Results 8,581-8,600 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (29 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Question 230: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the extent to which payments in respect of various schemes run by her Department have been met in full to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40858/06]

Written Answers — Poultry Industry: Poultry Industry (29 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Question 231: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she is satisfied regarding the adequacy of supply of home produced turkeys for the Christmas market; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40859/06]

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (29 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Question 258: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of social and affordable houses completed under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and awaiting allocation in Kildare County Council at present; when the allocation of same will take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40717/06]

Order of Business (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: It arises from a statement in the House.

Order of Business (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: There is no danger.

Order of Business (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: It is hard to resist.

Order of Business (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: I thank and congratulate the Chair for deciding to allow most of my energy questions which had been disallowed last week. I would like to speak about the correspondence I received from the Office of the Ceann Comhairle this morning, which is relevant in that context. I was told that two sections of a 1983 Act are a matter for An Post.

Order of Business (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: I am sorry, a Cheann Comhairle, but I have to tell you——

Order of Business (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: ——that the relevant sections of the Act specifically require the attention of the Minister and not An Post or anybody else.

Order of Business (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: I will send the matter back to the Office of the Ceann Comhairle again, hopefully with better luck. I want to remind Deputies, including the Tánaiste, that legislation is the responsibility of Ministers and nobody else. Will the Tánaiste indicate to the House his preferences in respect of the possibility of introducing the minerals development Bill in the House with a view to generating...

Order of Business (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Do I understand correctly that it will not be published until the middle of next year?

Order of Business (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: The current Government might not be in office then.

Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund: Motion (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: The poor creature, he gets blamed for everything.

Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund: Motion (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: They should be a cut above the rest for the Deputy's party.

Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund: Motion (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: I am delighted to hear Deputy Fiona O'Malley expounding the virtues of the nuclear energy industry.

Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund: Motion (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: When the Government tried to secure all-party support for its energy policy earlier this year, it did not take me long to figure out what was happening. It was an attempt to promote nuclear energy as the only way to protect the environment. What an appalling scenario.

Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund: Motion (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: The Deputy said in the past ten minutes there were certain things we should do, including looking again at the nuclear energy sector as a means of resolving our environmental problems, and I want to point out to her the error of her ways. I presume the first nuclear generator will be in Ringsend, or will it be in Blackrock or Wicklow? That will be an interesting debate.

Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund: Motion (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: At least one of the Government parties is clear and unequivocal about the issue. My remarks, however, are not necessarily a criticism of the Minister. The situation regarding emissions that he inherited could have been addressed by his Government in a series of different ways in the past five years but it failed to do so. The Kyoto Agreement has been in place for the duration of this and...

Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund: Motion (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: It is, however, obviously, Government policy. In September the Government agreed with a proposal to increase gas and electricity prices. Why? To get more money in VAT and to make provision for carbon trading. It was a case of jacking up the price of electricity and gas to pay for carbon trading. This should have been funded instead by developing the alternative energy industry. They were...

Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund: Motion (30 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: I have had my head in my hands on a number of occasions because I am dismayed by the lack of action on the issues that are obvious to everybody. There is no area with more myths associated with it than the energy sector. Everybody has an opinion and everybody knows what should happen. The industrialised United Kingdom contributes about 2% of the total of carbon emissions and many other...