Results 9,421-9,440 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: We are working effectively with various sectors of business to secure major advances in the recovery of particular waste streams. The EPA reported last year that Ireland achieved its 25% target for the recovery of packaging waste in 2001 and Repak indicates that good progress continues to be made towards the 50% target for 2005. We will achieve this. The recovery of construction and...

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: I know the Deputy cannot stomach it, but he should listen.

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: My focus has been on actions like the strengthening of the enforcement provisions and penalties, which I provided for in the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 and the provision of €7 million to support local authorities in delivering on the first year of a major five-year waste enforcement programme, with a commitment of further funding in later years. I am resolutely determined to...

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: I know the Deputy would like to cut down the rain forest to provide the paper for such a trail. That is typically consistent Green Party policy — half a rain forest to provide a paper trail.

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: For God's sake, give me a break.

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: The Deputies should sit down and listen. Instead, of course, the Green Party seeks to revisit, in an unhelpful way, the debate which we had in this House just over a month ago on the introduction of electronic voting and counting. That debate was not about seeking safeguards for electronic voting.

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: It was not about security.

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: It was not about the integrity of the voting process.

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: It was purely about political point-scoring and it was damaging to the credibility of politics. This is clearly demonstrated by the public statements of the Opposition parties that they are in favour of electronic voting. Indeed, some have gone further and said they are in favour of Internet voting. That element of the motion before the House tonight, referring to the electoral process, is in...

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: Did Deputy Sargent ask the electorate in Dublin North for their views after the 2002 general election? No, but my Department did, and 87% of voters surveyed indicated that they preferred the electronic voting system to the paper ballot.

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: Is Deputy Sargent suggesting 87% of constituents are wrong? In total, the system has been used successfully 400,000 times in this country.

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: Thank God the people of this country do. They do not vote for the Green Party in any numbers. However, I accept the need to ensure that there is utmost confidence in our electoral system. That is why, in response to the concerns that were raised, the Government decided to establish an independent commission on electronic voting to report to the Ceann Comhairle on the secrecy and accuracy of...

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: If that is the biggest blow the Opposition can wield and it does not listen to me, it can forget about it. We have not been afraid to innovate to suit new circumstances. Our urban renewal policies have reopened our cities and town centres as places in which to live. We have encouraged the provision of higher residential densities in our urban cores to make better use of the available land. In...

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: Give me a break. It is clear that social and affordable houses under Part V are now coming on stream in increasing numbers. We have identified sites under the affordable housing initiative under Sustaining Progress, which will deliver more affordable houses.

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: Deputies are complaining that the planning system has not delivered yet, but when I try to introduce efficiency in the planning system to bring certainty to it, they also complain that it is not working. Would the Green Party Members make up their minds what they stand for? The people of this country do not have a bull's notion what they stand for.

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: An incredible €1.8 billion will be invested this year in the various social and affordable housing schemes administered by my Department. The year 2002 saw the delivery of the highest level of output under the range of social and affordable housing measures for over 15 years, when the social and affordable housing needs of in excess of 12,700 households were met. While the March 2002...

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: It covers people who are single, people with families and people in a variety of existing accommodation. We need to ensure a range of responses that reflects these different needs and their relative priority. The Government's housing programme has been designed to respond to the full range of housing needs. To further tackle this issue, I recently asked local authorities to put in place...

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: I know it is difficult for the Green Party to count beyond five but this is a 20-year planning framework for achieving more balanced regional development. It is probably true to say that the Green Party's real concern is that it will not be around in 20 years' time to see it come to fruition, whereas Fianna Fáil will still be in government, making and leading the dynamic changes that have...

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: There is a strong focus on promoting the scale and critical mass at strategic regional locations — gateways and hubs — to lead and drive regional competitiveness. These strategic locations will in turn reach out to wider areas. In doing so, they will allow all areas of the country to grow to their potential. That has always been the approach of Fianna Fáil in government. We embrace all...

Confidence in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Motion. (30 Mar 2004)

Martin Cullen: This year an unprecedented €4,610 on average will be spent on every kilometre of non-national road. Regional planning guidelines are well advanced in all regions and are expected to be adopted by May. Gateway implementation frameworks have been put in place — for example, the Cork area strategic plan and the Galway planning and transportation study. The Government's decentralisation...