Results 18,261-18,280 of 20,884 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Administration (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: Irish Water is in the process of compiling the relevant data to ensure that customers can be billed accurately and has sent validation packs to approximately 2 million households. To implement the changed charging regime, and to provide those households who have yet to register with an opportunity to respond to the Irish Water customer registration campaign, so that they may avail of the new...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Establishment (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 528 and 529 together. The Government has embarked on a programme of ambitious reform of the water sector, as the traditional water services system was in need of fundamental change. Our public water infrastructure is deficient and inadequate as a consequence of decades of under-investment and the lack of a truly, national approach that could maximise the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Administration (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 530 and 548 together. I refer to my reply to Question No. 108 on today’s Order Paper which sets out the position on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Seniors Alert Scheme (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 531 to 533, inclusive, together. My Department manages the Seniors Alert Scheme which encourages community support for vulnerable older people in our communities by providing grant assistance towards the purchase and installation of personal monitored alarms to enable older persons, of limited means, to continue to live securely in their homes with...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management (2 Dec 2014)

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 somewhere between a quarter and a half of waste tyres...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Meters Installation (2 Dec 2014)

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 responsibility for the delivery of the domestic metering programme. I understand that there are two companies manufacturing the meters used on the metering programme – Itron and Diehl. These companies were...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Meters Installation (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Water Services Act 2013 provided for the establishment of Irish Water as an independent subsidiary within the Bórd Gáis Éireann Group (now Ervia) and assigns the necessary powers to allow Irish Water to undertake the water metering programme, which commenced in August 2013 and will be completed by mid-2016. Irish Water has informed my Department that its tendering process...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Staff Recruitment (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: The moratorium on recruitment and promotion in the public service was introduced in March 2009 in response to the financial crisis. My Department operates a delegated sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for implementation of the moratorium in relation to local authorities, and any exceptions to the moratorium in local authorities require sanction from my Department....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Fund (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: The Government recently announced a new package of measures relating to water charges and financing of Irish Water. As part of the package of measures I announced a changed approach to the treatment of water infrastructure for commercial rates purposes such that Government subvention does not need to be paid to Irish Water to fund this cost, and can instead be redirected to provide equivalent...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Building Regulations Amendments (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I have no plans to revoke the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014. Over 4,700 new construction projects have been notified to Building Control Authorities across the local government sector since these regulations came into operation on 1 March 2014. Evidence to date suggests that the Construction industry is responding well to the new regulatory framework. Oversight of activity by...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: EU Directives (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 540 and 541 together. Under Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC (known as the Construction Products Regulation or the “CPR”), manufacturers are required to provide robust and reliable...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Eligibility (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: The implementation of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is a key Government priority and a major pillar of the Social Housing Strategy 2020, which I launched last week. HAP is designed to bring together all the social housing supports provided by the State, with local authorities being responsible for all households with an established housing need, including households in receipt...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Ministerial Correspondence (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I regret that the reply to Question No. 150 of 20 November 2014 contained incorrect information; an administrative error resulted in the correspondence from Sligo County Council being filed erroneously. I did receive a request from the Cathaoirleach and members of Sligo County Council as outlined in Question No. 150 of 20 November 2014. As advised in the response to that Question, I met with...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Road Improvement Schemes (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: Under section 179 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, and Part 8 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, a local authority may undertake specific development works subject to the procedures set out in Part 8 of the Regulations. Such works include the construction, widening or realignment of a road of over 100 metres in an urban area, or of over one kilometre in any other area....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Administration (2 Dec 2014)

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. Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at or by telephone on 1890 578 578. I have on this occasion raised the issue...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Offshore Islands (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I refer to the reply to Question No. 83 on today’s Order Paper which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Control of Dogs (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: Specific control requirements in relation to certain dog breeds are set out in the Control of Dogs (Restriction of Certain Dogs ) Regulations 1998. The specific control requirements in these Regulations are a balanced and workable arrangement which recognise the rights of dog owners as well as the needs of society to be protected from dogs with a significant capability to inflict very serious...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Electricity Transmission Network (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: The issue of the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields was the subject of an Expert Group Report commissioned by the Government and published in March 2007. This report, entitled Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields, which considered issues such as digital signals, microwaves and mobile phone masts, is available for download on my Department’s website at: . My...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 555 and 556 together. The Land Aggregation Scheme (LAGS) was introduced in 2010 as part of revised arrangements for the funding of land for social housing purposes. The primary purpose of the Scheme was to assist in the unwinding of loans taken out by housing authorities to purchase land for the social and affordable housing investment programme. As such the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Funding (2 Dec 2014)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 557 and 558 together. 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. Irish Water has incurred €155.7 m in establishment costs to the end of October 2014. In addition to establishment costs, in 2014, Irish Water has incurred...