Results 17,421-17,440 of 20,884 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Administration (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: The expected level of bills to be issued to domestic customers in 2015 and 2016, being €271m and €274m respectively, was set out in November 2014 by my Department in the document entitled “Fact Sheet 1: Financing Irish Water”. This document is available on my Department’s website at In November 2014 I announced a package of measures to ensure that domestic...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Leader Programmes Administration (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 554 and 557 together. My Department is currently working with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the European Commission to finalise the text of the Rural Development Programme with a view to commencing the LEADER Local Development Strategy selection process in the coming weeks. The selection process will be open and transparent and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Social Housing Strategy 2020targets the provision of over 35,000 new social housing units over the lifetime of the Strategy. I expect that 7 ,400 of these will be delivered in 2015 through the following methods : 3,000 through leasing, 2,000 through the Rental Accommodation Scheme, returning 1,000 vacant properties back to productive use , and 1,400 units through direct build or...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Political Funding (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: The relevant legislation dealing with political donations accounts is the Electoral Act 1997. Section 23B(1) of this Act provides that an accounting unit of a political party which receives, in any particular year, a monetary donation the value of which exceeds €100 shall open and maintain an account in an institution in the State and shall lodge that donation and any further monetary...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: I am committed to ensuring that the regulatory regime applying to waste collection is robust and delivers quality outcomes for householders and the environment. As part of implementation of the Government’s waste policy, A Resource Opportunity, my Department carried out a public consultation last year on options for revising the existing regulatory regime which applies to waste...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Disposal (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: As part of the Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI) Review, my Department published a report on waste tyres in November 2013, which concluded that the current system is not functioning as intended, with a lack of basic information, poor structure, poor environmental outcomes in the form of large stockpiles of waste tyres and a substantial proportion of waste tyres unaccounted for. The...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Public Private Partnerships Data (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: The respective functions of local authority officials and elected members are provided for in the Local Government Acts and in a wide range of other legislative codes. Under local government law, elected members act by resolution in performing reserved functions specified in legislation. Any functions which are not specifically designated as reserved functions are deemed to be executive...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Arts Funding (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: The provision of art works associated with capital projects funded through my Department’s capital programmes is a matter primarily for the relevant local authority. Details in relation to the scheme are available on the Publications page of my Department’s website at . It is stated in the circular letter to local authorities that the allocation for the art project under the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Expenditure (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 567 and 568 together. Information sought by the Deputy in relation to the period prior to 2004 is not readily available in my Department and would involve a very significant amount of administrative time to compile due to changes to financial systems in the period concerned. However, those details which are available are being compiled and will be forwarded...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Public Relations Contracts Data (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department has engaged the services of external public relations companies for a number of specific high profile campaigns including Race Against Waste and climate change awareness. Details of the amounts paid in respect of hiring external public relations companies for such services are set out in the tables below. Company Name Contract Amount Paid (including VAT) Year Mary Murphy...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Legislative Measures (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 introduces a new court procedure for the recovery of possession of local authority dwellings and strengthens the powers of housing authorities to obtain court orders excluding persons engaged in anti-social behaviour from local authority accommodation and estates. The Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020, published in...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: The construction of 35 new social housing units and ancillary works at the location referred to was approved in principle by my Department in March 2014. Dublin City Council has since advanced the planning and tendering of the project and I understand that construction is due to commence later this month.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Election Management System (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: In order to be able to vote at an election or referendum in Ireland, a person’s name must be entered on the register of electors for the constituency in which the elector ordinarily resides in the State. The compilation and maintenance of the register of electors is a matter for each local registration authority (City, County or City and County Council). Subject to age and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Staff Data (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department received local authority staff sanction applications for 2,394 acting, contract or permanent positions during 2014, of which 1, 854 have been approved to date . In addition, 427 sanction requests have been received since the beginning of 2015, of which 227 have been approved. A breakdown of sanction requests by local authority is being compiled and will be forwarded to the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management Expenditure (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: Section 33 of the Waste Management Act 1996 requires a local authority to collect, or arrange for the collection of , waste within its functional area. However, it also provides that this requirement does not apply where any of the following conditions are met: (a) an adequate waste collection service is available, (b) the estimated costs of the collection of the waste concerned by the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Rental Accommodation Scheme Data (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: U p to the end of December 2014 some 955 households have been transferred by Meath County Council from Rent Supplement to the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and other social housing supports in County Meath. Numbers in RAS in each local authority area are subject to continuous fluctuation as contracts end, tenants move on, landlords withdraw from the scheme and new tenancies are...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tribunals of Inquiry Expenditure (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments (the Mahon Tribunal) was established in October 1997 and published its Final Report in March 2012. The work of the Tribunal at present is largely focused on the settlement of the remainder of third-party and court costs incurred during the work of the Tribunal. In relation to costs applications arising from the publication...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Charges Application (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: Under section 11 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, local authorities are liable to pay Local Property Tax (LPT) in respect of a dwelling that they own, other than a dwelling that accommodates people with special housing needs The rents charged by individual housing authorities for their housing stock, under the Housing Acts, is a matter for local authorities. In accordance with...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Air Quality (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: The ban on the marketing, sale and distribution of bituminous fuel (or ‘smoky coal ban’ as it is commonly known) was first introduced in Dublin in 1990 in response to severe episodes of winter smog that resulted from the widespread use of smoky coal for residential heating . The ban proved very effective in reducing particulate matter and sulphur dioxide levels in Dublin. As...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (3 Feb 2015)

Alan Kelly: Under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, Kildare County Council as housing authority is responsible for the management and maintenance of the local authority social housing stock for the area concerned . My Department assists local authorities in developing and maintaining their housing stock through various funding programmes . The effective management of vacant and boarded up social...