Results 1,741-1,760 of 20,758 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Proposed Legislation (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: Section 152 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 requires that a planning authority must issue a warning letter following receipt of a complaint made under section 151 alleging that unauthorised development may have been, is being, or may be carried out, unless the development in question is of a trivial or minor nature. The warning letter must, among other things, state that it has...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Non-Principal Private Residence Charge Administration (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1535 and 1543 together. The Local Government (Charges) Act 2009, as amended, provides the legislative basis for the Non-Principal Private Residence Charge. The NPPR Charge, which has since been discontinued, applied in the years 2009 to 2013 to any residential property in which the owner did not reside as their normal place of residence. It is a matter for an...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management Regulations (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: Environmental standards in relation to the collection of waste are governed by the Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations 2007 and their enforcement is the responsibility of local authorities. A waste collector must also comply with any waste collection bye-laws which are in force within a local authority’s functional area as well as with all other relevant legislation,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Control of Dogs (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Control of Dogs Acts 1986 and 1992 set out a range of requirements for all dog owners and the requirement to accompany and keep effectual control of their dogs. The penalty for non-conformance with these requirements is a fine of up to €2,500 or imprisonment for a term of up to three months, or both. Furthermore, the Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 (as amended) set out further...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Agency Portfolio (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1539 and 1595 together. I presume the Questions relate to the Land Aggregation Scheme (LAGS). In total, the Housing Agency has 49 unencumbered sites in its ownership, 36 of which were transferred through the LAGS. The Housing Agency also holds 13 other unencumbered sites, which were previously held by the National Building Agency. The LAGS was introduced in...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Applications (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: There has been no change in the position regarding the mortgage to rent case referred to. An application for provisional approval in this case was received by my Department on 9 June 2014 and was granted the following day. In order to progress this case to full funding approval, a further submission is required confirming all costs and agreements are in place or in train. This submission is...

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

Alan Kelly: The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides for the transfer of water services functions from the 34 water services authorities to Irish Water . With effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for the provision of public water services. Section 12 of the Act provides for the transfer of property from a local authority to Irish Water. Section 13 of the Act provides that any...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Functions (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: An arrangement of the kind concerned is in place between the Rent Tribunal and the Private Residential Tenancies Board, as set out in the following table. The Rent Tribunal was established under the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) (Amendment) Act 1983, for the purpose of determining the terms of the tenancies (including the rent) of dwellings formally controlled under the Rent...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Fund (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1544 and 1605 together. Local Property Tax was introduced to provide an alternative, stable and sustainable funding base for the local authority sector, providing greater levels of connection between local revenue raising and associated expenditure decisions. Given that local authorities vary significantly from one another in terms of size, population,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Grant Payments (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: It is a requirement under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability that applicants are registered for the payment of the Local Property Tax. Where an applicant is in arrears and there is an agreed timeline for repayment, applications can be accepted by the local authority. The detailed administration of the schemes , including the assessment,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Staff Recruitment (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: The moratorium on recruitment and promotion in the public service was introduced in March 2009 in response to the financial crisis. My Department operates a delegated sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for implementation of the moratorium in relation to local authorities, and any exceptions to the moratorium in local authorities require sanction from my Department....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Funding (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: My Department provided €0.737 million to An Taisce in 2013 in respect of a range of environmental activities and public awareness initiatives which it has undertaken, including the National Spring Clean initiative; the Green Schools initiative; the Clean Coast and Blue Flag Awards; contribution to the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) National Litter League; and implementation of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Status (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: My Department approved a grant of €187,500 under the 2014 Rural Water Programme towards a proposed group sewerage scheme at Tullig, Castleisland, in April 2014. Approval to the reallocation of this grant to another measure of the Rural Water Programme issued to Kerry County Council earlier this month following receipt of correspondence from the Council indicating that work would not...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Leader Programmes Administration (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1581 to 1587, inclusive, together. The Government has, through its local government reform process as outlined in Putting People First, initiated a process at local level to ensure that local development works more effectively to support the development of local communities in a co-ordinated and sustainable way. The LEADER elements of the Rural...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Expenditure (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: The funding provided by my Department to local authorities for new social housing construction and acquisitions in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and allocated for 2014, is as follows: YEAR FUNDING PROVIDED/ALLOCATED 2011 €189.2m 2012 €116.6m 2013 €83.3m 2014 €55m The above amounts are in addition to provision made in respect of other areas of social housing...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Deposit Protection Scheme Establishment (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Programme for Governmentincludes a commitment to establish a tenancy deposit protection scheme. On foot of this commitment the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) commissioned research on such a scheme and reported back to my Department with recommendations in that regard. The subsequent report assessed a number of different options for delivery of a scheme ranging from one where...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grant Funding (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Housing Aid for Older People scheme is one of a suite of schemes under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability which is administered by the local authorities. Three separate schemes are available, as follows: (i) Housing Aid for Older People Scheme (HAOP)provides grants of up to €8,000 to assist older people living in poor housing conditions to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Maintenance (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: €30 million has been provided as part of my Department’s 2014 Social Housing Investment Programme for improving the energy performance of local authority housing stock. An initial €15million was allocated to local authorities in February 2014 and earlier this month, I announced a further €15 million allocation for this purpose. The funding is part of a...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Fire Service (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: The provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1981. My Department supports fire authorities through the setting of general policy and guidance, and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Administration (17 Sep 2014)

Alan Kelly: In advance of the introduction of domestic water charges, the Government made certain decisions on 6 May 2014 relating to the structure of water charges including, inter alia, a free allowance per household and an additional free allowance for children on the same qualifying conditions as the Child Benefit payment from the Department of Social Protection. As these allowances are to be...