Results 5,061-5,080 of 6,728 for speaker:John Curran
- Local Authority Housing. (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I thank the Deputy for raising the matter, which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The enactment of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 is a milestone in the development of social housing policy in this country. The Act will improve housing services and their delivery by giving effect to a range of reform...
- Computerisation Programme. (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, as it provides me with an opportunity to outline to this House the way in which the ICT infrastructure grant for primary schools, which was issued last November, may be utilised. In November last year the Taoiseach launched the Smart Schools = Smart Economy...
- Schools Building Projects. (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I am happy to respond on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, who cannot be present, unfortunately. I thank Deputy Perry for raising this matter and giving me an opportunity to outline to the Dáil the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and the current position in respect of Carn national school, Gurteen, Ballymote, County Sligo. As...
- Written Answers — Substance Misuse Strategy: Substance Misuse Strategy (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: The Office of the Minister for Drugs (OMD) was established under the National Drugs Strategy 2009-2016 to facilitate greater cohesion in policy-making and service delivery. All financial matters are now overseen by the OMD, which includes the allocation of annual budgets to the Drugs Task Forces and associated payments. The OMD formally approved funding to the Drugs Task Forces in regard to...
- Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: Following on from the winding-up of the former local development company for the Dublin 12 area, KWCDT Ltd, my Department has continued its commitment to the area by identifying and supporting the transfer of a number of key projects to Rathmines/Pembroke Partnership on an interim basis. An initial allocation of some â¬0.3m in additional funding has been provided in this regard under the...
- Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 25 together. As I outlined previously to the House, my Department has seen the need to redesign its community development/social inclusion programmes, particularly the Local Development Social Inclusion (LDSIP) and Community Development Programmes (CDP), drawing on good international practice and to support the ongoing evaluation of the programmes....
- Written Answers — Substance Misuse Strategy: Substance Misuse Strategy (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I welcome this report by the Health Research Board. It is a follow-on publication from the National Drugs Related Deaths Index (NDRDI) which was completed in late 2008. The NDRDI identified deaths in the 1998-2005 period that were directly and indirectly related to drug-taking and the recent publication goes into more detail on the indirect deaths. The data presented shows an increasing...
- Written Answers — Substance Misuse Strategy: Substance Misuse Strategy (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: As the role of the Drugs Task Forces is to facilitate greater local/regional focus on drugs issues and provide a more co-ordinated response to them, I recognise that raising awareness is a key element of their work. The Deputy will be aware that each Drugs Task Force has an annual funding allocation from my Department for community-based drugs initiatives. From that allocation, each Task...
- Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29 and 38 together. I have voiced my concerns in regard to the activities of headshops and substances represented as "legal highs" sold in these outlets on numerous occasions since my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy. The problem of "legal highs" is not unique to Ireland and headshops are causing concern...
- Written Answers — Substance Misuse Strategy: Substance Misuse Strategy (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 30 and 31 together. I am confident that the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy (NDS) 2009-2016 will provide a comprehensive response to problem drug use in Ireland, and good progress is being made on its implementation. The Strategy seeks to tackle the harm caused to individuals and society by the misuse of drugs through a concerted focus on the...
- Written Answers — Substance Misuse Strategy: Substance Misuse Strategy (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 and 43 together. A Steering Group, comprising representatives of the statutory, community, voluntary and industry sectors, was established last November to develop proposals and make recommendations on a National Substance Misuse Strategy. The Group is jointly chaired by officials from my Department and the Department of Health and Children. The third...
- Written Answers — Care of the Elderly: Care of the Elderly (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: My Department carried out a review of the Scheme of Community Support for Older People in 2009. I hope to publish the review before the end of this month, once I have received the input of other relevant Departments and organisations working with older people. My Department is also at an advanced stage in finalising arrangements for the implementation of a number of innovations to the scheme...
- Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: The Government continues to advance a range of measures that support volunteering and active citizenship. In line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Active Citizenship, this year my Department will provide funding of over â¬2.5m to 22 volunteer centres around the country. Two of these centres â in Clare and Longford - are being funded for the first time. In 2009, the volunteer...
- Written Answers — Substance Misuse Strategy: Substance Misuse Strategy (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: As the Deputy will be aware, the Dial to Stop Drug Dealing campaign ran in three phases - across 15 Local and Regional Drugs Task Force areas - in 2008 and 2009. To the end of last week, there were 5,845 calls made to the confidential line, with 1,627 reports being generated to the GardaÃ. Calls are spread right across the country, including areas that have not directly run a campaign, which...
- Written Answers — Substance Misuse Strategy: Substance Misuse Strategy (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I am arranging to have the information sought by the Deputy compiled and it will be forwarded directly to her as a matter of priority.
- Written Answers — Drugs Task Forces: Drugs Task Forces (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 133 to 136, inclusive, together. As the Deputy will be aware, the majority of expenditure allocated to community groups through my Department for drugs initiatives is channelled through the Local and Regional Drugs Task Forces (RDTFs). The areas covered by the Task Forces are detailed below. The annual funding allocations are not made on a county basis but...
- Security of the Elderly. (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: My Department has funded and operated the scheme of community support for older people since mid-2002. Grant aid provided under this scheme allows for the installation of socially monitored personal alert systems and other items of home security and has supported more than 100,000 older people in recent years. This scheme was reintroduced last October after being suspended for a period...
- Security of the Elderly. (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I will try to be helpful as possible to the Deputy.
- Security of the Elderly. (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: I am sure it is all relevant to the Deputy. In regard to the question ruled out of order, the Minister advises me that if the Deputy has a word with him quietly at the end of Question Time, he will advise him on how to put down a question on that issue that might be in order.
- Security of the Elderly. (18 Feb 2010)
John Curran: As I said, we provided funding for more than 6,500 individuals last year under the community supports for older people scheme. We expect a greater number to apply this year and a new scheme will be implemented shortly. One of my main concerns in regard to the scheme is that there are rural areas which are not adequately covered under it. In other words, we must actively promote the scheme...