Results 17,461-17,480 of 20,884 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Irish Water Funding (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: There has been an awful lot of analysis of Irish Water, but the way in which it has been set up as a utility means that it now has huge capacity to borrow and invest into the future. Deputy Murphy knows there will be economies and deferred costs in the future as a result of the investments that have been made. It will be possible to prioritise projects. Irish Water is currently in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homeless Accommodation Provision (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I thank Deputy Cowen for raising this issue. I also commend the Deputies opposite, many of whom participated in this process in a very non-political and open way. Many people outside the House of various political persuasions acted in a similar vein. I want to publicly thank them for that. On 4 December 2014, as everyone is aware, I hosted a special summit on homelessness to reaffirm the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Irish Water Funding (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The establishment of Irish Water is an integral component of the Government’s water sector reform strategy and will lead to lower costs and improved services in the future, providing much better outcomes for customers and the environment. Irish Water is being funded by a combination of domestic and non-domestic water charges, Government subvention and the raising of debt on capital...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Water Charges Yield (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The main aspects of the Irish Water funding model are set out in a detailed fact sheet published on my Department’s website. In 2015 Irish Water expects billed income from domestic customers to total €271 million and that from non-domestic customers to total some €229 million, giving a total billed income from customers of €500 million. The estimated annual cost...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Water Charges Yield (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I will not take lectures from Sinn Féin on voodoo economics, especially after the performance the other night.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Water Charges Yield (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: We are very happy that the funding model for Irish Water is very thorough and is going to work. The registration levels are improving all the time. As of yesterday, 1.03 million people had registered. The funding model for Irish Water and the expenditure is all set out. The €271 million for domestic income is what is expected and what has been gone through with the CER.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Water Charges Yield (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: It is impossible to assess now, but similar to all other schemes, the property tax and everything else, we expect a very high compliance rate. Income from commercial charges is €229 million, so that is bringing in a total of €500 million. With the €399 million, that is €899 million, as the Deputy is well aware, in relation to the total operating spend on Irish Water.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Water Charges Yield (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Another Deputy has a similar question later on. I am confident this will pass the market corporation test. Comments by the European Commission were leaked over the past several weeks. We are, however, confident the market corporation test will be met. Several Deputies have referred to the water conservation grant as if it would have a negative impact on this. This will be a demand-led...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. A range of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: In 2014 my Department provided funding of in excess of €26 million to support local authorities in their work to return over 2,300 vacant social housing units back to productive use. The three local authorities in Counties Galway and Mayo received funding of almost €1.9 million under this programme and returned 182 properties back to productive use. The funding provided by my...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Quality (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Since 1 January 2014 Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels including the delivery of water services capital infrastructure. I have not received any assessment from Irish Water specifically in relation to the presence of asbestos pipes in the water infrastructure. Asbestos cement...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Quality (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Under the European Communities (Drinking Water) Regulations 2014, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas library, suppliers of drinking water are required to ensure that the water supplied complies with the chemical and microbiological parameters set out in the Regulations. The procedures to be followed and the roles of water suppliers, the EPA and the HSE where there is...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Data (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department publishes a wide range of housing and planning statistics on our website and the total number of local authority units occupied can be found at the following link, under the area titled ‘LA rented units by area 2003+’ within the Social Housing Supports contents: . However, this information does not cover households currently renting directly from an Approved...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Provision (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Government is acutely aware of the difficulties facing people in accessing housing and is undertaking a range of actions to address the matter. My Department’s Housing Land Availability Survey (HLAS) estimates that there is in excess of 25,000 hectares of undeveloped residentially zoned land nationally, which equates to a capacity for over 500,000 new homes (based on a national...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I refer to the reply to Question No. 4 on today's Order Paper which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: An Bord Pleanála Review (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I will be announcing the commencement of the organisational review of An Bord Pleanala in the near future. The terms of reference for the review and the composition of the review group are currently being finalised.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Exemptions (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water can collect charges from each customer in receipt of water services provided by it. The Act also provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the CER has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I refer to the reply to Question No. 4 on today's O rder P aper which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Legislative Measures (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: As part of the introduction of a radical and comprehensive new regulatory framework to reform the regulation of the collection of household waste in 2015, I intend to introduce measures to require collectors to have a customer charter in place and to meet certain minimum standards of customer service, such as specified frequencies of collection. I will be setting out in law what the minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (28 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The extent of the challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with our EU commitments, is well understood by Government, as reflected in the National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development,published in April 2014 , and in the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill 2015, published last week. The National Policy Position provides a high-level policy...