Results 6,321-6,340 of 7,604 for speaker:James Bannon

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: Is the domestic water charge excluded in this?

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: Recently, there has been much talk of the EU imposing a regulation in this area on the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Does this amendment provide a vehicle for charging for domestic water supply?

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: The Minister of State is incorrect in claiming there are no water charges. There are water charges for business and agricultural connections.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: I would like clarity regarding service connection. From time to time throughout the country service connections are made on a temporary basis to provide a supply to a new house, for example, until such time as a mains passes the house, a group water scheme is established or the local authority mains supply is extended. Service connection is something that is fairly loosely applied in many...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: I am pleased the Government is taking full responsibility for this matter under paragraph (a) where there is likely to be a risk to human health. In the past, asbestos piping was used to distribute water along public roads, and the Government is taking full responsibility for the asbestos piping throughout the country. It is important for the Minister of State to carry out an audit of the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: There is an onus on the Government to provide funding to upgrade to health and safety standards of group water schemes where asbestos piping was installed in the past.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: This is a serious matter and we are all aware of the dangers of asbestos. Will the Minister of State give a guarantee that the mains water piping installed in the past throughout the country will not pose a risk to human health? I would like clarity on the issue because communities are concerned that some mains which were put in place in the 1960s and early 1970s included asbestos piping...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: I move amendment No. 117: In page 62, subsection (7), line 47, after "or" to insert "at any time". Amendment No. 117 is a technical amendment to clarify the second part of section 63(7). The purpose of amendment No. 118 is to take into account circumstances where there might be intermittent or negligible use, or all but total abandonment of a licence. The amendment seeks to avoid a situation...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: The Minister of State has again replaced my amendment with a Government amendment. I wished to insert the words "in whole or part" after the word "appeal" in section 67(2). As the Minister of State said earlier, subsection (2) as drafted appears to limit the power of An Bord Pleanála to refuse an appeal. There does not appear to be any middle ground. My amendment simply proposes to clarify...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: I move amendment No. 132: In page 68, subsection (2), lines 42 and 43, to delete all words from and including ", and" in line 42 down to and including "facilities" in line 43. The Minister of State may want to call my bluff on this one. He said earlier that he did not know where we stood on water charges and charges of various kinds. The Government got its answer in the recent local and...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: We discovered from the electorate that there was double that number of broken promises. We are opposed to the imposition of charges on the use of water in all contexts.

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: There was a great deal of praise in the House last week and today for the Irish handling of the EU Presidency and I do not take from that in the slightest way. However, I and others are disappointed the Government did not avail of the opportunity during its Presidency to enhance the status of the Irish language within the EU. Fianna Fáil, the Republican Party, has for years promised it would...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: I am a little confused by the Minister's reply. For a moment I thought he was taking the amendment on board regarding the conservation of water, which should be in subsections (3) and (4). Regarding amendment No. 75, the Minister referred to the water services authority, as he proposes to call the new body. It will be cut off from the local authority in the event of the privatisation of the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: Over the years we understood that local authorities were responsible for some eight to ten programmes, namely housing, roads, environmental issues etc. However, following its establishment, the National Roads Authority took a great deal of the powers away from the local authorities in respect of national primary and secondary routes. Now we are setting up the water services authority. This...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: Over the years when small group water schemes were constructed by local committees to keep down the costs and to counteract the risk of major disruption to country roads, wayleaves were signed crossing lands etc., by the land owners. People had a right to cross those lands. If they needed to cross them to carry out repairs permission was given by means of the wayleave. Are these agreements...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: The Minister of State is jumping the gun when he states the two amendments cover the same ground. Perhaps he will clarify who is responsible for damage caused to a mains. Will it be those working in the vicinity of such mains? Will the owners of the scheme, be it a local authority or private group sewerage or water scheme, be responsible for repairs even though they were not directly involved...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: I have been involved in a number of group water schemes down through the years and many of those with whom I worked on such schemes have now passed on. It is difficult to get people to put their names forward as trustees of a scheme given the implications involved. We need to introduce regulations in this area. Once a service is set up, nobody is willing to take on responsibility for its...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: I move amendment No. 83: In page 49, lines 7 and 8, to delete "Unless otherwise provided for in this Act or in any other enactment, no" and substitute "No". Legislation is supposed to bring clarity to certain matters. Section 46, as drafted, does not do so. It states on the one hand that the section means one thing and, on the other, states that it means something else. It goes without saying...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: In this amendment, I ask the Minister of State to delete the words "Unless otherwise provided for in this Act or in any other enactment". It is a conditional statement. There is no great clarity in this section as it stands. Perhaps the Minister will consider examining it again.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

James Bannon: I move amendment No. 84: In page 49, subsection (2), line 26, after "Act" to insert "but not for the purpose of imposing a charge on an end user". The amendment allows for meters to be used to measure water usage. I do not want section 47 to be a vehicle for the introduction of water charges. When we debated the Bill previously, I stated that I thought it would be used for that purpose.