Results 1,901-1,920 of 7,082 for speaker:John Paul Phelan

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017: All Stages (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: I will briefly wrap up in the interests of getting this legislation into the Seanad as soon as possible. With regard to Deputy Ó Cuív's comments on broadening the terms for future commissions, some of that is partly included in section 5 of the Bill. The other issues principally revolve around the need to keep county boundaries intact. That is a broader question. The...

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: No.

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: It is the practice that the commission sets the names. As Deputy Ó Cuív mentioned, this report has so many small parcels of counties in different constituencies. I accept the fact that the case in Louth is larger than other examples but there are numerous constituency names and if they were to be fully reflective of the counties that are included, we could have very strange...

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017: All Stages (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: On Friday.

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017: All Stages (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: It is the commission.

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017: All Stages (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: The information on Northern Ireland is taken from the mapping service in that jurisdiction.

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017: All Stages (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: They should not be in Cavan.

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017: All Stages (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: Mayo and Roscommon are hurling strongholds.

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017: All Stages (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time". There is not a huge crowd here, but I would like to do something irregular. I notice a group of my neighbours from south Kilkenny in the Public Gallery and I acknowledge their presence. The purpose of the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017 is to provide for the number of members of Dáil Éireann and for the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Register (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: Irish citizens are entitled to vote at Presidential, Dáil, European Parliament and local elections as well as in referendums. In general, to exercise their right to vote, all such persons must be ordinarily resident in the State, have reached the age of 18 years and be registered on the register of electors for the constituency or local electoral area in which they ordinarily reside. ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Government Reform (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: The Programme for a Partnership Government sets out a number of commitments in relation to local government reform to ensure that local government funding, structures and responsibilities strengthen local democracy into the future. In particular, the Programme includes a commitment to consider reducing the size of local electoral areas (LEAs). The preparatory work in support of a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Members (12 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: Under the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, each local authority has an elected council. The elected council is the policy-making arm of the local authority, who act by what are termed 'reserved functions'. These comprise mainly decisions on important matters of policy and finance. The day-to-day management of each local authority is vested in a full time Chief Executive to whom...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Pyrite Remediation Programme (7 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I will speak on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy English. I am substituting for him as he must attend the Dáil to answer oral parliamentary questions. I wish to clarify that the Pyrite Resolution Act 2013 provided the statutory framework for the establishment of the Pyrite Resolution Board and for the making of a pyrite remediation...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Fire Safety (7 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: As a result of the fact that he is taking parliamentary questions in the Dáil, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, cannot be here. I am taking this matter on his behalf. On 27 June 2017, in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy and in recognition of fears expressed in the context of fire safety, the Minister tasked his Department's national...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Government Reform (7 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: The Programme for a Partnership Government sets out a number of requirements in relation to local government reform. This involves the submission of a report to Government and the Oireachtas on potential measures to boost local government leadership and accountability, and to ensure that local government funding, structures and responsibilities strengthen local democracy. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Funding (7 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: The funding system that applies to local authorities is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from central Government. Income from local sources, such as commercial rates and goods and services, accounts for approximately 70% of the revenue (current) funding sources for local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Services (6 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: The Local Government Act 2001 (Section 237A) Regulations 2003 set out statutory provisions for local authorities and their dealings with members of the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Regulations provide that each local authority must deal with requests for access to information by Oireachtas members "as expeditiously as may be and in accordance with a proper level of customer...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Register (5 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: The Electoral Act 1992 provides for the registration of voters where they are ‘ordinarily resident’. The determination of ‘ordinary residence’ is a matter for decision by each registration authority in the light of the circumstances of each particular case. Depending on the circumstances, the registration authority may consider it appropriate to register people...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Boundaries Review (5 Dec 2017)

John Paul Phelan: The Programme for a Partnership Government sets out a number of commitments in relation to local government reform to ensure that local government funding, structures and responsibilities strengthen local democracy into the future. In particular, the Programme includes a commitment to consider reducing the size of local electoral areas. The preparatory work in support of a review of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Reform (30 Nov 2017)

John Paul Phelan: The Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2017 was published, and initiated in Dáil Éireann, on 22 November 2017. The Bill, and its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum, is available on the website of the Houses of the Oireachtas.