Results 3,401-3,420 of 20,793 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Other Questions: Irish Water Funding (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: A key component of the strategy to establish Irish Water is that Irish Water will be classified as a market corporation under EUROSTAT rules and, as a result, will not, other than in relation to Government operating subvention, be included in the calculation of the general Government balance. The market corporation test is a requirement that income from customers be greater than 50% of...

Other Questions: Irish Water Funding (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I will not engage in speculation on communications between a journalist and Department of Finance officials. I cannot confirm it one way or the other, although I find it very hard to believe. We are engaging with the CSO in terms of providing all the necessary information. We are very confident that it will pass the test. The figure the Deputy quoted is accurate; I think it is 44.38%. We...

Other Questions: Irish Water Funding (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: What I said was that I could not confirm what journalists are saying. I do not think any one of us in this House ever can. However, I am not aware of any such process - I would be so aware given my Department's role in this - or of any officials going down the route referred to by the Deputy. Journalists speculate. However, I can state categorically that my Department and the Government...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Social housing is a key priority for the Government, as is evident in the additional €2.2 billion in funding announced for social housing in budget 2015 and the publication of the Social Housing Strategy 2020 in November 2014. The strategy builds on the provisions contained in budget 2015 and sets out clear, measurable actions and targets to increase the supply of social housing,...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I am slightly bemused by the Deputy's comment. People across the Houses can criticise the social housing strategy if they so wish, but, by and large, the principles around it have been accepted as in terms of our going in the right direction. Considering the Deputy's philosophical background, I found her contribution quite strange. The figures I have are those I have consistently given....

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: -----which will be next month, as I stated in my initial reply to the question. I have a meeting today on that matter after this business. We will be in a position next month to outline to the House where this funding will go. I am conscious of the pressure areas across the country, which we have heat-mapped. There are areas all over the country that have housing demand but we must deal...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I took this job primarily to deal with the issue of housing because it is something that is quite close to my heart and is one of the largest issues facing this country both from the public and from the private perspective. The work that is going on between my Department, a number of agencies and the local authorities is nearing conclusion. It has taken a period of time. The Deputy must...

Other Questions: Waste Management Regulations (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I thank the Deputy. Flattery will get him everywhere. The Government’s waste policy, A Resource Opportunity - Waste Management Policy in Ireland, was published in July 2012. Among the measures included in the policy document was the establishment of an interdepartmental working group to report to the Government with options to minimise the impact of waste charges on low income...

Other Questions: Waste Management Regulations (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I concur regarding flytipping. It is disgraceful and I agree it is not always done by people from a certain income base. It is a complex issue because of how waste collection services have changed. I have committed to a number of regulatory reforms, of which the Deputy is well aware. July 2015 will be an important month for the household waste collection industry in terms of changes to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (28 Jan 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. A range of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: In 2014 my Department provided funding of in excess of €26 million to support local authorities in their work to return over 2,300 vacant social housing units back to productive use. The three local authorities in Counties Galway and Mayo received funding of almost €1.9 million under this programme and returned 182 properties back to productive use. The funding provided by my...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Quality (28 Jan 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 including the delivery of water services capital infrastructure. I have not received any assessment from Irish Water specifically in relation to the presence of asbestos pipes in the water infrastructure. Asbestos cement...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Quality (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Under the European Communities (Drinking Water) Regulations 2014, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas library, suppliers of drinking water are required to ensure that the water supplied complies with the chemical and microbiological parameters set out in the Regulations. The procedures to be followed and the roles of water suppliers, the EPA and the HSE where there is...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Data (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department publishes a wide range of housing and planning statistics on our website and the total number of local authority units occupied can be found at the following link, under the area titled ‘LA rented units by area 2003+’ within the Social Housing Supports contents: . However, this information does not cover households currently renting directly from an Approved...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Provision (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Government is acutely aware of the difficulties facing people in accessing housing and is undertaking a range of actions to address the matter. My Department’s Housing Land Availability Survey (HLAS) estimates that there is in excess of 25,000 hectares of undeveloped residentially zoned land nationally, which equates to a capacity for over 500,000 new homes (based on a national...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I refer to the reply to Question No. 4 on today's Order Paper which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: An Bord Pleanála Review (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I will be announcing the commencement of the organisational review of An Bord Pleanala in the near future. The terms of reference for the review and the composition of the review group are currently being finalised.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Exemptions (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water can collect charges from each customer in receipt of water services provided by it. The Act also provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the CER has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I refer to the reply to Question No. 4 on today's O rder P aper which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Legislative Measures (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: As part of the introduction of a radical and comprehensive new regulatory framework to reform the regulation of the collection of household waste in 2015, I intend to introduce measures to require collectors to have a customer charter in place and to meet certain minimum standards of customer service, such as specified frequencies of collection. I will be setting out in law what the minimum...