Results 3,101-3,120 of 4,700 for speaker:Noel Ahern
- Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: As the Deputy may be aware, rehabilitation emerged as a key issue during the mid-term review of the national drugs strategy. The conclusion of the steering group overseeing the review, with which I agree, was that the strategy's rehabilitation provisions needed to be strengthened and expanded, particularly in light of the significant and ongoing expansion in treatment provision in recent...
- Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: As the Deputy is aware, my Department operates a number of schemes designed to facilitate small voluntary groups including the programme of grants for locally-based community and voluntary organisations. This programme offers two schemes of once-off grants to local community and voluntary organisations for equipment and refurbishment of premises and-or education, training and research grants....
- Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: I am aware of the recent launch by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, of the three-year statistics for its schoolmate drugs and alcohol pilot prevention programme as well the launch of the 4Me service and its information leaflets on drugs for parents and children. I welcome research in this area and what it can tell us about the causes of drug misuse. I note that, as...
- Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: As part of the national drugs strategy, ten regional drugs task forces, RDTFs, have been established throughout the country. The RDTFs work in a partnership manner, similar to the local drugs task forces, and are made up of nominees from State agencies working in the region, the community and voluntary sectors and elected public representatives. At the outset, the RDTFs were involved in...
- Written Answers — Departmental Projects: Departmental Projects (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: As the Deputy is aware, earlier this year I launched four pilot cocaine treatment projects to examine different methods of treatment for cocaine use, as well as a training initiative focusing on front-line workers. Funding of almost â¬400,000 was provided by me to support the pilot treatment projects and the training programme. The four projects deal with the following cohorts of cocaine...
- Written Answers — Care of the Elderly: Care of the Elderly (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 78 and 83 together. The purpose of the scheme of community support for older people is to encourage and assist the community's support for older people by means of a community based grant scheme to improve the security of its older members. The scheme is administered by local community and voluntary groups with the support of my Department. The scheme provides...
- Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 92 together. As the Deputies are aware, my Department has responsibility for co-ordinating the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008. Since the mid-term review of the strategy earlier this year, it contains 108 individual actions to be implemented by a range of Departments and agencies. In this context, I welcome the additional...
- Written Answers — Drugs in Prisons: Drugs in Prisons (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: An Agreed Programme for Government contains a commitment to introducing mandatory drug testing for prisoners, where necessary, and to make treatment and rehabilitation available for those prisoners who need it. My colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, is currently working towards this objective. I can assure the Deputy that, in this context, there is...
- Written Answers — Drug Abuse: Drug Abuse (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: The NACD-DAIRU drug prevalence survey is generally regarded as the most reliable baseline data on drug prevalence in Ireland. That study, which surveyed 8,442 people aged 15 to 64 years old in Ireland and in Northern Ireland between October 2002 and April 2003, reported that 3% of the respondents had used cocaine, 1.1% had used it in the last 12 months and 0.3% used in the last month....
- Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: The Deputy will be aware that decisions on the disbursement of funds from dormant accounts moneys in the initial round of funding are a matter for the Dormant Accounts Fund Disbursements Board. The board is an independent body established under the Dormant Accounts Acts. The board engaged Area Development Management Ltd., ADM, to administer the initial round of funding on its behalf. The...
- Written Answers — Drug Abuse: Drug Abuse (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: The National Advisory Committee on Drugs, NACD, was established in July 2000 to advise the Government in relation to the prevalence, prevention, treatment and consequences of problem drug use in Ireland, based on the committee's analysis and interpretation of research findings and information available to it. Its membership reflects statutory, community, voluntary, academic and research...
- Written Answers — Care of the Elderly: Care of the Elderly (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: To date, 175 applicant organisations have been approved for funding under the 2005 scheme of community support for older people. Payments have been made to 100 of those groups and I expect the payments to issue to the remaining groups over the coming days. I expect to approve funding to a further 80 organisations shortly and those payments will also issue over the coming days. A number of...
- Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: The young people's facilities and services fund, YPFSF, was established in 1998 to assist in the development of facilities, including sport and recreational facilities, and services in disadvantaged areas where a significant drug problem exists or has the potential to develop. To date, approximately â¬90 million has been allocated to support in the region of 450 projects, primarily in local...
- Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: As the Deputy is aware, my Department has overall responsibility for co-ordinating the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy 2001-08. It also has responsibility for the work of the local and regional drugs task forces as well as the Young People's Facilities and Services Fund. Through these initiatives, a range of community and voluntary groups are funded to tackle drug misuse...
- Written Answers — Dormant Accounts Fund: Dormant Accounts Fund (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Priority Question No. 48 of today where I have dealt with this issue.
- Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: Houses sold under the various affordable housing schemes at a discount from market value contain a clawback provision. This clawback provides that if a house purchased under the affordable housing schemes at a discount from market value is resold before the expiration of 20 years from the date of the purchase, the person selling the property shall pay to the local authority a percentage of...
- Dormant Accounts Fund. (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: Adjusted for liabilities of â¬48 million, the current value of the dormant accounts fund is â¬157 million. Such liabilities arise in respect of funding approved for projects by the Dormant Accounts Fund Disbursements Board which has yet to be drawn down. It is anticipated that a large element of this amount will be disbursed during 2006. With regard to further allocations, the Deputy will...
- Dormant Accounts Fund. (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: No, what I stated earlier was that, of the allocations made to date by the board, â¬48 million has not yet been drawn down. A sum of â¬8 million is the only amount that has been drawn down. As Deputy O'Shea will be aware, ADM Limited administers all this for the disbursements board. Of the â¬63 million that was allocated, to date â¬8 million has been drawn down. It is a case of working...
- Dormant Accounts Fund. (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: As I stated, the social and economic disadvantage committee is one of the three committees â there are three interdepartmental committees.
- Dormant Accounts Fund. (30 Nov 2005)
Noel Ahern: That report has gone to Cabinet. We are working on the details of the operational procedures of how we will roll that out. We only got approval from the Cabinet yesterday and it will be rolled out quickly. Deputy O'Shea will see all that in January or February next. It will not necessarily be one large catch-all advertisement in the newspaper. We will bring forward a number of proposals. We...