Results 17,541-17,560 of 20,884 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local and Community Development Programme (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 551 and 552 together. A key purpose of Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) is to coordinate, manage and oversee the implementation of local and community development programmes. It is the intention of Government that, in delivering on the mandate to bring improved coherence to local and community development, LCDCs actively pursue involvement...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Animal Welfare (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 553 to 555, inclusive, together. Each year, my Department publishes statistics in respect of a range of dog control responsibilities of local authorities, including the statistics sought in the Questions under reply. Information up to 2013 is available on the Publications page of my Department’s website at . My Department will shortly be compiling...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Library Services (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The report Managing the Delivery of Effective Library Services , which issued to all local authorities in October 2014, contains detailed arrangements for the planning and implementation of new structures in order to establish stronger, more effective and efficient public libraries and deliver better library services to local communities and citizens, in line with Government policy on public...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Ministerial Advisers Remuneration (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The information requested is set out in the Tables. Special Adviser Costs 2011 – 2014 Year Salary Costs * Travel & Subsistence Costs Redundancy & Severance Costs 2011 €194,963.58 €1,111.44 €145,519.55 2012 €339,348.15 €5,572.92 €0.00 2013 €393,867.71 €10,915.17 €0.00 ...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Ministerial Transport (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: In line with Government policy, I do not have the use of a State car. My Department employs two civilian drivers for driving duties in my own car, in line with approved arrangements. The same arrangements were in place for my predecessor and the salary, redundancy and severance payments and subsistence payments of his drivers, together with the mileage costs paid to him are included in the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Plastic Bag Levy (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Receipts from the plastic bag levy and landfill levy for each year are published in the Environment Fund Annual Accounts. Annual Accounts for the Environment Fund up to and including 2012 are available on my Department’s website at the following link: . The 2013 Annual Accounts will be published on my Department’s website in due course, after they have been audited by the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Administration (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides for the transfer of responsibility for the delivery of water services from the local authorities to Irish Water and, with effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for the provision of public water services, including responsibility for the charging of non-domestic customers. The Act provides that Irish Water can collect charges from...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Provision (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: On 4 December 2014, I hosted a special Summit on Homelessness to reaffirm the Government's commitment to end involuntary long-term homelessness by the end of 2016. A number of actions arising from the Summit were considered at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy and Public Service Reform on 8 December and were then formalised into an Action Plan to Address Homelessnesswhich...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Rental Accommodation Scheme Applications (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 specifically provides that the Minister's power to issue policy directions and guidelines to housing authorities in relation to their housing functions shall not be construed as enabling him to exercise any power or control in relation to any individual case with which a housing authority is or may be concerned. Accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Motor Tax Exemptions (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Where a vehicle is under current taxation and where there is a minimum of three months remaining on a disc at the time of surrender of the disc, an owner may surrender the disc to the issuing licensing authority, and where the licensing authority is satisfied that the owner has ceased to use the vehicle because of illness, injury or other physical disability, a refund will issue for the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management Regulations (20 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department is currently considering options for the development of a new regulatory framework to reform the regulation of the collection of household waste. Such options might include 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 for different bin types....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Dormant Accounts Fund Deposits (15 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Dormant Accounts Acts 2001 to 2012, together with the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003, provide a framework for the administration of unclaimed accounts in credit institutions (i.e. banks, building societies, An Post and insurance companies) and unclaimed life assurance policies in insurance undertakings. The primary purpose of the legislation is to re-unite the original...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Establishment (15 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 219 and 220 together. To promote sustainable use of water and to enhance water conservation in households, the Department of Social Protection will administer, on behalf of my Department, a €100 water conservation grant for households (principal private dwellings) that complete a valid response to Irish Water’s customer registration process....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Library Services (15 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The charging of library fees and levying of fines and all decisions relating to the management of library fines and fees are operational matters for local authorities. Accordingly, the information sought is not available in my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Staff Data (15 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department gathers quarterly data on staff numbers in local authorities. The data gathered do not provide detail in respect of individual grades or job titles within each local authority, and accordingly, the information requested is not available in my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (15 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: On 20 May 2014, the Implementation Plan on the State's Response to Homelessnesswas published in which the Government's approach to delivery on its objective of ending involuntary long-term homelessness by the end of 2016 was outlined. A copy of this plan is available on my Department's website at, . This plan sets out a range of measures to secure a ring-fenced supply of accommodation to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Quality (15 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: With effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for public water services. Under the European Communities (Drinking Water) Regulations 2014, suppliers of drinking water, including Irish Water, are required to ensure that the water supplied complies with the chemical and microbiological parameters set out in the Regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Funding (15 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Responsibility for the administration of the Rural Water Programme, which includes group sewerage schemes, has been devolved to local authorities since 1997. The annual block grant allocations provided by my Department to the local authorities under the programme are based, in the first instance, on the requests for funding received from the authorities at the beginning of each year. The...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Reform (15 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Details of payments to individual councillors, which are not available in my Department , would be required in order to provide a reasonably accurate estimate of the savings arising on account of the reduction of the number of councillors . Notwithstanding this, it is estimated that the savings involved will amount to approximately €3.7 million per annum. However, this is a very...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Air Pollution (15 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The main provisions of the ban on the marketing, sale, distribution and burning of bituminous solid fuels (or ‘smoky coal ban’ as it is commonly known) were last reviewed in 2012, following a public consultation exercise. Following this review, all towns with populations greater than 15,000 people were added to the smoky coal ban, which aligned the ban more closely with EPA air...