Results 16,521-16,540 of 20,884 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2013, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas library, brought into operation a grants scheme to assist with the cost of remediation of individual septic tanks and domestic waste water treatment systems which are deemed, following inspection under the EPA’s National Inspection Plan and the subsequent...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Services (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Under Section 78 of the Local Government Act 2001, the provision of premises and facilities in the public library service is a matter for each local authority in its capacity as a library authority. The Library Development Programme Guidelines, issued by my Department in April 2015, provide that each local authority’s library development programme should define the authority’s...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Applications (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Under the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Mortgage to rent scheme cases are offered to AHBs that have expressed an interest in the scheme. At the time this case is offered, full financial details are provided to enable the AHBs to make an informed choice as to how feasible the transaction is for them. If an AHB does not think the transaction is feasible with the financial information provided,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Funding (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department notified local authorities of their block grant allocations under the 2015 Rural Water Programme earlier this month. Responsibility for the administration of the programme, under which funding is provided for group water and group sewerage schemes, has been devolved to local authorities since 1997. The selection, prioritisation and approval of individual group scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Control of Dogs (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: The rehoming policy in respect of dogs in local authority shelters for dogs seized, accepted or detained for the purposes of the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 to 2010 is a matter for each local authority and I have no function in the matter. Under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, the management and control of local authority dwellings is vested in individual housing authorities, subject to the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Control of Dogs (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: I am aware of the views referred to, and refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 542, 543 and 559 of 6 May 2015 which set out the position in relation to the onus on dog owners and those in control of dogs to act responsibly by keeping their dogs under effectual control, irrespective of breed and in relation to review of the relevant legislation. I am satisfied that these specific...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Applications (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: I refer to the reply to Question No 269 of 12 March 2015 in which I outlined that an application for provisional approval was received by my Department on 9 June 2014 and that this approval was granted the following day. I understand from the Housing Agency that lender’s consent to share information has now been received and that this property was issued by the Housing Agency to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Noise Pollution (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Currently, a person experiencing noise nuisance may contact their local authority, which may initiate proceedings on grounds of noise nuisance under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992. This Act also provides for any person, or group of persons, to seek an order in the District Court to have noise giving reasonable cause for annoyance abated. The procedures involved have been...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Control of Dogs (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: For dogs generally, the owner or any other person in charge of a dog must accompany it and keep it under effectual control in any place other than the premises of the owner, the premises of the person in control of the dog, or other premises with the consent of the owner of the premises. The Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 (as amended) require that 10 specific breeds of dogs, and crosses...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Staff Recruitment (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: A total of four staff were recruited to my Department in 2014. The information requested in relation to the number of staff recruited in 2014 in each of the local authorities or the state agencies is not available in my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Staff Redeployment (26 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: A total of 25 staff members from my Department were on secondment to other Government Departments, State Agencies or abroad in 2014. The number of staff seconded from local authorities and state agencies is not available in my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Control of Dogs (19 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: There is no prohibition on the use of the breeds listed in the Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 for autism assistance, disability support work, or other therapeutic roles. The requirements in the 1998 Regulations for dogs of certain breeds to be securely muzzled in a public place and be led by a sufficiently strong chain or leash, by a person over the age of sixteen years who is capable of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Referendum Campaigns (19 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: The principal change to the Referendum Act 1998 provided for in the Referendum Act 2011 was to repeal the provision requiring a Referendum Commission to set out the arguments for and against a referendum proposal. That change was made following the recommendation of the All-Party Committee on the Constitution. Since that change was enacted 11 referendums have been held and a Referendum...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (19 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: During 2014, my Department provided € 4.3 million in Exchequer funding to Cork City Council, as the lead authority for the South-West Region, towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under ‘Section 10’ funding arrangements. Housing authorities also contribute to the funding costs for their areas from their own resources. I have...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (19 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 459 to 461, inclusive, together. My Department liaises with a range of stakeholders on an ongoing basis in relation to issues of homelessness, including non-governmental service providers such as Focus Ireland and the Simon Communities of Ireland. Such liaison includes written correspondence, direct communication, participation at a variety of fora and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: EU Directives (19 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Under the Water Services Acts 2007-2013, Irish Water has statutory powers to request its customers and certain specified persons or bodies to provide it with information so that Irish Water can perform its functions under these Acts including the collection of data to develop its customer database. In particular, section 26 of the Water Services Act 2013 provides Irish Water with the power to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Commercial Rates (19 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 466 to 468, inclusive, together. Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Act 2001. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual local...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Commercial Rates Calculations (19 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Act 2001. The Commissioner of Valuation has sole responsibility for all valuation matters, including the method of valuation. The levying and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (19 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 470, 471 and 474 together. General statistics on local authority housing stock, including vacant social housing units, are published annually by the Local Government Management Agency. The most recent statistics are the Service Indicators in Local Authorities 2013 which are available on the following website. The table below shows the number of units returned...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Rented Accommodation Costs and Controls (19 May 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Daft.ie Rental Report for Quarter 1 2015, which was published last week, reported that year-on-year inflation in rents continued to ease slightly in the first three months of 2015. It reported that rents nationally were 8.2% higher than in the first quarter of 2014, down from the 10.4% annual increase recorded in mid-2014. While the report recorded a slow-down in rent inflation in...