Results 2,701-2,720 of 21,375 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Data Protection (2 Dec 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 occupier of a property is liable to pay the water charges bill, and legislation provides that the owner is the occupier unless the contrary is proven. Irish Water is providing landlords with the opportunity to prove that...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Anti-Social Behaviour (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: The media reports referred to in the question underscore the need for the measures included in Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, which I set out in reply to Question No. 524 of 18 November 2014. The Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020, which was published last week, indicated that Part 2 of the 2014 Act will be brought into operation in the first quarter...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 518 to 521, inclusive, together. The planning of new social housing units involves my Department working with each individual local authority which, as housing authorities, are responsible for the identification of their area’s social housing need and the development of the appropriate responses. The new Social Housing Strategy 2020provides a clear...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Services Provision (2 Dec 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 including the delivery of water services capital infrastructure. This includes measures to address leakage such as the repair and replacement of public water mains. My Department has collected information from local...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: In December 2013, my Department published proposed draft revisions to the noise, setbacks and shadow flicker aspects of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. These draft revisions proposed: - The setting of a more stringent day and night noise limit of 40 decibels for future wind energy developments, - A mandatory minimum setback distance of 500 metres between a wind turbine and the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I intend to shortly publish a General Scheme of the Planning and Development (No. 2) Bill 2014 which will provide for, inter alia, the establishment of the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) in response to the planning recommendations of the Final Report of the Mahon Tribunal. The primary function of the OPR, which will be established as an independent body, will be to carry out...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Funding (2 Dec 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. Funding allocated by Irish Water to cover the costs of the call centres run by Irish Water is an operational matter for the company and one in which I have no function. Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Staff (2 Dec 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. Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at or by telephone on 1890 578 578.I have, on this occasion, been informed by...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Administration (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: Irish Water is in the process of compiling the relevant data to ensure that customers can be billed accurately and has sent validation packs to approximately 2 million households. To implement the changed charging regime, and to provide those households who have yet to register with an opportunity to respond to the Irish Water customer registration campaign, so that they may avail of the new...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Establishment (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 528 and 529 together. The Government has embarked on a programme of ambitious reform of the water sector, as the traditional water services system was in need of fundamental change. Our public water infrastructure is deficient and inadequate as a consequence of decades of under-investment and the lack of a truly, national approach that could maximise the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Administration (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 530 and 548 together. I refer to my reply to Question No. 108 on today’s Order Paper which sets out the position on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Seniors Alert Scheme (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 531 to 533, inclusive, together. My Department manages the Seniors Alert Scheme which encourages community support for vulnerable older people in our communities by providing grant assistance towards the purchase and installation of personal monitored alarms to enable older persons, of limited means, to continue to live securely in their homes with...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management (2 Dec 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 a quarter and a half of waste tyres...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Meters Installation (2 Dec 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 including responsibility for the delivery of the domestic metering programme. I understand that there are two companies manufacturing the meters used on the metering programme – Itron and Diehl. These companies were...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Meters Installation (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Water Services Act 2013 provided for the establishment of Irish Water as an independent subsidiary within the Bórd Gáis Éireann Group (now Ervia) and assigns the necessary powers to allow Irish Water to undertake the water metering programme, which commenced in August 2013 and will be completed by mid-2016. Irish Water has informed my Department that its tendering process...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Staff Recruitment (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: The moratorium on recruitment and promotion in the public service was introduced in March 2009 in response to the financial crisis. My Department operates a delegated sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for implementation of the moratorium in relation to local authorities, and any exceptions to the moratorium in local authorities require sanction from my Department....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Fund (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Government recently announced a new package of measures relating to water charges and financing of Irish Water. As part of the package of measures I announced a changed approach to the treatment of water infrastructure for commercial rates purposes such that Government subvention does not need to be paid to Irish Water to fund this cost, and can instead be redirected to provide equivalent...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Building Regulations Amendments (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I have no plans to revoke the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014. Over 4,700 new construction projects have been notified to Building Control Authorities across the local government sector since these regulations came into operation on 1 March 2014. Evidence to date suggests that the Construction industry is responding well to the new regulatory framework. Oversight of activity by...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: EU Directives (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 540 and 541 together. Under Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC (known as the Construction Products Regulation or the “CPR”), manufacturers are required to provide robust and reliable...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Eligibility (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: The implementation of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is a key Government priority and a major pillar of the Social Housing Strategy 2020, which I launched last week. HAP is designed to bring together all the social housing supports provided by the State, with local authorities being responsible for all households with an established housing need, including households in receipt...