Results 1,221-1,240 of 4,778 for speaker:Malcolm Noonan

Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (23 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: Section 44 outlines the grounds for complaint under the Act regarding a registered member to the registration body. We must oppose amendments Nos. 30 and 31 to section 44, which seek to provide that failure to comply with building regulations and planning permission would be grounds for complaint. They are outside the scope of the Bill. This register is a register of competence of...

Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (23 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: Again, I reiterate that these amendments are outside the scope of the Bill. When the Bill comes before the Seanad, there will be further discussion on this matter. The Building Control Act and the Planning and Development Act provide the mechanisms around compliance in relation to planning permission and building regulations. I make those particular points, but there will also be further...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wildlife Conservation (22 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 309 and 310 together. My Officials have made contact with the Department of Health, Fingal County Council, the European Commission and its own Legal Advisor in relation to progressing the recommendations contained in the first interim report of the Urban Gulls Consultative Committee. My Officials will continue to progress these issues towards the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Parks and Wildlife Service (22 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The Government is committed to a significant investment in, and a renewal of, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) as set out in the Programme for Government. I am pleased to say that the review which will underpin this renewal has now been concluded by the independent authors, and the resulting Strategic Action Plan for renewal of the NPWS has been completed.  ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Reviews (22 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The Programme for Government – "Our Shared Future" – contains a number of commitments in respect of electoral reform including the following: - the establishment of an electoral commission; - the modernisation of the Register of Electors; and - the regulation of online political advertising. In December 2020, the Government approved the General Scheme of an Electoral Reform...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Biodiversity Plan (22 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: A first draft of the Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) has been developed following a comprehensive review of national, European and international biodiversity policies and other relevant plans and strategies. The draft Plan is currently under stakeholder review by government departments, bodies and organisations that are likely to be impacted by the draft...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Climate Change Policy (22 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: In a response to the commitment set out in the Programme for Government, the Marine Institute, which comes under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, commissioned a report, “”, to review and synthesise existing knowledge in relation to blue carbon and marine carbon sequestration in Irish waters, and to identify critical knowledge gaps. My...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Monuments (22 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The monument referred to is a recorded monument and is eligible for funding under the Community Monuments Fund.  The CMF is administered by the National Monuments Service of my Department through the Local Authorities and €5 million euro has been allocated to the scheme for 2022.  The closing date for this fund for 2022 has now passed but it is planned that the scheme for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Heritage Projects (22 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The Community-Led Village Design Statement is an initiative of the Heritage Council which is funded by my Department. Arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost effective system to address queries directly to the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Gender Recognition (22 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: 1012. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the inordinate waiting times for assessments at the National Gender Service and the alternative, costly routes transgender persons are having to take as a result (details supplied); his views on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14693/22]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Gender Recognition (22 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: 1013. To ask the Minister for Health if a reply will issue to a transgender person (details supplied) regarding the temporal cost of waiting for hormone therapy here and the consequent financial cost of their seeking of alternative routes for same from the UK; the actions he will take on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14694/22]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: School Facilities (23 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: For many years the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department ran a very successful education programme at the site mentioned, however, the Memorandum of Understanding with NPWS in that regard has now expired. I fully support access to our facilities to the greatest extent possible. My officials will establish what is required in relation to the site mentioned within...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wildlife Protection (24 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I intend to make Regulations under Section 23 of the Wildlife Act 1976 to protect the basking shark. As the basking shark is a species of fish, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine must also sign the Regulations. I have consulted with Minister McConalogue, who supports the proposal. My Department is in the process of drafting the Regulations, which should be finalised by the end...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Programme (24 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The major elements of our wildlife laws are contained in the Wildlife Act 1976 and the Birds and Habitats Regulations. My officials are embarking on a project to review both of these with a view to proposing changes to clarify and strengthen them. This legislative review project is currently in the planning and design phase.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Grant Payments (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I will give a general outline and then I will come back to the Senator's specific points. Our Department provides funding to local authorities under the suite of housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs, which also facilitates early return from hospital stays. Our...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Grant Payments (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I agree with the Senator in the sense that we have seen year-on-year, as I know from my own county and my own constituency, that the grants are oversubscribed. This is, in itself, a testament to the success of the grant scheme. There is significant uptake. There is always a waiting list. However, we have to give consideration to the rising building costs. They are unfortunately affecting...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Energy Prices (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I am taking the question on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable households from the impact of energy costs through a combination of financial supports, energy efficiency awareness initiatives and investment in programmes to improve the energy efficiency of housing stock. Much of the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Energy Prices (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: On the phasing out of fossil fuels, that is something that all parties in this House and across the Oireachtas have signed up to and it is critically important that we continue that trajectory. That said, there is no doubt that the transition needs to be managed and that is something of which the Government is cognisant. We are mindful of the fact that we need to support families through...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: International Agreements (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: My Department is currently working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the ratification process for the Nagoya Protocol. I intend for the process to be finalised in advance of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which will take place in China later this year.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The Moore Street Advisory Group (MSAG) presented its final report in May of 2021 to Minister O’Brien and myself. In this report, the MSAG recommended that an adequate and appropriately structured compensation package should be put in place for the traders as soon as possible, in the context of forthcoming disturbance due to development works. It also recommended that the process...