Results 4,941-4,960 of 14,706 for speaker:Phil Hogan

Written Answers — Public Petitions: Public Petitions (11 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: My office receives significant volumes of correspondence on a wide range of matters on a daily basis and I respond to this as required. It is not the practice of my Department to categorise this correspondence according to whether or not it could be termed a "petition". Therefore the specific information requested in the question is not readily to hand.

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (11 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta (MFG) was contracted by my Department to deliver two programmes in Gaeltacht areas, the Rural Development Programme (RDP) Axes 3 and 4, and the Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP). MFG also implemented other programmes on behalf of other Government Departments. There are complex legal and contractual issues in regard to MFG to be resolved and my...

Written Answers — Fire Services: Fire Services (11 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: Much has been accomplished in the past decade to strengthen the fire services in Ireland. Substantial financial resources, provided to local authorities, have resulted in a quality fire and rescue infrastructure throughout the country. Most of our fire stations have full facilities, the appliance fleet is in very good shape and equipment is generally regarded as top class. Our emergency...

Written Answers — Local Authority Charges: Local Authority Charges (11 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: The Local Government (Charges) Act 2009 broadened the revenue base of local authorities through the introduction of the charge on non-principal private residences. The charge is set at €200 and is being levied and collected by local authorities. The Act places the onus on the owner of a residential property to assess his or her liability to the charge in the first instance. As the charge...

Written Answers — Fire Services: Fire Services (11 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: The provision of a fire service, including the provision of fire fighting appliances and emergency equipment, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities as set out in the Fire Services Act, 1981. My Department supports fire authorities through the setting of general policy and the provision of capital funding, including the recoupment (within the overall funding available) of...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (11 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: While the European Commission has decided to resubmit a number of infringement cases to the Court of Justice seeking the imposition of fines for failure by Ireland to take adequate and timely action to address previous Court rulings, no decision resulting in the actual imposition of fines in these cases has been made to date by the Court. Since coming into office, I have assigned the highest...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (11 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: As lead Government Department with responsibility for coordinating the emergency response to severe weather, my Department has finalised and published The Report on the Review of the Response to Exceptional Severe Weather Events of 2009-2010. The Report, which is available on my Department's website at www.environ.ie , sets out the sequence of events as they occurred, draws various...

Written Answers — Environmental Policy: Environmental Policy (12 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: The Nitrates Directive and Ireland's Nitrates Action Programme are given legal effect by the European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2010. The objective of the Regulations is to protect ground and surface waters, including drinking water sources, primarily through the management of livestock manures and other fertilisers. Good agricultural...

Written Answers — Local Authority Services: Local Authority Services (12 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: Under the Roads Act 1993 the provision of street lighting is a matter for the relevant local authority and the Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport. I have no function in this matter.

Written Answers — Ministerial Appointments: Ministerial Appointments (12 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: A number of statutory processes are involved in appointments to State boards. In some cases statutory selection procedures must be followed or nominations must be sought from independent nominating panels before appointments are made by the Government or by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. In other cases only particular public office holders may be appointed...

Written Answers — Register of Electors: Register of Electors (12 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: In order to be able to vote at elections and referenda in this jurisdiction, a person's name must be entered in the register of electors for a constituency in the State in which the person ordinarily resides. Postal voting is provided for in electoral law in respect of certain categories of persons who are entered in the register of electors. The Electoral Act 1992 provides for postal voting...

Written Answers — Official Engagements: Official Engagements (12 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: At the invitation of IBEC, I agreed to give the closing address at their workshop on Responding to the Challenges and Opportunities of Climate Change which was held on 5 October 2011. I attended the closing session at which I was the only speaker. From my perspective, the workshop had no direct relevance to the timing of the climate policy review which I am finalising. There was no...

Written Answers — Local Government Reforms: Local Government Reforms (12 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: I do not accept that membership of the Group is biased towards North Tipperary. The appointment of members was based, inter alia, on their specific working knowledge of local government in Tipperary, expertise in local government matters generally and extensive experience of public administration at a senior level. While the County Manager from North Tipperary County Council will act as...

Written Answers — Foreshore Licences: Foreshore Licences (12 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: When Mayo County Council initially applied for a foreshore licence in 2009 they acknowledged that additional information comprising a screening report for appropriate assessment and an ecological survey would need to be submitted to progress the application. This material was received by my Department on 15 September 2011 and has been forwarded to the relevant statutory consultees for...

Seanad: Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (12 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: I welcome the opportunity to introduce this Bill to the House. It proposes to amend existing dormant accounts legislation in order to dissolve the Dormant Accounts Board and transfer the statutory functions of the board to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. The report of the special group on public service numbers and expenditure programmes, better known as the...

Seanad: Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (12 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: I am beginning to think it could be a poisoned remark.

Seanad: Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (12 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: I suspect it will not always be the case. Anyway, I thank all Senators for their contributions to the debate. It was interesting to hear the different perspectives which focused on the dormant accounts aspect of the Bill generally, as one might expect. I refer to some of the contributions made. Senators Keane and Burke mentioned the banks and whether they would be inspected. This issue...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (13 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: I am aware of the increased incidence of metal theft, which is a matter for the Garda in the first instance. Waste disposal and recovery activities in Ireland are required to hold an authorisation in accordance with the Waste Management Act 1996. Depending on the authorisation required, these activities are controlled either by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in the case of...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (13 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: The Nitrates Directive and Ireland's Nitrates Action Programme are given legal effect by the European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2010. The objective of the Regulations is to protect ground and surface waters, including drinking water sources, primarily through the management of livestock manures and other fertilisers. Good agricultural...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (13 Oct 2011)

Phil Hogan: The information requested is set out in the table. Agency/ Board Name of Appointee Remuneration Position Advertised Appeared before Oireachtas Committee An Bord Pleanála Dr. Mary Kelly (Chairperson) Linked to the pay of a High Court judge Yes N/A Building Regulation Advisory Board (BRAB) Mr Aidan O'Connor (DECLG) Nil No N/A BRAB Mr Paul Kelly Nil No N/A Appointments to the Board of An...