Results 1-20 of 2,753 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I am aware of Abbeyshrule and the improvements that were made there through the community employment scheme. It is well known around the country. I appreciate the benefits of community employment schemes. I will take the specific issues the Deputy raised to the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, to see whether he has any specific knowledge of them. He may engage directly with the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy for his questions. I listened carefully to the points he made. I will now read the formal response from the Minister for Social Protection before discussing the matter further. It is important to acknowledge the excellent work that is done on the full range of work schemes, including community employment, Tús, the rural social scheme, RSS and the job initiative...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dublin City Task Force (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: On behalf of the Minister for Justice, I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this matter today. Dublin city and its surroundings are a hive of business and tourism, particularly at this time of year. Equally, there is a strong community created by local residents. We want the city to be a safe place for people to live in, work in and visit. The Deputy will be aware that today the Taoiseach...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dublin City Task Force (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I presume a safe injection facility falls under the Minister for Health and I will ask him to reply to the Deputy directly on that.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dublin City Task Force (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The Deputy will be aware that the new approach to community safety policing via local community safety partnerships is being piloted in three locations, including the north inner city of Dublin. This approach brings together local communities and local service providers under an independent chair to develop a community safety plan for their local area, and more important, to work in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Commercial Rates (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator for asking this question, which the Minister for housing has asked me to answer on his behalf. Tailte Éireann is the State agency formed on 1 March 2023 following the merger of Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Property Registration Authority and the Valuation Office. All the functions previously carried by those bodies are now being performed by Tailte Éireann....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Commercial Rates (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator. I think I have good news for him. The message from the Valuation Office is that community sports facilities which are exclusively used for community sport and are non-profit are exempt from rates. I encourage him to follow up with the Valuation Office or Tailte Éireann using the contact details I provided. The Senator mentioned that we need to look more broadly...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Bus Services (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator for her questions, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. From the outset, I would like to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, but neither the Minister nor his officials is involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Bus Services (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The Minister recognises that it can be frustrating for public transport users when delays occur with the roll-out of planned new services. Unfortunately, issues such as the ongoing bus driver and mechanic shortages have continued to impact on the speed at which the public transport network can expand. However, the Department of Transport will continue to engage with the NTA and bus...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Chairperson and members for inviting me to this meeting to discuss the current state of play in respect of the circular economy following on from the signing into law of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act in 2022. In line with the evolution of EU and UN environmental policy, the waste action plan for a circular economy was published in September 2020. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Cathaoirleach for acknowledging the progress made on the circular economy and the contributions of my predecessor, who laid much of the groundwork for what I have done. I will start with the hot school meals. The hot school meals programme is a very good thing. It is widely acknowledged to be a positive thing that children can have hot meals at school, particularly in winter....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The deposit return scheme is there to address a problem, namely, not enough of our bottles and cans are being recycled and are ending up in the environment. If the Deputy has ever taken part in a Tidy Towns group and walked along the roads, he will have seen that approximately half of the litter items the group picks up are bottles or cans. Some Tidy Towns groups are quite analytical in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I apologise; I am wasting Deputy O'Sullivan's time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: If it takes longer to fill the bin because it is not full of empty bottles and containers, people should have fewer lifts taking place. Many of the bin companies charge per lift or per kilo. People will have a lower volume and a lower weight. The majority of waste collectors now charge by waste or volume rather than a fixed fee. The cost of waste removal should come down.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I am not considering it at present, but if Deputy O'Sullivan wants to make a proposal, I will look at it. Paper bags are biodegradable. If a paper bag is left in a bush or hedge it will return-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I accept that this is absolutely a factor. The vast majority of people now have a habit of having a drawer in their kitchen with plastic bags in it. Before they go to the shops, they fish out some of these reusable plastic bags and refill them. That is how it mostly happens. People can be caught short. There has to be some option for someone who is caught short, but we have substantially...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I substantially agree with the Deputy. Reuse is better than recycling. If we can persuade people to refill plastic bottles with water, that is better than persuading them to bring back the bottles in the first place. For example, the sports clubs, GAA clubs and football clubs informed me that they could have reverse vending machines. They could, but even better than that would be that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: No. Germany had an existing reusable bottle scheme before it introduced its deposit return scheme. They wanted to make sure the deposit return scheme did not displace reusable containers, which are obviously better, so they set the up incentives in such a way that people would be better off reusing than engaging in a single use. However, people have the option of doing one or the other....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: One thing at a time. There were many options for what I could put into the first version of the deposit return scheme. I could have done glass. I could have opted for Tetra Pak products, etc. I had a million different options, but I wanted a working scheme to launch on the day when it was meant to. I look at other countries that took more than a decade and then did not manage to launch...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Do I agree there should be a ban on single-use plastics?