Results 3,101-3,120 of 4,810 for speaker:Malcolm Noonan

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Refugee Resettlement Programme (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I reiterate that the Government is not downplaying the issue. This is really, really serious. We understand. I spoke to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O’Gorman, about it yesterday, and to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien. We are facing an increasingly challenging situation from a humanitarian...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla (Atógáil) - Topical Issue Debate (Resumed): Community Development Projects (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. The Minister is pleased that budget 2022 reflects the commitment of the Government to ensuring that our communities are safe and that An Garda Síochána has the resources to be an effective and trusted police service. The budget provided by Government to the Garda Commissioner continues to increase to...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Refugee Resettlement Programme (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I am replying on behalf of the Minister. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine on 24 February and the invoking of the temporary protection directive by the European Union shortly afterwards, the Department has worked intensively as part of the cross-governmental response to the Ukraine crisis. The operational challenges brought about by responding to the conflict are significant. Our...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Childcare Services (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The Deputy will appreciate that this is not my specialised chosen subject. I have served on voluntary boards of community-based childcare services for many years, however, so I have a great interest in the sector. I appreciate the points the Deputy raised. High-quality early learning and childcare that is affordable and accessible is a key Government priority. Before the onset of...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Childcare Services (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I agree with many of the points raised by the Deputy. From my experience in volunteering in the sector, there are challenges around the requirements for facilities for children aged under one year. That is perhaps something that has not been responded to by the providers. There is a significant challenge around the actual layout of physical premises in terms of sleeping areas, etc. That...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Disability Services (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I am responding to this matter on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Rabbitte. The Deputy highlighted a difficult case and it is important the issue of access to therapies and respite be resolved. The Government recognises how important respite can be for relieving pressure and enhancing the quality of life of families, particularly due to the impact the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Disability Services (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: As the Deputy will appreciate, I do not have those figures to hand, although I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to follow up with responses to the specific questions he asked. A letter from Majella Daly, the head of the disability service in Cork-Kerry Community Healthcare, is attached to my prepared response but it does not offer much more information than I have outlined....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Water Services (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I again thank the Deputy. We can work with Irish Water to get a timeline, as that would be useful for the Deputy and the community in terms of when the collation of data will be completed and the different upgrade scenarios that are to be developed. The project will then have to go into a scope of works and move into the project design and statutory planning stage. There are a number of...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Water Services (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I agree with the points made about Castlemagner. They apply to all our small towns and villages. We launched the Croí Cónaithe towns fund this morning. A lot of Government policies are converging to try to attract families back to living in small communities. It is vital that such communities can grow in a sustainable way. I will outline the position in regard to Irish...

Summer Economic Statement: Statements (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: While I am on my feet, I thank the ushers and all the staff here for the past couple of days. It has been a really busy few weeks here and I want to say a huge thank you to them all. It has been long hours on all of them and I want to use the opportunity to say that while I am here. I thank all Deputies for their contributions. I have stayed here for two hours of them. The Cabinet...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Invasive Species Policy (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: My Department does not provide specific funding for landowners to manage invasive alien species on their land. Under the current legislative framework, responsibility for dealing with invasive alien species (IAS) rests with the landowner. While a good deal of work dealing with rhododendron is carried out by my Department in its National Parks, it does not have the resources to extend...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Invasive Species Policy (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: Regulation 49(2) of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (SI 477/2011) makes it an offence to disperse, allow or cause to disperse, spread or otherwise cause to grow any plant which is included in Part 1 of the Third Schedule to those Regulations.  I am aware of occasional reports of the presence of invasive alien species in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Parks and Wildlife Service (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The Strategic Action Plan for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) sets out an ambitious timeline for a full organisational restructuring of the NPWS, and a substantial €55 million additional investment in the organisation across three budgetary cycles, together with the accelerated early recruitment of at least 60 key staff for critically important roles. This Plan...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Biodiversity Plan (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) will set the national biodiversity agenda for the period 2023-2027. The Plan has been in development since October 2021. The first phase of work involved an extensive review of national, European, and international policies, strategies, legislation and science relating to biodiversity. This review helped to inform a first draft of the Plan,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (14 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: My Department is committed to supporting local authorities in the important role they play in the implementation of actions contained in the National Biodiversity Action Plan. In that context, I have allocated €600,000 in 2022 towards the establishment of a Biodiversity Officer programme, with six officers to be recruited this year and a further roll out in 2023/24. The programme...

Electoral Reform Bill: From the Seanad (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: There has been significant debate on all Stages of the Bill.

Electoral Reform Bill: From the Seanad (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: Points were made specifically in regard to this important part of the Bill. I closely followed the deliberations of the Oireachtas joint committee, where it was widely debated. I commend the committee on its deliberations at pre-legislative scrutiny stage. These were concerns that were raised in pre-legislative scrutiny, as Deputy Ó Broin mentioned. They are fundamental...

Electoral Reform Bill: From the Seanad (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The broader issue around citizens’ rights is important in the context of recent experiences across the world and we all have plenty of examples of it. This demonstrates that many of the most pressing threats to the integrity of our democracy and electoral processes are based on harmful techniques for distorting or manipulating public expression. In that context, it is important to...

Electoral Reform Bill: From the Seanad (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to the amendments that were approved in the Seanad during the course of the Bill's passage through the House. The first group of amendments assigns a monitoring and investigatory role to an coimisiúntoghcháinin order that an coimisiún can protect the integrity of our electoral processes in the online sphere, in particular during...

Electoral Reform Bill: From the Seanad (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I appreciate the issue being raised by Deputy Howlin. Specifically on amendment No. 31, the proposed section 161 provides that the electoral commission may publish codes of conduct in respect of online electoral information or online electoral process information. Section 161(7) provides that where a person to whom a mandatory code is addressed has failed to comply with the code, the...