Results 3,581-3,600 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: I will address the last point first because some confusion arose from comments made by an official in a newspaper during the week. I have made it clear that I want every possible database examined. Deputy Broughan is right, as the suggestions that it would cause an outcry are not valid. I have asked that all databases be examined. Every possible option to cross-check the information should be...

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: I do not accept that the Deputy is correct regarding local authorities not having the will.

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: Some local authorities do the job very well. If Deputy McCormack believes that a local authority does not have the will, he should let me know. I will deal with the authority's manager because I take this matter quite seriously.

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: Regarding Deputy McCormack's point about staff, it was for this reason that I have proposed to give local authorities the funding and authority to take on enumerators. Deputy O'Dowd raised the issue of whether we should engage new personnel. This is unwise for the following reasons. The enumerators have been around the country, are very familiar with the space and have established a lot of...

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: Historically, responsibility for the security and safe storage of voting equipment such as ballot boxes, stamping instruments etc. has been a matter for returning officers who are statutorily responsible for conducting the polls. Accordingly, similar responsibility was assigned to returning officers for the storage of the electronic voting equipment. It is important to ensure that all...

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: The figure for the storage of the machines in Waterford was announced in a reply to a parliamentary question some time ago. The Deputy is correct that the figure was significantly higher than it was in other cases. For example, the cost of storing the machines in Waterford in 2005 was €52,888, whereas in other counties it was significantly lower. The cost in Louth was the lowest.

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: The cost in Wicklow was €42,000, which was very high also.

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: I do not have the cost for each machine, but if the Deputy wishes, I will get it for him.

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: That is fine. However, if the Deputy knows the figure, I am surprised he asked the question.

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: The Deputy knows the answer, yet he asks the question. He would make a good barrister. He would make a better barrister than he did a Deputy. On whether it would be better to sell off the machines, I remind the Deputy that the Oireachtas charged the Commission on Electronic Voting to carry out an analysis of the system. Therefore, it would make no sense to decide to make that decision in...

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: To answer Deputy Cuffe's last question——

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: The Deputy knows that I will not know the final cost of the ongoing analysis until it is concluded.

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: The Deputy should have a little bit of logic in the way he approaches life. The Commission on Electronic Voting was set up by the Oireachtas to do a job. It is an independent body and we all expect it will do its job without interference from the Deputy or me. On Deputy Cuffe's question about depreciation, it is not normally applied to equipment like this. He is correct that equipment...

Election Management System. (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: The Deputy asked about storage in a centralised location owned by the State. I presume there would be some cost involved, because the Department of Defence might have other use for that space. The Deputy will agree that in the circumstances it makes much more sense to bring them back to a central location and store them there, though normally the electoral equipment is distributed among the...

Written Answers — Environmental Policy: Environmental Policy (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: Ireland signed the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters on 25 June 1998. Progress towards ratification of the Convention is closely aligned with work at EU level. To date, the European Union has adopted two directives as part of the ratification process for the Convention. These deal with public...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: I have now finalised my detailed consideration of options for regulating the waste management sector. I intend shortly to bring proposals to Government and it will then be possible to provide fuller details. I am fully aware of the difficulties which the Competition Authority has identified in the waste collection market. In examining the sector, I have looked at the Authority's concerns,...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: The correspondence in question is a letter from the managing director of a company which purchased a site in Co. Wicklow which had previously been used to illegally deposit waste. The site in question is the subject of an application to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the company concerned for a waste licence. The EPA recently issued a draft negative decision. The letter sought...

Written Answers — Nuclear Safety: Nuclear Safety (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 38 together. The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII), which is the national authority with responsibility for advising the Government on all matters relating to nuclear safety and the hazards associated with ionising radiation, has advised that the scenario depicted in the RTE drama, Fallout, is not realistic and greatly exaggerates the...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: A comprehensive programme of activities is currently underway by my Department, the EPA, local authorities and other relevant bodies for full implementation of the Water Framework Directive. To date, all implementation deadlines set by the Directive have been achieved on time by Ireland. Further implementation requires the establishment and operation of a comprehensive monitoring programme by...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (4 May 2006)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 65 together. Minimum thermal performance and insulation standards for new buildings are prescribed by Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Energy) of the national Building Regulations. These standards have been progressively increased since they were first introduced in 1991. The standards were last increased for new dwellings with effect from 1 January...