Results 3,241-3,260 of 9,994 for speaker:John Gormley

Written Answers — Litter Pollution: Litter Pollution (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: My Department co-funds the Irish Business Against Litter National Litter League. €84,000 has been allocated in support of the initiative in 2009. A welcome and positive outcome has been achieved in the first round of results for 2009, with 68% of the 60 towns and cities surveyed across the country achieving the highest grade possible, "Clean to European Norms". This represents the best...

Written Answers — Election Management System: Election Management System (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: Following enactment of the Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2009 in March 2009, a new system of spending limits for all candidates and political parties contesting local elections became effective for the local elections held on 5 June 2009. For candidates contesting an election to the 34 county and city councils, there was a sliding scale with four separate spending limits, based on the...

Written Answers — Natural Heritage Areas: Natural Heritage Areas (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: Bogs are important natural habitats and are home to unique ecosystems containing rare flora and fauna. Both blanket bogs and raised bogs are protected habitats under European and Irish Law and representative samples have been designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under the Habitats Directive or Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) under the Wildlife Acts. Ireland has some of the most...

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: Ireland is required to meet challenging greenhouse gas emission reductions under the Kyoto Protocol for the period to 2012. The EU climate/energy package agreed in December 2008 places a requirement on Ireland for a 20% reduction on 2005 levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the non-traded sector by 2020. These targets are legally binding and the package of legislative measures adopted at...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: The Government has set an ambitious target of 40% of Ireland's energy to be supplied from renewable sources by 2020. The planning system will support the achievement of this target through, for example: · the introduction of a streamlined, single stage consent process under the 2006 Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act for certain classes of strategic infrastructure...

Written Answers — Referendum Commission: Referendum Commission (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: Section 2 of the Referendum Act 1998 provides that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government may establish a Referendum Commission not earlier than the date on which a Bill proposing to amend the Constitution is initiated in the Dáil. I intend to establish a Referendum Commission in respect of the proposal for the amendment of the Constitution relating to the Lisbon...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: The General Scheme of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009 envisaged the imposition of an annual development incentive levy on designated land if not brought into housing development in accordance with requirements agreed with or imposed by the relevant planning authority. These provisions had previously been included in the General Scheme of the Designated Land (Housing...

Written Answers — Architectural Heritage: Architectural Heritage (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: I recently announced €12.5 million in funding for the 2009 built heritage capital programme which covers a broad range of conservation schemes, including the local authority conservation grants scheme, the civic structure conservation grants scheme, the walled towns initiative, the significant places of public worship grants scheme, and funding for heritage properties both in State and...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: I am committed to implementing the necessary measures to ensure that Ireland meets the EU landfill diversion targets by 16 July 2010. The National Strategy on Biodegradable Waste was published in April 2006 and sets out measures progressively to divert biodegradable municipal waste from landfill in accordance with the agreed targets in EU Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste. These...

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 165 together. I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 161 and 163 of 18 June 2009; the position is unchanged.

Written Answers — Waste Disposal: Waste Disposal (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: Actions against illegal waste activity are a matter for the local authorities and the Office of Environmental Enforcement. I am satisfied that appropriate powers and resources are available to these enforcement authorities. The 2005 report of the Office of Environmental Enforcement, The Nature and Extent of Unauthorised Waste Activity in Ireland, identified the unauthorised collection and...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: Council Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste sets challenging targets for the diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill. These are set out in the reply to a question on today's Order Paper, and are projected to equate to 59% for 2010, 73% by 2013 and 80% by 2016 for this particular waste stream. According to the recent National Waste Report 2007 published earlier in...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: The Programme for Government contains a range of commitments in respect of waste management policy centred on the Government's continued support for the internationally recognised waste hierarchy which places major emphasis on the prevention, reuse and recycling of waste while minimising reliance on landfill and incineration. This commitment to the waste hierarchy has added significance in...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: Local authorities are required under the new leasing arrangements to submit their proposals to my Department for approval. As part of this process local authorities are required to submit a valuation confirming the current market rent for the proposed lease properties and a statement confirming the discount below market value that is being achieved. In relation to the issue of break...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: A framework agreement has been reached between Northern Ireland and the State, drawing on the provisions for competent authority co-operation when a waste shipment is illegal under the EU Waste Shipments Regulation, which provides a template for dealing with this historical legacy. Initially, two sites will be dealt with involving some 14,000 tons of waste and estimated costs of some €3...

Written Answers — Register of Electors: Register of Electors (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: In law, the preparation of the Register of Electors is a matter for each local registration authority. It is their duty to ensure, as far as possible and with the cooperation of the public, the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the Register. In working to compile the Register for 2007/08, local authorities undertook and completed, with assistance from my Department, the most extensive...

Written Answers — Green Schools Scheme: Green Schools Scheme (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: The Green Schools programme is an international education initiative that introduces participants (students, teachers, parents) to the concept of an environmental management system and promotes whole school action for the environment. Some 3,185 Irish schools are registered for the programme and over 1,757 schools have earned the right to fly the Green Flag. In Ireland, the scheme is...

Written Answers — Telecommunications Masts: Telecommunications Masts (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: The issue of potential health effects of mobile phone masts was comprehensively covered by the Expert Group Report published by Government in March 2007 entitled "Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields", which is available for download on the Department's website, www.environ.ie/en/publications. The Expert Group Report examined a wide range of issues in relation to the potential health...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: I assume the question refers to current revenue and expenditure. General purpose grants from the Local Government Fund are provided to supplement the income available to local authorities from local sources and from specific grants to enable them to provide an acceptable level of day to day services. In October 2008 I announced provisional General-Purpose Grant allocations of €935.2m. As a...

Written Answers — Register of Electors: Register of Electors (24 Jun 2009)

John Gormley: In law, the preparation of the Register of Electors is a matter for each local registration authority. It is their duty to ensure, as far as possible and with the cooperation of the public, the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the Register. Authorities were required to publish the Final Register for 2009/10 by 1 February 2009. Individuals not on the Register can avail of the supplement to...