Results 7,361-7,380 of 9,994 for speaker:John Gormley

Written Answers — Housing Developments: Housing Developments (5 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: Based on returns made to my Department, 35 City, County and Borough Councils, as listed below, have a policy on taking in charge of estates, virtually all of which contain a protocol on the steps for the taking an estate in charge, as requested by my Department in Circular Letter PD 1/08 on Taking in Charge of Residential Developments/Management Arrangements. My Department is following up...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (5 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: The White Paper on local government will address a broad suite of local government issues, including in relation to town government. I expect that the White Paper will be published later this year following, inter alia, consideration of local government financing in light of the Report of the Commission on Taxation and in line with the commitments in the renewed Programme for Government.

Written Answers — Local Authority Members: Local Authority Members (5 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: The Local Government Act 2001 provides that it is the duty of every local authority member to maintain proper standards of integrity, conduct and concern for the public interest, and this is emphasised in the Code of Conduct for Councillors that has been issued under the Act. The Act also provides that a person is disqualified from being a member of a local authority in a range of...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (5 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: The Government has decided to broaden the revenue base of local authorities through the introduction of this charge on non-principal private residences, which is set at €200 per dwelling and is being levied and collected by local authorities. While the Local Government (Charges) Act 2009 sets out the detail of the charge and provides for a number of exemptions, there is no provision for an...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: The Attorney General sought and received on my behalf, on a confidential basis, a copy of the agreement in respect of the public private partnership between Dublin City Council, acting on behalf of the Dublin local authorities, and Dublin Waste to Energy. I have certain concerns from a competition perspective in regard to aspects of this agreement. On the further advice of the Attorney...

Written Answers — National Parks: National Parks (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: My Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is seeking to resolve the issue of horse dung in Killarney National Park by requiring that jaunting cars must be equipped with dung-catching devices when entering the Park. On 29 July 2009, the High Court refused to grant an injunction to a number of jarveys seeking to prevent NPWS from excluding them from Killarney National Park for...

Written Answers — National Parks: National Parks (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: The amount received under the Local Government (Charges) Act 2009, as at 9 November 2009, was €44,822,880. A county-by-county breakdown of this figure is attached in the table below. Amount collected per Local Authority under NPPR charge as at 9 October 2009 Local Authority € Dublin City Council 8,196,240 Cork County Council 3,436,260 Kerry County Council 2,407,300 Fingal County...

Written Answers — Energy Conservation: Energy Conservation (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: The EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings, which was transposed into Irish law by the European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2006 - 2008, introduced a requirement for a Building Energy Rating (BER) system. The Regulations require a person offering a building for sale or letting to produce a copy of the BER certificate and advisory report in relation...

Written Answers — Architectural Heritage: Architectural Heritage (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 361 and 371 together. The conservation principles of care and protection of the architectural heritage are set out in Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000. Generally, under the Act, planning authorities have a clear obligation to create a record of protected structures. Under section 58 of the Act owners and occupiers of protected structures have...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: At 1 May 2009, there were 45 administrative staff, 21 professional and technical staff, 8 Local Government Audit Service staff and 11 Met Eireann staff at principal officer level or higher working in my Department.

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 363 to 366, inclusive, together. Regarding the issue of any studies in regard to human health the Government has noted the outcomes of the independent and rigorous assessment of site conditions on Haulbowline which was carried out for my Department in 2008. This comprised three distinct modules: assessing quality of surface water, marine sediment and mussel...

Written Answers — Planning Matters: Planning Matters (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: Strategic Development Zones were introduced in the Planning and Development Act 2000 to ensure that sites considered to be of strategic national importance in economic or social terms can be developed with a much greater degree of certainty both in relation to securing planning permission and the time horizon for development. This does not involve any weakening of control systems but...

Written Answers — Local Authority Charges: Local Authority Charges (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: The Government has decided to broaden the revenue base of local authorities by introducing a charge on all non-principal private residences. The charge is payable by the owners of private rented accommodation, holiday homes and any other residential property that is not the owner's sole or main residence. The Local Government (Charges) Act 2009, which sets out the detail of the charge,...

Written Answers — Property Rights: Property Rights (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: There is no legislation in Ireland that places restrictions on the height of hedges or trees. Planning legislation does not make any particular provision for recognition of a right to light or remedy from any other nuisance which may be caused by trees in an urban residential area. Complaints relating to matters such as trees or shrubs overhanging a property are normally addressed, where...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: As Minister, my role is to provide the necessary statutory and policy framework within which individual development contribution schemes are adopted by each local authority. The adoption of individual development contribution schemes is a reserved function of the locally elected members of each planning authority. It is a matter for the members to determine the level of contribution and the...

Written Answers — Special Areas of Conservation: Special Areas of Conservation (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: The cessation of turf cutting is due to come into effect at the end of this year on just three bogs in Cos. Westmeath and Longford. The cessation will only apply in the following candidate Special Areas of Conservation (cSACs) in these counties: Lough Ree (Co. Westmeath and Co. Longford), Garriskill Bog (Co. Westmeath) and the Lough Forbes Complex (Co. Longford). Turf cutting for personal...

Written Answers — Special Areas of Conservation: Special Areas of Conservation (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: Having regard to available budgetary resources, priority is being given under the bog purchase scheme this year to those wishing to sell their interest in the 32 raised bog sites which were nominated for designation as Special Areas of Conservation in 1999. For these sites, the derogation given by the Government, which allowed the continuation of turf cutting for personal domestic use,...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: The costs incurred by my Department in relation to the containment of dung in Killarney National Park are set out in the table. I am satisfied that this expenditure was necessarily incurred and represents a good investment in making Killarney National Park, which attracts over one million visitors a year, a cleaner, safer and more attractive place to visit. Items Cost (Euro) Cost (Stg.)...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: The Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill, published in June 2009, provides an amendment to section 42 of the Planning and Development Acts, which currently provides that the duration of a planning permission must be extended, subject to certain conditions, where substantial works have been carried out before the expiration of the original permission. The proposed amendment provides for...

Written Answers — Departmental Schemes: Departmental Schemes (10 Nov 2009)

John Gormley: Having regard to available budgetary resources, priority is being given under the bog purchase scheme this year to those wishing to sell their interest in the 32 raised bog sites which were nominated for designation as Special Areas of Conservation in 1999. For these sites, the derogation given by the Government, which allowed the continuation of turf cutting for personal domestic use,...