Results 4,561-4,580 of 9,994 for speaker:John Gormley

Written Answers — Joint Policing Committees: Joint Policing Committees (19 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: Following a pilot programme, Joint Policing Committees (JPCs) are currently being established in all local authorities. Revised guidelines in relation to the operation of the JPCs were recently issued by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, under the Garda Síochána Act, 2005, following consultation with myself and the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. The...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (19 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: I assume the question refers to general purpose grants from the Local Government Fund. General-Purpose Grants 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. The Local Government Fund is also providing significant funding to local...

Written Answers — Election Management System: Election Management System (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 443 and 446 together. The total expenditure on the development and roll-out of the electronic voting system to date is some €51.3 million, the bulk of which has been incurred on the purchase of the voting machines and ancillary equipment. In addition, based on figures received in my Department from Returning Officers, the total annual costs for storage of...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: The Government has decided to broaden the revenue base of local authorities through the introduction of a charge on all non-principal private residences. The charge will be set at €200 per dwelling, and will come into effect in 2009. It will be levied and collected by local authorities, and will be used to support the provision of local services. I intend to bring forward legislation to...

Written Answers — Noise Pollution: Noise Pollution (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: I have no functions under the Roads Act, 1993. The Environmental Noise Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 140 of 2006) gave effect in Ireland to EU Directive 2002/49/EC, relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise. The Environmental Protection Agency is the national authority with overall responsibility for implementing the Environmental Noise Regulations. The Regulations...

Written Answers — Water and Sewerage Schemes: Water and Sewerage Schemes (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: I have no function in relation to these works which I understand are being carried out and funded by a private residential developer.

Written Answers — Special Areas of Conservation: Special Areas of Conservation (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: The EU Habitats and Birds Directives require Member States to maintain or restore the favourable conservation status of specified habitats and species. This is done primarily by designating appropriate sites as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) or Special Protection Areas (SPA) and by protecting the ecological interests of those sites. Designation of a site may have implications for...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 205 and 208 of 13 November 2008. The position is unchanged.

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: The Green Paper on Local Government, Stronger Local Democracy — Options for Change, published in April 2008, notes that there are already a range of mechanisms in place under the Planning and Development Act 2000 to secure a planning gain for local authorities and communities from decisions taken by planning authorities, including section 48/49 development levy contribution schemes and the...

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: In my Carbon Budget statement on 15 October 2008, I stated that over the coming year, the Government will be developing further measures to get to grips with the climate challenge, reduce our purchases of carbon credits and bring us on track for the annual average 3% reduction in emissions to which we are committed in the Programme for Government As was evident in the Emissions Table which I...

Written Answers — Benchmarking Awards: Benchmarking Awards (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: The aim of the benchmarking exercises carried out by the Public Service Benchmarking Body, first established under the terms of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, has been to carry out detailed examination in relation to the jobs, pay and conditions of public servants and compare these with jobs of equal size in the private sector using representative comparative data on pay and...

Written Answers — Emergency Planning: Emergency Planning (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 459 and 560 together. The process for declaring a major emergency by a principal response agency is set out in the document "A Framework for Major Emergency Management" and in the local authorities' major emergency plans. If a local authority is the principal response agency, it is a matter for the appropriate local authority personnel in accordance with the...

Written Answers — Turbary Rights: Turbary Rights (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: I understand that this land purchase closed on 3 November.

Written Answers — Turbary Rights: Turbary Rights (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: I understand that contracts in this case have been executed. The Office of the Chief State Solicitor received closing documentation from the vendor's solicitor on 20 October 2008 and the case is expected to be closed shortly.

Written Answers — Hare Coursing: Hare Coursing (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: I am arranging to have reports of hare coursing meetings attended by wildlife rangers of the National Parks and Wildlife Service placed on my Department's National Parks and Wildlife website.

Written Answers — Special Areas of Conservation: Special Areas of Conservation (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: The Twelve Bens/Garraun Complex and Maumturk Mountains Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) contain valuable wildlife habitats that the State is obliged to protect under EU law. Sheep stocking in these areas is currently too high to be compatible with the preservation of these habitats and agreement has been reached with farmers and their representative groups to return stocking rates. In...

Written Answers — Building Regulations: Building Regulations (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 538, 539, 540 and 541 of 11 November 2008. The EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings was transposed into Irish law in the form of the European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2006. In accordance with Article 7 of these Regulations a Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate will be required for existing buildings of...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: The estimated cost of incremental pay increases for staff in my Department in 2009 is approximately €900,000. However, the year to year costs of incremental pay increases are normally offset by corresponding reductions in costs associated with retirements and other movements by staff on higher points on the incremental scales and their replacement by staff on lower points. It is not...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: Proposals have been received from all nine National Spatial Strategy gateways for funding under the competitive €300 million Gateway Innovation Fund (GIF); these proposals sought some €720 million in total funding under the GIF. Following an examination and prioritisation of capital funding programmes by the Government as part of the estimates process, my Department's estimates do not...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (18 Nov 2008)

John Gormley: The information requested in relation to the period 2006 to 2008 is set out in the following table: 2006 2007 2008* DOEHLG Staff 10 days 11 days 7 days DOEHLG Staff ( Excluding long term illness cases ie those exceeding blocks of 6 weeks absences) 6 days 7 days 4 days *The 2008 figures include sick leave absences up to the 31/10/08.