Results 61-80 of 1,321 for speaker:Ciarán Cuffe in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Property Management Companies: Property Management Companies (5 Oct 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I refer to the reply to Question No. 1498 of 29 September, 2010, which sets out the position on this matter.

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (30 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: The Department has facilities in place which allow staff to undertake work while away from the Department's offices, including the provision of laptops, remote access to its email systems and Blackberry devices, and is currently investigating the options for extending access to other Departmental systems in addition to email. Through these and similar measures I would expect to see most...

Written Answers — National Cycle Policy: National Cycle Policy (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: Census 2006 showed that nationally 36,306 people cycled to work, representing a mode share of 2%. Since then, initiatives such as Workplace Travel Planning, the Green Schools Programme, new cycle routes and Dublin City Council's Dublinbikes Scheme have encouraged and supported cycling. Next year Census 2011 will provide a figure for cycling numbers and mode share, and I would expect to see...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: My Department is currently finalising the draft Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Spatial Planning and National Roads. These draft Guidelines are aimed at ensuring that roads planning and policy, and development planning and management processes are appropriately and effectively aligned, in order to guide development to the most suitable locations to maximise the investment in the...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1417 and 1490 together. I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 537 and 538 of 8 July 2010. Each planning authority is required to include details of contributions received in that year, together with information on how the contributions have been expended, in the statutory annual accounts of the authority. A new requirement was introduced for the financial...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: Meath County Council undertook, in their County Development Plan 2007-2013, to explore the designation of a Landscape Conservation Area, pursuant to section 204 of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2010, in respect of the Tara and Skryne areas. Furthermore, the County Meath Heritage Plan 2007-2011 also includes an action to seek to pilot the development and adoption of a Landscape...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: My Department gathers aggregate data on enforcement activity from planning authorities, including data on the number of enforcement notices issued under sections 154 and 155 of the Planning Act and the number of prosecutions initiated on foot of these enforcement notices. While my Department may be informed from time to time of particular cases relating to enforcement action or resolutions,...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: As stated in the reply to Question No. 489 of 29 June 2010, I have no function in the matter. The are no provisions in planning legislation or the Retail Planning Guidelines regarding the issue in question, and I do not intend to amend the Retail Planning Guidelines in this regard. However, in certain circumstances and in the case of new buildings the Building Regulations require the...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: The making, reviewing and varying of a local area plan is a reserved function of the elected members of the planning authority for the area. The statutory consultation process for such plans is set out in the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended; any person can make a submission on a draft plan, including in relation to zoning issues, to the planning authority within the statutory...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: Under the Derelict Sites Act 1990, local authorities are required to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does not become or continue to be a derelict site. To this end, they have been given substantial powers under the Act in relation to any such sites, including powers to require specified...

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 was enacted on 26 July 2010. Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 26, 28, 29, 37, 42, 46, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 64, 66, 68, 70, 71, 73 and 81 of the Act were commenced with effect from 19 August 2010. Sections 32 and 33 of the Act were commenced with effect from 28 September 2010. The remaining provisions of the Act will be commenced as soon as possible....

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: Settlement strategies adopted by planning authorities as part of their development plans, including strategies in relation to housing in rural areas, are required to be in accordance with the provisions of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 — 2010, and with national planning policy as set out in the 2005 Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Rural Housing. The granting of...

Written Answers — Water and Sewerage Schemes: Water and Sewerage Schemes (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: My Department has sought legal advice from the Chief State Solicitor's Office on issues concerning the property aspects of this application that will need to be clarified before it can be progressed to a determination.

Written Answers — Telecommunications Infrastructure: Telecommunications Infrastructure (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: My Department is participating on a working group with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Commission for Energy Regulation to consider the recommendations in the report, Next Generation Broadband — Gateway to a Knowledge Ireland, which was published in June 2009. One of the recommendations in the document is that new premises in Ireland will be required...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1507, 1509 and 1511 together. A range of legislative reforms in the area of enforcement were introduced in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010, including: removal of the 7-year time-limit for taking enforcement proceedings against unauthorised extractive industry developments; an increase in the minimum fines for persons convicted under section...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: In light of a July 2008 ruling by the European Court of Justice in Case C215-06, planning authorities were advised, through Circular Letter PD6/08, to return applications for permission for the retention of unauthorised development, where such development should have been subject to mandatory EIA, on the basis that retention planning permission cannot be granted in those circumstances. In...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (29 Sep 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: Grant aid under the Young Farmers' Installation Scheme was paid to the person concerned on 19 August 2010.

Written Answers — Unfinished Housing Estates: Unfinished Housing Estates (8 Jul 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: As part of its comprehensive response to the issue of unfinished or unoccupied estates, my Department is currently undertaking, with the co-operation of local authorities and other key stakeholders, a national inventory on a county by county basis to quantify, classify and map the various types of unfinished or unoccupied estates so as to facilitate a better understanding of the scale and...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (8 Jul 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: According to the most recently available data which were published in the 2008 Annual Planning Statistics, 4,246 enforcement notices were issued by planning authorities in 2008 under section 154 and section 155 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. 1,028 prosecutions were initiated on foot of these enforcement notices.

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (8 Jul 2010)

Ciarán Cuffe: Retail strategies are prepared by all planning authorities as part of their development plans. Given the considerable changes in economic and social development since the current Retail Planning Guidelines were published in 2001 and updated in 2005, particularly in relation to population and settlement patterns, it is important that the forward planning context for future retail development...