Results 2,181-2,200 of 2,500 for speaker:Ciarán Cuffe

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (18 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: Section 39 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides that a condition may be attached to a grant of planning permission for a house, specifying that the house must be occupied by persons of a particular class or description, with provision to that effect to be incorporated in an agreement under section 47 of the Act. My Department's 2005 Guidelines for Planning Authorities on...

Seanad: Role of Broadcasting Authority of Ireland: Statements (18 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: The Senator should wait until politicians get into Chatroulette.

Written Answers — National Cycle Fleet: National Cycle Fleet (19 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I propose to take Questions No. 147 and No.148 together. As far as I am aware there is no reliable estimate of the number of bicycles in Ireland. My department has commissioned a pilot National Transport Survey, through the Central Statistics Office, which should, when completed, provide a reliable measure of cycling use for transport purposes.

Seanad: Women's Participation in Politics: Statements (Resumed) (19 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I thank the Senator.

Diversification of Primary School Provision: Statements (20 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I endorse everything Deputy Sargent said. The more clarity we can bring to the procedure, the better. Prospective parents are often baffled by the admission procedure and by the Department of Education and Skills website. All they want is clarity as to what to do and what chance they have of getting their child into a particular school, and I am only talking about parents from Ireland....

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (20 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: The Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009 amends the current exemption in relation to forestry works by – (i) requiring planning permission for any access point of a private forest road onto a public road, and (ii) providing for the possibility of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on private forest roads. The exemptions for thinning, felling and replanting, maintenance, etc.,...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (25 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 340 and 341 together. Section 254 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides for a licensing system for the placement of various structures and appliances on, under, over or along a public road, including maps for indicating directions or places. This licensing system enables a local authority to exercise control over the placing of structures on roads...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (25 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: While I am not aware of any legal provisions which would compel a developer to facilitate a connection between an estate and the gas line, it would be general practice that a developer, in framing his development proposal and in his discussions with the planning authority and other key stakeholders including utility providers, would seek to make best use of the available infrastructure and...

Written Answers — State Airports: State Airports (25 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: As stated in reply to Question No. 320 of 11 May 2010, it is my understanding that development objectives and designations for the proposed public safety zones around the 3 state airports have already been incorporated into the development plans and, where applicable, local area plans of the relevant local authorities.

EU Funding (26 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I apologise to the House and to Deputy Andrew Doyle for not being present when the question was called. I apologise to Deputy Doyle and assure him there was no slight intended. There has been no delay in processing claims submitted under the compensation scheme for crops damaged by frost. As at the closing date of 19 February 2010, some 359 applications which related to potato and-or field...

EU Funding (26 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: In fairness to the departmental officials, they are taking a very helpful approach to the processing of payments and they cannot simply wish away the rules coming from the European Union. These rules are fairly clear although they sound complex when read into the record of the House but when broken down they are relatively easy to follow. We are still awaiting documentation from many of the...

EU Funding (26 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I am not an auditor so I do not claim any significant insight into the rules but it has to withstand an audit. I said in my earlier reply that a common sense approach is taken. However, the bottom line is we have to satisfy both the Department of Finance officials and the European Union officials. In my view a good approach has been taken. I expect payments to commence within two or three...

Unfinished Housing Estates (27 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: As outlined in the reply to Question No. 4 of 22 April, my Department is progressing a range of actions, with the co-operation of local authorities and other key stakeholders, to address the issue of unfinished or unoccupied estates. These actions include in the first instance an accurate quantification, classification and mapping of the various types of unfinished or unoccupied estates on a...

Unfinished Housing Estates (27 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: In terms of the Laois report, I received that recently. One action we are taking is that we have developed a methodology on classification of different types of unfinished estates comprising categories such as completed but with paths, lighting, parks and green spaces unfinished; estates where initial phases of development have been completed but other parts remain under construction; half...

Unfinished Housing Estates (27 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: -----to work closely with the management teams and the professional planners and listen carefully to their advice. To be frank, I was flabbergasted to see that in my county of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Fine Gael councillors were to the fore in promoting even more rezonings.

Unfinished Housing Estates (27 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: Have they and the Deputy learned nothing from the mistakes made?

Unfinished Housing Estates (27 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I urge the Deputy to work with his colleagues and tell them to stop putting forward these mad ideas for rezoning. The goose that laid the golden egg is long gone and it would be constructive if the Deputy and his colleagues would think carefully about sustainable planning rather than rezoning land as the solution to our economic woes.

Unfinished Housing Estates (27 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I do not wish to be confrontational but to echo the real concerns of people, we are putting together a best practice manual to assist local authorities in deciding on the remedial action to take. A primary concern is health and safety to ensure we do everything we can to stop children or vulnerable people going into unfinished developments. That key issue of securing the site is required....

European Court Rulings (27 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I presume the question refers to European Court of Justice cases C215-06 and C66-06, both of which relate to the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive and which are the subject of letters of formal notice from the Commission to which the Irish Government will shortly be responding. In relation to case C215-06, the ECJ ruled, in June 2008, that the Irish retention permission system did...

European Court Rulings (27 May 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: That is a matter for decision under the legislation and the regulation. If Deputy Hogan has any specific ideas he wishes to address to me I would be more than happy to receive them.