Results 1,121-1,140 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Written Answers — National Monuments: National Monuments (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: There have been significant changes in responsibilities and the transfer of functions for the built and natural heritage between a number of Departments since June 2002. This has resulted in a re-organisation and a rebranding of heritage administration and its incorporation into my Department's remit as finalised in April 2003. Despite these functional and organisational changes, significant...

Written Answers — Radon Gas Levels: Radon Gas Levels (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: Article 30(1) of the Radiological Protection Act 1991 (Ionising Radiation) Order 2000 requires employers to measure radon gas concentrations in their workplaces on being directed to do so by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, RPII. On receipt of a direction, an employer has six months to comply with the direction. To date, the RPII has issued 2,670 directions to employers....

Written Answers — Environmental Policy: Environmental Policy (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: Due to competing demands in the requirements of new EU environmental legislation, and the need to deploy available resources on a priority basis, it has not previously been possible to put in place the detailed arrangements which are necessary for the administration of EU Regulation 2037/2000 on substances that deplete the ozone layer. It is important to note that none of the substances...

Written Answers — Water Pollution: Water Pollution (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: Where bathing waters do not comply with the standards prescribed in relation to designated bathing waters by the Quality of Bathing Waters Regulations 1992, local authorities are required to take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with these standards. Under the east Meath coastal sewerage scheme, which was funded under my Department's water services investment programme, municipal...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: The waste management investment foreseen in the National Development Plan 2000-2006 was based on the situation which obtained in 1999, when the plan was formulated. Since then, rapid change has occurred in the delivery of waste management services. In particular, a significant and vibrant private waste industry has rapidly formed and has begun to invest in waste infrastructure in a manner,...

Written Answers — Building Regulations: Building Regulations (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: I refer to the reply to Question No. 58 of 13 April 2005, in which I explained the open and transparent procedure used for the formulation and adoption of building code standards. This guards against any sectoral interest having undue or improper influence on the regulatory process. The building regulations lay down performance-based standards, and do not either mandate or prohibit the use of...

Written Answers — Departmental Capital Projects: Departmental Capital Projects (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: My Department directly commissions relatively few capital projects. Capital projects funded by my Department are, in the main, initiated by local authorities, and while my Department oversees and provides the policy framework for its capital programmes, the delivery of individual projects including any related procurement process is a matter for the implementing bodies concerned. Information...

Written Answers — Rural Housing: Rural Housing (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: It is not possible for my Department to forecast definitively how many additional dwellings will be built in rural areas as a result of the recently launched guidelines for planning authorities on sustainable rural housing. However, according to the latest statistics available, it is estimated that of the order of 15,000 one-off houses were built in rural areas in 2004. This equates to...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: As stated in reply to Question No. 42 of 4 November 2004, waste enforcement activities in individual cases are primarily a matter for the local authorities concerned and-or the Office of Environmental Enforcement. However, section 60 of the Waste Management Act 1996 authorises the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to give general directions to the Environmental...

Written Answers — Nuclear Plants: Nuclear Plants (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 180 and 184 together. The Government initiated international legal proceedings against the UK under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, concerning the Sellafield MOX plant. The current position in relation to the litigation by Ireland under UNCLOS is that the arbitration remains suspended pending resolution of jurisdictional issues in...

Written Answers — Sustainable Energy Strategy: Sustainable Energy Strategy (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: The draft action plan for implementation of the EU energy performance of buildings directive in Ireland was published on 27 April 2005 by Sustainable Energy Ireland, SEI, on behalf of an interdepartmental working group. The group comprises senior officials from my Department, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, and SEI. I have arranged for a copy of the draft...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: The promotion of social inclusion is a key policy objective for Government. Local authorities have an important role in achieving this objective at local level, reflecting their democratic mandate, wide ranging service delivery functions and specific responsibilities in areas such as housing and community development. The Local Government Act 2001 identifies social inclusion as a core issue...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: I am aware of a number of waste management technologies being developed and tested. Some, such as mechanical biological treatment, involve pre-treatment of waste to produce refuse derived fuel, although it should be noted that the fuel is ultimately burned. There are also interesting prospects from gasification, thermolysis and pyrolysis. Waste cooking oils can be converted to fuel and at...

Written Answers — Environmental Policy: Environmental Policy (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: EU Regulation 2037/2000 on ozone depleting substances requires, inter alia, the recovery and destruction of CFCs from all refrigeration equipment, including domestic fridges and freezers, and the putting in place of detailed reporting arrangements on this. For reasons set out in the reply to Question No. 164 on today's Order Paper, Ireland has not as yet completed the administrative...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: I am aware of the recent report by the Law Society's reform committee entitled Discriminatory Planning Conditions: the Case for Reform. Section 39 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and corresponding earlier planning legislation provides that a condition may be attached to a grant of planning permission for a house, specifying that the house must be occupied by persons of a particular...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 194 and 286 together. The nitrates directive was adopted by the EU in 1991 with the objective of reducing water pollution caused or induced by nitrates from agricultural sources. The European Court of Justice delivered a judgment on 11 March 2004 that Ireland was non-compliant with the directive. The main finding was that Ireland had not fulfilled its...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: A key component of waste management policy in Ireland in recent years has been the development of producer responsibility initiatives. Such initiatives are in line with EU and national policy on waste management, which is firmly grounded in the internationally recognised waste management hierarchy that prioritises respectively waste prevention and minimisation, increased levels of reuse,...

Written Answers — Environmental Policy: Environmental Policy (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: The UN environment programme country profiles provide a brief overview of a country's environment and international environmental activities. While the profile for Ireland does not make recommendations, it outlines the scope for using economic instruments as part of an approach to addressing the key environmental challenges facing this country. I accept that fiscal instruments can play a...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: In September 2003, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government endorsed the local government e-procurement strategy, which was produced by IBM Consultants in collaboration with the Local Government Computer Services Board, a number of local authorities and the Department. The strategy provides for the application of electronic processes to procurement activities and the...

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (18 May 2005)

Dick Roche: As part of the overall EU commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 8% during the Kyoto Protocol period, which is between 2008 and 2012, Ireland is committed to limiting emissions to 13% above 1990 levels. The latest available greenhouse gas emissions figures from the national inventory report, which is compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency, indicate that overall emissions...