Results 821-840 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: In my constituency many hundreds of houses depend on water from private sources such as wells and not group water schemes. Many hundreds of houses in the upland areas of County Wicklow and the mountain areas of County Dublin depend on water from private wells. If the amendments were accepted it would give people the right to have water taken to them at taxpayers' expense if a private well...
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: The pointââ
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: That is fine with me.
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: There are 200,000 households connected to wells in this country. Not all of those would have been built post-planning; many would have been built before planning. It would be irresponsible to suggest that every one of those be connected up to a pipe.
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: That is the effect.
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: I move amendment No. 3: In page 14, to delete line 5 and substitute the following: ""groundwater" means all water below the land surface that is not in a pipe or similarly contained;". I promised on Committee Stage to revisit the definition of "groundwater" on Report Stage. Deputy Gilmore mentioned on Committee Stage that the ambiguity in the wording of the existing definition could result...
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: I strongly hold the sentiment that water services should not be privatised. We had a lengthy discussion on this issue on Committee Stage. Amendment No. 17 prevents the asset from being transferred because the essence of privatisation is the question of who owns the asset. The new subsection (12) inserted by the amendment needs elaboration because I do not have any principled disagreement...
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: All I can do is assure the Deputy that the words mean what they appear to mean. The central issue of privatisation is who owns an asset. That asset may not be transferred in law, and amendment No. 17 specifically deals with that. The same question arises regarding use and the DBO. In the latter case, the contracting parties are contractors to the council, but that does not give them...
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: It is the local authority.
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: No, it cannot. Section 40(7) provides that, notwithstanding the contracting out of the service to a third party, the contracting water services authority will retain responsibility for ensuring that it complies with all statutory requirements. There will be no danger in a DBO process of any slippage. The asset, which is the water and the system, will remain with the water services...
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: This is a very important point and the answer is that it will be owned by the water authority. Water is extracted under abstraction orders and those provide ownership of an abstraction right to the local authority. The Deputy brought up that point previously and I am sorry that I did not answer it. He raises a very important point, which has been dealt with.
- Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: That is a record; the Deputy got it in first.
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: I am aware of the concerns of Deputy Connaughton. I have provided â¬27.4 million specifically to Galway County Council to provide for upgrading and further capacity. Luimnagh produces good water and this funding will provide conservation measures and storage capacity as well as additional treatment. There is a problem at Luimnagh and Tuam, as Deputy Connaughton is aware, because 70% of...
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: I move amendment No. 1: In page 12, to delete lines 1 to 10 and substitute the following: "(5) The Fisheries Acts 1959 to 2006, section 111 and this subsection may be cited together as the Fisheries Acts 1959 to 2007, and shall be read together as one. (6) The Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2006, section 114 and this subsection may be cited together as the Planning and Development Acts...
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: We are discussing amendments Nos. 1 and 40 to 43, inclusive.
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: Homes were flooded.
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: The Taoiseach has not gone to the park yet.
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: I wanted to make the point that we are talking about some very technical amendments rather than the M50, but I will return to that question.
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: I thank Deputies for a very wide-ranging discussion covering such matters as likely outbreaks of cryptosporidium, public private partnerships and DBOs. We have also discussed the very fundamental point touched on by Deputy Michael Higgins, namely, the appropriate place to allow them. The last three contributions were particularly interesting, since they go to the very heart of the Bill....
- Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Report Stage (25 Apr 2007)
Dick Roche: I address this specific comment to Deputy Michael D. Higgins as he raised the important point about the pearl mussel. It is not simply an airy-fairy or touchy-feely issue, it is a matter of some significance because the pearl mussel, in addition to being a species which we should protect, and biodiversity would demand we do that, is also important as an indicator of water purity. That was...