Results 6,201-6,220 of 18,851 for speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

Water Services Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Referral to Select Sub-Committee (14 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government pursuant to Standing Order 82A(3)(a) and (6)(a) and 126(1).

Topical Issue Debate: Pyrite Panel Report Recommendations (14 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I want to make it clear at the outset that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has no regulatory or oversight role in this specific area. The Financial Services Ombudsman is the statutory authority with responsibility for dealing with these complaints, and I would encourage home owners with a complaint...

Topical Issue Debate: Electricity Generation (14 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am responding on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte. The Minister has no actual statutory function in this matter. Responsibility for the regulation of the electricity generation market is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, which is an independent statutory regulator. In regard to giving the go-ahead, the Deputy may...

Topical Issue Debate: Electricity Generation (14 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: The Minister has absolutely no function in regard to the CER. It is proper that it is totally independent of the Government. That is how it should be. Regulators must operate in an open and transparent manner. The Deputy has raised important questions and I will ask the Department to respond to him thereon. The key office he should contact in regard to the points he made is that of the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Salmon Conservation (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I am advised by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) that over the past number of years Ireland has been at the forefront of efforts to conserve and protect salmon, which also ensures the continued availability of salmon stock for economic exploitation. Actions have included the closure of the mixed stock drift net fishery, the closure of individual rivers and catchments to exploitation where...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Exploration Licences (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I propose to take Questions Nos. 463 to 465, inclusive, together. The information sought by the Deputy is set out in the table hereunder, all fees and rentals due have been paid in full. While applications for petroleum prospecting licences were submitted by the companies no such authorisations were granted due to the nature of the work programmes proposed. Maps showing the areas granted to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Exploration Licences (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I have made it clear on a number of occasions that any application for an exploration licence that proposed the use of hydraulic fracturing as part of an unconventional gas exploration programme would be subject to a full environmental impact assessment. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) entails consideration of the potential impacts of a project on population, fauna, flora, soil,...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Fire Service (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank Senator Kelly for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, who is unavoidably absent. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, recently adopted and published Keeping Communities Safe, the national policy for fire services and fire safety. Keeping Communities Safe is the blueprint for changes which will...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Fire Service (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Senator for his comments and I will bring them to the attention of the Minister concerned. I regret the loss of anybody's life, and particularly the two people who died while responding to an incident. In regard to the potential impact of these proposals on staff working in the fire services, should matters arise at the implementation stage which could affect the terms and...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Rare Sheep Breeds (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank Senator Higgins for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, who regrets that he cannot be here. I emphasise the commitment of both the Minister and the Government to the agri-environment schemes operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The schemes put environmentally friendly farming...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Rare Sheep Breeds (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I will bring the Senator's comments to the attention of the Minister.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I also welcome Mr. Ronnie Delany who was and still is one of my heroes. I welcome Senator Eamonn Coghlan, too. Ta mé ag glacadh an díospóireacht seo thar ceann an Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna. Mar a dúirt an Seanadóir, tá an tAire sa Dáil faoi láthair. Glacaim leis go bhfuil an díospóireacht seo an-tábhachtach don Seanadóir Healy Eames, a d'ardaigh ceist Gaelscoil de hÍde in...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: Mar a dúirt mé, beidh mé an-sásta na tuairimí a nochtadh anseo a chur faoi bhráid an Aire chomh luath agus is féidir. Caithfidh mé a rá arís go bhfuil suíomh faighte acu agus go bhfuil sé soiléir go mbeidh na conarthaí sínithe agus an suíomh aimsithe roimh deireadh na míosa seo chugainn. Tarlóidh an méid sin tapaidh go leor. Mar a luaigh an Seanadóir, dúirt mé go...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: Tá mé sásta tuairimí an Seanadóir a thabhairt chuig an Aire.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I also welcome Mr. Ronnie Delany who was and still is one of my heroes. I welcome Senator Eamonn Coghlan, too. Ta mé ag glacadh an díospóireacht seo thar ceann an Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna. Mar a dúirt an Seanadóir, tá an tAire sa Dáil faoi láthair. Glacaim leis go bhfuil an díospóireacht seo an-tábhachtach don Seanadóir Healy Eames, a d'ardaigh ceist Gaelscoil de hÍde in...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: Mar a dúirt mé, beidh mé an-sásta na tuairimí a nochtadh anseo a chur faoi bhráid an Aire chomh luath agus is féidir. Caithfidh mé a rá arís go bhfuil suíomh faighte acu agus go bhfuil sé soiléir go mbeidh na conarthaí sínithe agus an suíomh aimsithe roimh deireadh na míosa seo chugainn. Tarlóidh an méid sin tapaidh go leor. Mar a luaigh an Seanadóir, dúirt mé go...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: Tá mé sásta tuairimí an Seanadóir a thabhairt chuig an Aire.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Fire Service (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank Senator Kelly for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, who is unavoidably absent. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, recently adopted and published Keeping Communities Safe, the national policy for fire services and fire safety. Keeping Communities Safe is the blueprint for changes which will...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Fire Service (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Senator for his comments and I will bring them to the attention of the Minister concerned. I regret the loss of anybody's life, and particularly the two people who died while responding to an incident. In regard to the potential impact of these proposals on staff working in the fire services, should matters arise at the implementation stage which could affect the terms and...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Rare Sheep Breeds (19 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank Senator Higgins for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, who regrets that he cannot be here. I emphasise the commitment of both the Minister and the Government to the agri-environment schemes operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The schemes put environmentally friendly farming...