Results 2,121-2,140 of 9,994 for speaker:John Gormley
- Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: In areas for which my Department has responsibility, the European Commission is currently in correspondence in respect of 31 cases relating to transposition and implementation of EU environmental legislation. The table lists the directives involved and indicates the various stages of proceedings in respect of these cases. The Commission made a decision on 29 October 2009 to refer Ireland to...
- Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: The Programme for Government agreed in 2007 signalled a fundamental change of policy in relation to waste management. Reflecting the ambition of the Programme commitment, I have repeatedly made clear that incineration can no longer be the cornerstone of Irish waste policy, and that it is the Government's intention not to support the provision of excessive incineration capacity but to...
- Written Answers — Election Management System: Election Management System (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: I propose to take Question Nos. 30 and 299 together. On 23 April 2009, I announced that the Government had decided not to proceed with implementation of electronic voting in Ireland. Since then, a process has been put in place to address the issues that arise from the decision. An Interdepartmental Task Force, chaired by my Department, has been established to bring the project to an orderly...
- Written Answers — Urban Renewal Schemes: Urban Renewal Schemes (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: The 2007 - 2013 Urban and Village Regeneration Programme administered by my Department has been deferred due to budgetary constraints. No calls for proposals under this programme were issued by my Department to the Local Authorities. Under the Urban and Village Renewal Programme 2000 - 2006, grant assistance was provided by my Department to local authorities for a range of interventions to...
- Written Answers — Natural Heritage Areas: Natural Heritage Areas (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 32 and 42 together. The ten year derogation that allowed the continuation of turf-cutting on 32 Raised Bog Special Areas of Conservation notified for designation in 1999 has now expired. In the coming weeks I expect to receive a report from the Working Group on the Cessation of Turf Cutting in Designated Areas including recommendations for managing the...
- Written Answers — Natural Heritage Areas: Natural Heritage Areas (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: Good progress has been made in recent years by local authorities in the provision and management of water services in their areas. This progress has been possible through high levels of investment coupled with new legislation on the supervision and enforcement of drinking water standards in public water supplies and the licensing of wastewater treatment plants. There is an ongoing need to...
- Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 66 together. Ireland signed the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters on 25 June 1998. Progress towards ratification of the Convention is closely aligned with work at EU level and, in that context, the European Union has adopted two Directives as part of the...
- Written Answers — Dublin Docklands Development Authority: Dublin Docklands Development Authority (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 35 and 46 together. I understand that the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) is vigorously contesting the action taken by Donatex Ltd. in the Commercial Court over the terms of a property deal to purchase the former Irish Glass Bottle Company site in Ringsend, as part of the Joint Venture with the Authority and Memphal Ltd. It would be...
- Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: The Programme for Government agreed in 2007 signalled a fundamental change of policy in relation to waste management. Reflecting the ambition of the Programme commitment, I have repeatedly made clear that incineration can no longer be the cornerstone of Irish waste policy, and that it is the Government's intention not to support the provision of excessive incineration capacity but to...
- Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: Section 42 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides that, on application, the duration of a planning permission (normally five years) shall be extended, subject to certain requirements being complied with, including that substantial works have been carried out before the expiration of the original permission. Section 23 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009, which...
- Written Answers — Water Services: Water Services (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: The allocations and expenditure outturns for 2008 and 2009 in respect of Exchequer funded investment in water services infrastructure, together with the estimated additional expenditure incurred directly by local authorities to meet the marginal capital costs associated with the provision of services to the non-domestic sector are set out in the following table. There was continued good...
- Written Answers — Local Authority Staffing: Local Authority Staffing (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: The following table lists the number of permanent staff and temporary staff employed in each local authority as returned to my Department for the end of September 2009, the most recent date for which figures are available. The corresponding figures for September 2007 and September 2008 are included for comparative purposes and the table accordingly shows the change in staffing levels in each...
- Written Answers — Fire Services: Fire Services (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: In accordance with Government policy and implementing instructions from the Department of Finance relating to the general moratorium on the filling of public sector posts, local authorities were given sanction to recruit full-time fire fighters without recourse to my Department. This sanction applied from 13 May until 20 August 2009, when the Department of Finance delegated sanction for the...
- Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: Meeting the requirements of the landfill directive is a key national priority in respect of waste management and I am committed to implementing the measures necessary to ensure that Ireland meets the 2010, and subsequent, EU landfill diversion targets. Data from the National Waste Report 2008, published by the EPA, show that the quantity of biodegradable municipal waste disposed to landfill...
- Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: The National Waste Report 2008, published by the EPA, provides the latest data in this regard. The separate kerbside collection of household food and garden waste in brown bins increased substantially from 18,705 tonnes in 2007 to 37,920 tonnes in 2008 and I would expect to see further increases in 2009 and into the future. The number of local authority areas where household brown bin waste...
- Written Answers — Emergency Planning: Emergency Planning (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 275 and 286 of 20 January 2010.
- Written Answers — Water Services: Water Services (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: I propose to take Question Nos. 48 and 292 together. It is the responsibility of the relevant water services authority to deliver quality public water supplies to meet current and future needs. My Department co-ordinates and finances a major programme of investment in improved drinking water supply infrastructure, on which some â¬1.8 billion has been invested by the Government in the period...
- Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: General-purpose grants from the Local Government Fund are the contribution that my Department makes to local authorities to meet the gap between the cost to them of providing a reasonable level of day-to-day services and the income they obtain from other sources. A total of â¬870 million in General-Purpose Grants will be provided to local authorities from the Local Government Fund in 2010....
- Written Answers — Water Services: Water Services (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: The Services Indicators in Local Authorities 2008 report, a copy of which, available from the Oireachtas Library, includes information on 'Unaccounted for Water'' (UFW) in each local authority. UFW includes leakage in addition to other factors including unauthorised connections, unmetered connections and metering errors. My Department does not have figures for the "cost" of UFW. This...
- Written Answers — Climate Change: Climate Change (21 Jan 2010)
John Gormley: On foot of a commitment contained in the National Climate Change Strategy, my Department is currently in the process of developing a national climate change adaptation framework. This work will run in parallel with the development of a Climate Change Bill which will enshrine in legislation policies and principles in relation to climate change, and will include specific provisions on climate...