Results 6,221-6,240 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Nuclear Plants. (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 8 together. I met the Secretary of State for the Department of Trade and Industry, Mr. Alistair Darling, in London on 9 January last. I have no plans for a further meeting with him before the end of the current Dáil session — I say that without smiling. My meeting with the Secretary of State focused on issues relating to Sellafield and, in...

Nuclear Plants. (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: I agree with the Deputy's latter point and I have taken steps in that direction. I have taken a number of opportunities to establish cross-community activity within the European Council of Environment Ministers. I spoke to almost all the other Environment Ministers in Europe, especially those who do not have nuclear plants. I recently convened a meeting in Dublin that was attended by...

Nuclear Plants. (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: I fully agree there is a role for the IAEA. The EU also has a responsibility in this area. In addition to speaking with Dr. El Baradei, I have spoken on several occasions with Commissioners Dimas, Frattini and Piebalgs. The uniformity of views in this House is helpful in drawing their attention to our concerns. I also agree with the Deputy that the nuclear lobby, which I regard as cynical...

Nuclear Plants. (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The Ceann Comhairle has mentioned his anxiety in respect of Deputy Gormley several times.

Development Land (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: In 2003, Goodbody Economic Consultants were engaged by my Department to carry out a study that considered factors affecting the supply of land to the housing market, including the possible hoarding of building land. There have been many discussions on this topic. The study considered previous analyses of the housing and land markets and sought possible evidence of hoarding based on case...

Development Land (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The Deputy is correct. This will be a radical move. The legislation is currently being drafted. We have a long way to go to perfect it. The legislation will radically alter the situation. One can subject land to compulsory purchase order for specific purposes but one cannot do so simply because people are sitting on it. Where it is perceived the land is being sat on, which is a handy...

Development Land (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The Bill does not deal with the latter point but it certainly deals with the point raised by Deputy Catherine Murphy. In the lifetime of this Government we, that is, the taxpayers, have created equivalent water treatment capacity, for sewerage purposes, for an additional 3 million people. If my memory serves me correctly, drinking water capacity has been created for an additional 1.25...

Radon Gas Levels. (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: I understand from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland that it has issued almost 120,000 radon measurement detectors since the establishment of its radon measurement programme in the early 1990s. However, this does not indicate the full extent of measurements taken, as private companies also provide the service and detectors can be purchased from retail outlets. Radon...

Radon Gas Levels. (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The Deputy is correct and there is a responsibility on all of us to inform ourselves of the risks associated with radon. A study in the United States found that 90% of radon-related lung cancer deaths occur among smokers and I was not aware of that statistic.

Radon Gas Levels. (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: That may be so but 10% of people do not fall into that category. I do not agree that the charging system put in place by the RPII is excessively onerous. This issue arose previously; remediation is relatively easy and I was surprised on examining its cost. I do not contest the figures presented by the Deputy and the vast majority of radon-related deaths occur among smokers and ex smokers....

Radon Gas Levels. (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The Deputy is correct but €55 to have a house tested for a lifetime is not a large amount either. The RPII website should be commended because it is clear and provides the relevant data. Every county is shown on the website along with becquerel background levels, areas of high concentration and the number of tests that have been carried out. The website shows that 2,800 houses in Kerry...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The National Climate Change Strategy 2007-2012, which I published earlier this week, includes limited provision for the purchase of Kyoto units by the State so as to assist compliance with the Kyoto Protocol in the period 2008 to 2012. Deputies will be aware that under the plan, 80% of the requirement will be met domestically. The strategy also sets out an explicit national policy framework...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: Underlying the Deputy's question is the fact that some dodgy forms of credit are available on the market. There is, in some of the declining eastern economies, what is known as "hot air". As Deputies will be aware, it is also generated in the House on occasion. The National Treasury Management Agency will not be involved in the purchase of this or of nuclear generated credits. It is...

Written Answers — Electoral Boundaries: Electoral Boundaries (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The Electoral Act 1997 provides that a Constituency Commission shall be established upon the publication by the Central Statistics Office, following each census of population, of the report which contains the final population figures classified by area. The appropriate detailed population statistics that are necessary to conduct a review of existing constituencies are contained in Volume 1 of...

Written Answers — Water Supply Contamination: Water Supply Contamination (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: Regulatory regimes have been in place for many years in Ireland prescribing strict EU based standards for drinking water quality and monitoring. Reports on Irish drinking water quality are regularly compiled by the EPA and are regarded as among the most comprehensive within the EU. In its latest (2002) Synthesis Report on the Quality of Drinking Water in the Member States of the European...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The issues of adult entertainment and the regulation of associated venues require consideration because of the recent growth of this sector. Given the relevance of a number of different statutory codes to this matter, it is not clear that planning regulation alone can adequately support a local control regime with regard to these activities, and the interaction of these various codes needs...

Written Answers — Nuclear Plants: Nuclear Plants (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The threat posed by the large and complex nuclear facility at Sellafield has long been a concern to the people of Ireland. The actions of this Government have reflected that concern over many years. In 2001, and in response to the imminent commissioning of the MOX plant, Ireland instituted legal proceedings against the United Kingdom under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the...

Written Answers — Water and Sewerage Schemes: Water and Sewerage Schemes (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: Kerry County Council's Castleisland Sewerage Scheme Stage 2 is included in my Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2005-2007 as a scheme to commence construction in 2007, at an estimated cost of €5.57m. The scheme involves the upgrading of the existing town sewerage system in Castleisland and the extension of the sewer network to cater for unserviced existing and future...

Written Answers — Special Areas of Conservation: Special Areas of Conservation (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: Under the Habitats Regulations 1997, a landowner may seek review of a proposed designation of land as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) by making an objection in writing, and based on scientific grounds, to my Department along with a clear map of the land in question. The Regulations provide that such objections must be made within a three-month period of the site being notified and it is...

Written Answers — Election Management System: Election Management System (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20, 39 and 536 together. The total cost incurred to date in the development and roll-out of the electronic voting and counting system is €51.3 million (including some €46 million in respect of hardware costs, €2.6 million in respect of awareness and education initiatives and €0.1 million in training costs for returning officers and their staff). In...