Results 1,641-1,660 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Written Answers — Urban Renewal Schemes: Urban Renewal Schemes (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: Under the Urban and Village Renewal measure of the Southern and Eastern Regional Operational Programme, 2000-2006, South Dublin County Council spent a total of €2.48m on urban renewal projects in their area. Information on these projects is not available on the basis of postal districts or on a Dáil constituency basis. However, of the overall amount some €1.054m was spent on urban...

Written Answers — Water and Sewerage Schemes: Water and Sewerage Schemes (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: The Bruff Sewerage Scheme, which is being advanced as a grouped project with schemes for Dromcollogher, Hospital and Pallasgreen, is approved to advance through planning in my Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2005-2007. My Department is awaiting submission of Limerick County Council's Preliminary Report for the project.

Written Answers — Local Government Act 2001: Local Government Act 2001 (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 566 and 567 together. It is a matter for each local authority to deal with requests for access to information by a parliamentary representative as expeditiously as possible and in accordance with a proper level of customer service. In this regard local authorities are required to put in place arrangements to ensure that systems, procedures and time frames...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: The National Strategy on Biodegradable Waste promotes the reuse of textiles. In particular it advises householders to bring good quality textiles to charity and second-hand shops and encourages local authorities to accept waste textiles at recycling centres. There is currently competition between organisations for donations of textiles. Householders should exercise caution in relation to...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: The Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines for Planning Authorities were published in April 2005. They endeavour to strike a balance between a good planning framework for rural housing and making it easier for those who are part of, or have links to, local rural communities to build a house. This, of course, is subject to proposals meeting normal standards in relation to matters such as...

Written Answers — Freedom of Information: Freedom of Information (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: Issues in relation to Parliamentary Questions are matters for the House. I am not aware of such an undertaking having been given in the terms claimed in the Question. Statutory based arrangements for the supply of specified information to Oireachtas members were established under the Local Government Act 2001 (Section 237A) Regulations 2003. As I have stated on previous occasions, I expect...

Written Answers — Water and Sewerage Schemes: Water and Sewerage Schemes (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: Management of public drinking water supplies is generally the responsibility of the local authorities, which have a range of instruments and measures available to them to produce and conserve sufficient stocks to meet anticipated needs and to ensure quality standards. In addition, my Department coordinates and finances a major programme of investment in improved infrastructure, active...

Written Answers — National Emergency Plan: National Emergency Plan (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: Emergency preparedness and response is based on a "lead Department" principle, whereby responsibility for specific emergency planning and emergency management functions rests with the relevant State Department and its agencies, where appropriate. Therefore, there is no single national emergency plan but rather a number of such plans to enable a coordinated response to a variety of major...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I refer to the reply to Question No. 562 of 20 February 2007. Under the Government's decentralisation programme, a total of 682 Dublin based posts in my Department will be transferred to four locations in the South East: Wexford (270 posts); Waterford (225 posts); New Ross (125 posts) and Kilkenny (62 posts). My Department's Decentralisation Implementation Plans, which are published on the...

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: The Deputy is correct. In fact, the more one studies this matter the more one becomes aware of some quite extraordinary factors. I wish to place a few more statistics on the record of the House. As the Deputy knows, there is an academic hypothesis that the total number of people on the electoral register should be roughly the equivalent of 85% of the 18 plus population. That would mean...

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: No.

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: To be fair to the local authority, it accepted that it had made a mistake. Let us not quibble about it. Voter registration is a challenging issue, as is the question of registration fraud. The Deputy said that some people will not know if they are on the register until polling day. I will examine the idea of having a further publicity campaign to ask people to check the register.

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: We know the Deputy is under pressure.

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I do not disagree with anything the Deputy said. The whole point of introducing the supplementary register arrangements a few years ago was specifically to try to assist those people who had reached the age of majority to get on the voting register. We should examine anything that would make it easier for legitimate voters to register. The Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, has told...

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: The Deputy is correct. The process should be made as informal as possible. I am not suggesting that all young people are frightened to go into a Garda station but the less formality one has the better. At the same time, we must protect the system against fraudulent registration.

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: There may well be some merit in the Deputy's point but it would require primary legislation. The Deputy will recall the debate we had in this House on that subject. One of the extraordinary things we discovered was that when we tried to make a modest change to allow for an extension of dates, which was something everyone in the House supported, we had to do so by legislation. We discovered...

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: Maybe not but that is a matter for the people to decide, rather than the Deputy or myself.

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I strongly believe that the electoral registration process is something we should take out of party politics. We should have cross-party agreement on it and do the job as soon as the election is over.

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I was open to any suggestion that would work.

Register of Electors. (27 Feb 2007)

Dick Roche: I made the point that it simply was not possible or appropriate to run the census-gathering exercise at the same time, as part of the registration process. The Deputy and I disagreed on that matter. The advice I received and international practice suggest that was not a practical solution. I was and still am very open to any means of further improving the matter and this will still be the...