department in electoral matters is to provide an appropriate policy and legislative framework for a modern and efficient electoral system. Within that framework, local returning officers are responsible for all matters in connection with the actual conduct of elections and referendums. This includes, in accordance with section 94 of the Electoral Act 1992, the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Motor Tax Collection (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: Motor tax is payable on an annual, half-yearly or quarterly basis. The rates of duty applicable for half yearly and quarterly options are 55.5% and 28.25% of the annual charge respectively. This additional cost element takes account of the extra workload for staff in motor tax offices and the National Vehicle and Driver File unit, and the resultant administrative costs and printing costs...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Meters (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Water Services Act 2013 provides for the establishment of Irish Water as an independent subsidiary within the Bord Gáis Éireann Group and assigns the necessary powers to allow Irish Water to undertake this metering programme. The procurement process for the water meter programme, including setting of specifications on the depth of concrete to be used when installing water...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Septic Tank Inspections (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 499 and 528 together. The Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 assigns responsibility to the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) to make a National Inspection Plan for domestic wastewater treatment systems. The National Inspection Plan 2013: Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systemswas adopted and published by the EPA in February 2013. The Plan provided for...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Services Provision (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides for the transfer of water services functions from the 34 water services authorities to Irish Water. Under the legislation, Irish Water now has the powers previously held by local authorities in relation to the takeover of Group Water Schemes and this means that Irish Water may acquire by agreement a waterworks or waste water works, but subject...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Noise Pollution Legislation (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Programme for Governmentincludes a commitment to take further steps to address noise pollution, inter alia, through the introduction of fixed payment notices (also known as on-the-spot fines).  The development of new noise legislation by my Department is being considered in the context of this commitment. However, as indicated in the Government’s Legislation Programme...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Funding (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 502 and 544 together. Capital expenditure on public water and wastewater schemes was provided through various Water Services Investment Programmes, copies of which are in the Oireachtas library. Details of capital expenditure recouped to Cavan County Council from 1997 to 2011 in respect of such schemes is outlined in the following table. Table: WSIP...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Constitutional Convention Recommendations (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Government expects to respond to the recommendations in the Fifth Report of the Convention on the Constitution to give citizens resident outside the State and citizens resident in Northern Ireland the right to vote in Presidential elections before the end of the current Dáil session.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: As part of the Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI) Review, my Department published a report on waste tyres in November 2013, which concluded that the current system is not functioning as intended, with a lack of basic information, poor structure, poor environmental outcomes in the form of large stockpiles of waste tyres and somewhere between 24% - 50% of waste tyres unaccounted for. The...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: Pursuant to the EU Effort-Sharing Decision of 2009 ( Decision No. 406/2009/EC), Ireland has ambitious, legally binding greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for each year between 2013 and 2020 inclusive. Under the Decision, emissions in the year 2013 should be no more than the average of those same emissions in the years 2008 to 2010.  In the year 2020, the target is...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Administration (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: With charges effective from 1 October 2014 Irish Water is in the process of compiling the relevant data to ensure that customers can be billed accurately based on the tariff structure approved by the CER. Irish Water has sent application packs to approximately 2 million households, which refer to the effective charging date and the fact that billing for domestic customers in receipt of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Rural Development Programme Funding (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 has provided significant financial resources to rural communities all over Ireland. Along with the direct support for economic activity in rural areas, the Programme has increasingly provided support for community activity which ensures the maintenance of vibrant communities that are a critical component of a healthy rural economy. Funding under the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Charges Yield (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 508 and 509 together. Audited local authority financial data for 2013 is not yet available. Data relating to the water charges collected by the local authorities in 2012 was published in the Local Government Audit Service Activity Report 201 4 . This report is available on my Department’s website at the following link:

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Administration (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 511 and 512 together. With effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for public water services. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water shall collect charges from its customers in receipt of water services provided by it. The Act also provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Staff Remuneration (11 Nov 2014)

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. The employment terms and conditions for Irish Water staff are a matter for the company and I understand that the particular pay model is something which was inherited from the parent company Ervia and therefore was not...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Staff (11 Nov 2014)

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. I understand from the latest data supplied to my Department by Irish Water that 531 staff have been recruited. Of these, 160 have been recruited from local authorities, 87 from Bord Gáis Éireann (BGE)/Ervia, 5 from...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Expenditure (11 Nov 2014)

Alan Kelly: The establishment of Irish Water is an integral component of the Government’s water sector reform strategy and involves major organisational change. The establishment of a high performance utility will lead to lower costs and improved services in the future, providing much better outcomes for customers and the environment. Details of Irish Water’s financial forecasts for the...