Results 6,221-6,240 of 18,851 for speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

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.

Topical Issue Debate: Fire Service (20 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank Deputy Maloney for raising this matter which I will take on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Hogan. The Minister is responsible for national policy on fire safety and fire services. Recently, he published two policy documents, Keeping Communities Safe, and, on 7 February, CAMP - the Next Generation. Both documents were prepared by the Department's national directorate for fire and...

Topical Issue Debate: Fire Service (20 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I will bring Deputy Maloney's comments to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Hogan. A lot of progress is being made in responding to fires. The number of fire incidents is being driven down consistently year on year. While every death is obviously one too many, the provisional death toll for 2012 is 28, which is the lowest annual figure for fire related deaths for four decades. I must...

Finance Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: Two Gettysburg addresses.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Exploration Licences (26 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: The monies received from companies holding licensing options in the past 3 years in respect of application and rental fees is a follows: 2010 €56,711 2011 €253,586 2012 €453,651 2013 €104,506 (to date) A licensing option may be granted for a period of up to three years. It is a preliminary authorisation and designed to allow companies assess the petroleum...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Exploration Licences (26 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I wish to advise the Deputy that nine licensing options were granted to various companies over areas in the Porcupine Basin off the south west coast under the 2011 Atlantic Margin Licensing Round. Details of the authorisations granted together with a map showing the areas involved are available in the latest acreage report and concession map which is published on my Departments website and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Prospecting Licences (26 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: The three companies mentioned by the Deputy were awarded onshore Licensing Options in February 2011 for a period of two years from 1 March 2011 to 28 February 2013. While applications for petroleum prospecting licences were submitted by the three companies, no such authorisations were granted due to the limited nature of the work programmes to be carried out under the licensing options.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Hydraulic Fracturing Policy (26 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 128 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Exploration Licences (26 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 142 together. The Aarhus Convention, which is implemented through the Public Participation Directive, obliges the State to adopt all measures necessary to ensure that, before consent is given, projects likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue, inter alia, of their nature, size or location are made subject to an assessment with...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Offshore Exploration (26 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: No oil or gas explorations/appraisal drilling onshore Ireland has taken place in the last ten years. A total of fifteen explorations/appraisal wells were drilled in the Irish offshore since 2003, a breakdown per year is set out in the table hereunder. There has been six discoveries of both oil and gas since 2003, however none have been declared commercial to date. While there have been...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee Stage (27 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: This amendment proposes that section 4, which deals with the performance of functions by the Commission for Energy Regulation, will not come into operation until after January 2014. We feel that these amendments are not appropriate in that the purpose of section 24 is to provide the commission with the necessary powers to prepare for the performance of regulatory functions and to advise the...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee Stage (27 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: We will be debating Government amendments later this afternoon that deal with the specific issue of poverty-proofing. I would be happy to address them at the appropriate time.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee Stage (27 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: There will be amendments this afternoon that will deal with those specific issues. This amendment concerns the date the regulator will commence work from January 2014. However, the regulator has to commence work as soon as possible because he or she must advise on many other issues. If this amendment were accepted, then the regulator would be delayed in commencing work on time. I am happy...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee Stage (27 Feb 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: There is a commitment in the programme for Government that arises from the memorandum of understanding between the previous Government and the troika. We are establishing Irish Water as a separate, independent, State-owned public water utility. We believe this will be more authoritative and definitive in terms of structures, meeting the different challenges and having clearly defined roles....