Results 14,441-14,460 of 14,706 for speaker:Phil Hogan

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pyrite Issues (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: The Deputy had his chance. In this specific case raised by the Deputy, the report from the Institute of Construction Professionals found that the relevant local authority did carry out a site inspection on 7 April 2014 in respect of the manufacture of the solid 100 mm concrete blocks which it was alleged were contaminated with pyrite and sulfates. Following a site inspection and a visit to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pyrite Issues (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: We cannot be on every site but I have asked the local authorities to become more proactive about enforcement of regulations for quarries and the suppliers of these raw materials. We have inherited serious problems because of their inertia in the past and because they did not comply with European standard regulations for blocks and requirements under the construction products regulations.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Leader Programmes Funding (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: The overall funding package for the Leader elements of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 will be €250 million. While the EU regulations stipulate that a minimum of 5% of the rural development programme is allocated to Leader, Ireland has decided to increase its proportion to 7%. This confirms the Government’s firm commitment to the economic development of rural areas....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Leader Programmes Funding (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: The current value of the axis 3 and 4 elements of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 is €370 million and it will be €250 million for the next programme. In addition, €5 million has been provided for the axis 1 agrifood measure. To date, €205.7 million has been spent on projects, €12 million has been spent on animation and €55.2 million has...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Leader Programmes Funding (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: I assure the Deputy that the circumstances he describes will not arise. A single strategy will apply in each area and where more than one strategy is submitted, the groups involved will be asked to come together in partnership to agree and prepare jointly a single strategy to ensure the programmes can be delivered in the most cost-effective manner possible. In the event that more than one...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Public Private Partnerships Expenditure (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: My Department carried out a value for money review of all water services in 2010 which is available on the Department’s website at The Water Services (No.2) Act 2013 provides for the transfer of water services functions from the 34 water services authorities to Irish Water. From 1 January 2014, Irish Water assumed responsibility for the delivery of water services, including waste...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Issues (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: As I outlined in my reply to Priority Question No. 64, I welcome the proactive approach of the Association of Chartered Engineers of Ireland (ACEI) and, indeed other professional representative bodies, in highlighting this very serious matter. Under the Construction Products Regulation,manufacturers are required to provide robust and reliable information in a consistent way for construction...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Community Development Projects (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: The Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) currently being established in all local authority areas will develop, co-ordinate and implement a more coherent and integrated approach to local and community development than heretofore, with the aim of reducing duplication and overlap and optimising the use of available resources for the benefit of citizens and communities. My...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Resolution Board Remit (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 109 together. My Department understands that the Mica Action Group recently met with a representative of the Pyrite Resolution Board in connection with the occurrence of structural problems in houses in north Donegal which appear to be related to the use of defective blocks in the construction of these houses. While testing appears to have been carried...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Development Companies Administration (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: There are no proposals to review the operation of local development companies. I am currently embarked on a programme of local government reform, which will see an enhanced role for local government in the co-ordination of local and community development programmes. The establishment of Local Community Development Committees, which will include various local partners including local...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 78 and 102 together. Compliance with our 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target is a serious challenge but Ireland will comply; compliance is not an option, it is binding under EU law. While the priority i s to secure compliance based on actual greenhouse gas emission reductions , in the event that adequate mitigation measures cannot be mobilised in...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment Issues (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: Castletownbere Sewerage Scheme was included in my Department’s Water Services Investment Programme 2010 – 2013as a scheme to advance through planning during the life of the programme. A Preliminary Report for the Scheme was submitted by Cork County Council to my Department in July 2010. Further information was sought by my Department from Cork County Council in March 2011. Cork...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: I recently published both the National Policy Positionon Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development,and the General Scheme of the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill. As I have already stated in the reply to Question No. (25452/14, lottery 12) on today’s Order Paper, the National Policy Position provides high-level policy direction on adoption and implementation by...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Meters (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: The Water Services Act 2013 provided for the establishment of Irish Water and assigned the company the necessary powers to allow it to undertake the water metering programme. Of the estimated 1.35m domestic properties connected to public water supplies, approximately 300,000 properties will not be metered as part of the current phase, due to the cost or technical difficulty of doing so....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Remediation Programme (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 83, 97 and 103 together. The Pyrite Resolution Board commenced accepting applications from eligible homeowners for inclusion in the pyrite remediation scheme on 26 February 2014. As matters stand, the Board has received in the order of 500 completed applications and these are currently being processed. Each application must first be validated by the Board...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Rural Development Policy (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: The Taoiseach launched the CEDRA report in April 2014. There are 34 recommendations in total which are broken into three broad categories covering Governance and Co-ordination, the Centrality of the Regional and Local Dimensions and Facilitating Economic and Community Participation. Full details of the recommendations are available on my Department’s website . The report’s...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: I refer to the reply to Question No. 78, on today’s Order Paper, which sets out the position on compliance with our greenhouse gas emissions target. Regarding improved waste management, Ireland’s national waste policy is predicated on the waste hierarchy as set out in the Waste Framework Directive and aims to minimise the generation of waste, extract the maximum value from waste...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Incidence (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: A report on problems with the cracking of concrete blocks used in the construction of two local authority estates in Mayo was submitted to my Department by Mayo County Council in late October 2013. Subsequently the Council notified my Department that two houses in another estate may also be affected; it is understood that 17 houses in the three estates are affected by the cracking in the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Establishment (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: Bord Gáis Eireann (BGE) had responsibility for most of the deliverables under the Government water sector reform implementation strategy. BGE developed a detailed programme initiation document within the framework of this strategy, which outlined all of the tasks required to establish a fully functioning integrated public water utility and provided this to my Department in August 2012....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Remit (17 Jun 2014)

Phil Hogan: The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water can collect charges from customers in receipt of water services provided by it. The Act also provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the CER has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of...