Results 321-340 of 2,867 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 – Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (Revised)
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Revised)
Vote 14 – State Laboratory (Revised)
Vote 15 - the Secret Service (Revised)
Vote 17 – Public Appointments Service (Revised)
Vote 18 – National Shared Services Office (Revised)
Vote 19 -the Office of the Ombudsman (Revised)
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement (Revised)
Vote 43 – Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Regarding the State being taken advantage of by wealthy of conglomerates, most of our procurement goes to SMEs and Irish companies. That is the reality of procurement in Ireland. Where there are large amounts of money involved, there will always be some small number of participants that try to defraud the system. There is also the possibility of multiple bidders colluding so that they...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Regulatory Bodies (25 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Given the importance of the electronic communications sector to both the economy and society, robust regulation of networks and services in a manner that enables investment, ensures operational resilience and trust and appropriate consumer protection requires a fit-for-purpose communications regulator. Both my officials and I meet regularly with ComReg to discuss a range of policy and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Regulatory Bodies (25 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I am glad to hear that the Deputy has taken the time to meet ComReg. It has 156 employees at the moment and has sanction for 177. ComReg came to my Department looking for an additional 55 employees. It was looking for specific increases in grades and salaries and so on, and that is under consideration at the moment. However, it does have sanction to move to 177. The Deputy mentioned...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Regulatory Bodies (25 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Communications networks are part of our critical infrastructure, of course. We can see that they are a target. The biggest target is the energy system, with communications probably second after that. We see the example of Vodafone Portugal being taken down for a number of days. This is the kind of thing we need to protect against. The function of ComReg will be to ensure that...

Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (24 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I move amendment No. 5: In page 13, lines 13 to 21, to delete all words from and including "Subject" in line 13 down to and including line 21 and substitute the following: "Subject to subsection (2), the majority-shareholding Minister may, by order, confer on the Board such function of developing, maintaining and operating telecommunications infrastructure as the majority-shareholding...

Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (24 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I move amendment No. 7: In page 17, line 15, after “notice” to insert “in writing”.

Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (24 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I am not saying this is all covered already. What is outlined in amendment No. 4 is covered already. That amendment seeks that GNI complies with the terms of the climate Act. I am saying GNI is already covered by that. It absolutely is. GNI is not covered under what is referenced in amendment No. 6, which seeks the right to refuse connections and so on. What is outlined in that...

Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (24 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The amendments propose to amend the definition of the 2014 Act, which clarifies that the Act of 2014 means the Companies Act 2014, to include various climate policy terminology already provided for in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act of 2015; to add additional obligations into the functions of GNI to factor in national policies on decarbonisation such as the climate action...

Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (24 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, lines 24 to 26, to delete all words from and including “insofar” in line 24 down to and including “purposes” in line 26 and substitute “insofar as the activity relates to telecommunications”. The purpose of this amendment is to insert a saver provision to maintain the existing ministerial consents that were...

Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (24 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I move amendment No. 2: In page 11, line 28, to delete “Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2022” and substitute “Maternity Protection Acts 1994 to 2022”. This amendment corrects a typographical error.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Large Energy Users Rebalancing Subvention: Discussion (23 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Chair and committee members for the invitation to speak today about the large energy user rebalancing subvention. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, was unavailable to attend today so I am deputising. He has asked me to pass on his apologies. The large energy users rebalancing subvention refers to a 2009 Government decision to rebalance electricity network tariffs to support...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Large Energy Users Rebalancing Subvention: Discussion (23 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I think the Senator's question is what analysis was done in deciding that large energy users were paying high prices in 2009. My understanding is the power to make the rebalancing decision was with the CRU. A discussion was held between the Government and the CRU to discuss ways that prices could come down for LEUs at that time. The CRU then responded by making a proposal to Government and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Large Energy Users Rebalancing Subvention: Discussion (23 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I do not think that the Government had a decision-making power over this particular item. The Government might have wanted this to happen, and had a discussion with the CRU about it, but the CRU made the decision and put this to the Government, and said this is what it was planning to do. The Minister at the time wrote back and said he agreed to it but this matter did not actually require...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Large Energy Users Rebalancing Subvention: Discussion (23 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Is the question on what lobbying took place leading up to this decision from large energy users to ask for their prices to be cut? Is that roughly the Deputy's question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Large Energy Users Rebalancing Subvention: Discussion (23 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I would have to research to see if we have any records of lobbying. Was the lobbying register even in existence at that time, in 2009? I think it predated the legislation for that. I would have been a councillor in 2014. I spoke to my officials a minute ago. They told me that due to the passage of time, they are not aware of any records, but I can ask for a more detailed search to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Large Energy Users Rebalancing Subvention: Discussion (23 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: In 2009, it was a time of financial crisis and unemployment was rising. It was a time when, if one asked the public what they were most concerned about, I think they were 100 times more concerned about losing their jobs or getting a job than they were about the level of their electricity bills. I think if one asked the public now how they feel about unemployment versus the level of their...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Large Energy Users Rebalancing Subvention: Discussion (23 Jan 2024)

Ossian Smyth: That is a very valid question. When the decision was made at the time, it was clearly a public decision. It was not a secret decision. The Government said it was doing this to try to help save jobs and to protect employers from having to fire employees. It was a public decision and everybody knew about it. For every year that the CRU came in to this committee it could be scrutinised and...