Results 4,161-4,180 of 4,700 for speaker:Noel Ahern

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: I assure the Deputy that the Government continues to take the issue of drug misuse seriously and will continue to push forward with the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy 2001- 2008. In this regard, one of the principle aims of the strategy is to encourage drug misusers into treatment and the Department of Health and Children — which has overall responsibility for the addiction...

Written Answers — Dormant Accounts Fund: Dormant Accounts Fund (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 210 and 222 together. The Deputy will be aware that in June 2004, the Government announced an increase in the overall amount that the Dormant Accounts Fund Disbursements Board may spend from €30 million to €60 million. The board has engaged Area Development Management, ADM, to administer this round of funding on its behalf. To date the board has approved...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: As the Deputy may be aware, on 1 September last I launched the first Irish review of scientific evidence regarding cannabis. The report, entitled An Overview of Scientific and other Information on Cannabis was published by the national advisory committee on drugs, NACD. The report is part of this Government's ongoing commitment to improving our knowledge base in the drugs field. As I stated...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: As the Deputy is aware, my Department has overall responsibility for co-ordinating the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008. The strategy contains 100 individual actions, under the four pillars of supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research, to be implemented by a range of Departments and agencies. My Department also has responsibility for the work of the 14 local...

Written Answers — Housing Aid for the Elderly: Housing Aid for the Elderly (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: A second round allocation for 2004 will shortly be determined and notified to health boards by the task force, which, under the aegis of my Department, administers the scheme of special housing aid for the elderly.

Written Answers — Strategic Planning Guidelines: Strategic Planning Guidelines (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: My Department is currently assessing the draft action plan submitted by Limerick County Council. It is intended that the matter will be finalised by the end of the year.

Written Answers — Traveller Accommodation: Traveller Accommodation (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: All local authorities required to do so have adopted, and are in the process of implementing, five-year Traveller accommodation programmes, under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998. These programmes, covering the period 2000 to 2004, estimated that, nationally, 3,785 units of accommodation would be required during the programmes to meet the then existing need and the additional...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: A total of 106 housing units have been provided under Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-02 during the first half of 2004. I anticipate that 500 housing units will be provided over the whole of 2004 under Part V.

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: Section 15 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 authorises certain exchanges of information in relation to persons seeking housing who may have been engaged in anti-social behaviour. These exchanges are permitted between specified agencies: housing authorities, the Criminal Assets Bureau, the Garda Siochána, the Department of Social and Family Affairs, health boards and...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 464 to 466, inclusive, together. As the Deputies may be aware, the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, NACD, produced a report last May entitled Review of Harm Reduction Approaches to Minimising the Sharing of Equipment Used to Administer Drugs. Arising from the report, the NACD recommended that service provision for drug users in prison should mirror the...

Written Answers — Charities Legislation: Charities Legislation (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: An Agreed Programme for Government contains a commitment to reform charities law. Responsibility for delivery on that commitment was assigned to my Department. I launched a public consultation in February of this year. The reference document for the public consultation was a Government-approved consultation paper on establishing a modern statutory framework for charities. The 85 submissions...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: The 2004 scheme of community support for older people was advertised nationwide on 29 July 2004 with a closing date of 13 September 2004. My Department is engaged in processing applications for the scheme and grants will issue to community groups in respect of successful applications at the earliest possible date.

National Drugs Strategy. (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: As the Deputy is aware, my Department has overall responsibility for co-ordinating the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008. The strategy contains 100 individual actions under the four pillars of supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research, to be implemented by a range of Departments and agencies. With regard to prevalence of opiate use, research conducted by the...

National Drugs Strategy. (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: The spin put on that recent report was misleading. The figures referred to the numbers in treatment not usage. It is positive if the numbers in treatment in certain midlands towns went up by 400%. Under the strategy, we have been trying to achieve the provision of treatment so that we can attract abusers to the services. That the numbers in treatment have increased does not mean that usage...

National Drugs Strategy. (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: We will only know whether there has been an increase following the next capture-recapture study. However, that figure did not upset us because treatment has been provided, which is the aim of the strategy. Naturally, when services exist, people will be attracted to them, which is positive because it is only when people come forward that they can be treated to try to rid them of their habits.

Charities Regulation. (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: The Government decided it was unacceptable to continue to have a completely unregulated charities sector. In the programme for Government we undertook to enact a comprehensive reform of the law relating to charities to ensure accountability and to protect against abuse of charitable status and fraud. Some areas of charitable fund-raising are particularly vulnerable to abuse under the current...

Charities Regulation. (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: Yes. The programme for Government includes a provision for a totally new regime for charities. I am pleased this was included because the relevant legislation has been in force for more than 40 years. Since the 1990s, three reports have been drawn up to suggest the action we should take, including those drawn up by the Law Reform Commission and the Minister of State at the Department of...

Charities Regulation. (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: I do not think anything can be done in the interim. It is full steam ahead as far as the Department is concerned. However, this is not simple legislation. If we manage to get it published by the end of next year, we will be doing well. It will be a comprehensive Bill with more than 200 heads. Public consultations have been held and in recent days the independent evaluation of the submissions...

Community Development. (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: I informed the Deputy in reply to his Parliamentary Question No. 1284 last week that the community after schools project, Dublin 1, was originally funded by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform through Area Development Management. Following a decision in that Department that the project no longer met the criteria for funding through ADM under the equal opportunities child care...

Community Development. (5 Oct 2004)

Noel Ahern: Funding is secure for this year. I anticipate that next year funding will be provided either from the dormant accounts fund or by the Department. I cannot say what the position will be further into the future. This is a very good project. The fact the Department took it over is proof of that. I am not sure whether the Deputy has done it justice because some items he mentioned might be on a...