Results 381-400 of 25,713 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Renewable electricity projects significantly benefit Irish communities through jobs, community funds, and local revenue. In that regard, my Department is committed to engaging farmers in renewable energy opportunities, fostering sustainable growth and economic diversification in rural Ireland. The Programme for Government reaffirms Ireland’s ambitious targets of 9 gigawatts of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Business Supports (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Business Energy Upgrade Scheme (BEUS) grant support, administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), provides rapid grant aid options for SMEs to upgrade their buildings. It was opened for applications on 6 November 2024, with the official launch of the scheme and an associated publicity campaign is scheduled for 11 April this year. Webpages...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Policy (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a regulatory regime wherein electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised, and competitive. Operating within this overall EU framework, responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets is a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), which was assigned this responsibility following...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The European Union (Household Food Waste and Bio-waste) Regulations 2023, which came into force on the 1 January 2024, oblige waste collectors to provide a bio-waste (brown) bin to all their customers regardless of where in the country they live. Enforcement of the regulations is a matter for the relevant local authority. The expansion of the brown bin is being supported by a...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is pivotal to the achievement of Ireland’s target of generating 80% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030. RESS consists of a series of competitive auctions, four onshore and one offshore to date, in which successful applicants are offered a two-way support arrangement for a period of 15 years. State Aid approval for the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Warmer Homes Scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency and warmth of homes owned by people in energy poverty by providing fully-funded retrofits. The scheme is operated by the SEAI on behalf of my Department and is funded through carbon tax receipts and the European Regional Development Fund. Last year saw a record spend of almost €230 million under the scheme. This resulted...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: In December 2022, the Digital Connectivity Strategy of Ireland was published and set out a number of targets including that all Irish households and businesses will be covered by a Gigabit network no later than 2028. The Programme for Government 2025 sets a number of targets which include the completion of the installation of high-speed fibre broadband to 1.1 million people, including...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Illegal Dumping (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Waste Management Act, the primary responsibility for management and enforcement responses to illegal dumping lies with the local authorities. It is a matter for each local authority to determine the most appropriate awareness, enforcement, clean-up and disposal actions in relation to illegal dumping, taking account of local circumstances and priorities. As such, my Department does...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electricity Grid (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: CSO data released in July 2024 showed a 20% increase in data centre energy consumption between 2022 and 2023, accounting for 21% of total electricity consumption. This growth in data centre energy consumption was anticipated. The CSO’s growth estimate for data centre energy consumption is in line with Ireland’s transmission system operator’s (EirGrid) projections,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government reaffirms Ireland’s ambitious targets of 9 GW of onshore wind capacity, 8 GW of solar capacity and at least 5 GW of offshore wind capacity connected to the grid by 2030 in order to meet the requirement of 80% of electricity demand supplied by renewables. The Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce has been established to identify and prioritise the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Policy (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: In line with CAP Action EL/24/16, the Electricity Storage Policy Framework for Ireland (ESPF) was published by my Department in July 2024. The policy framework included 10 Government actions to support the role of electricity storage systems in Ireland’s energy transition. Actions #6 to #10 of the policy framework are designed to stimulate the development of the optimum level of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Ireland has one of the most ambitious home retrofit targets in the world. The National Retrofit Plan sets out how these targets will be met, including an €8 billion financial allocation out to 2030. A range of measures have been introduced under the Retrofit Plan in recent years to support the achievement of our targets, including: Enhanced SEAI grant schemes with simplified...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Climate Action Plan 2023 includes a requirement for public bodies to develop a building stock plan to critically review its building portfolio in the context of the sector's targets and its long-term accommodation needs. This will inform a strategic approach to managing relevant buildings over the next decade, and beyond. In addition, public bodies are required to complete the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Quality (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The national air quality monitoring network is operated, maintained, and monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme (AAMP), which is funded by my Department. As competent authority under the EU Ambient Air Quality Directive, the EPA decides the most appropriate locations for monitors based on best practice and EU requirements....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Prices (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a European regulatory regime wherein these markets are commercial, liberalised, and competitive and are overseen by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU). Price setting by energy suppliers is a commercial and operational matter for the companies concerned. The Government has made a number of important commitments...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Policy (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The All-Island Resource Adequacy Assessment (AIRAA) is an electricity system security study that assesses the balance between electricity generation capacity and electricity demand over the next ten years. The recently published AIRAA 2025-34 shows an improved picture for Ireland's generation adequacy on last years study. This improvement is due to new generation capacity additions, an...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Policy (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Dublin City Council (DCC) is working to develop a large project that will use waste heat from the Dublin Waste to Energy facility in Poolbeg to heat public sector, commercial and residential buildings in the adjacent area, with plans to progressively expand into Dublin city. This project is strategically important for Ireland, and both national and international district heating experts...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Data Centres (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: District heating is a proven technology that can play a key role in improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions in the heat sector. Government policy recognises the contribution that district heating can make to Ireland’s climate and goals goals. This is underpinned by the findings of the SEAI's 2022 National Heat Study, which highlighted significant potential for heat in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electricity Generation (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The All-Island Resource Adequacy Assessment (AIRAA) is an electricity system security study that assesses the balance between electricity generation capacity and electricity demand over the next ten years. The recently published AIRAA 2025-34 shows an improved picture for Ireland's generation adequacy on last years study. This improvement is due to new generation capacity additions, an...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Telecommunications Infrastructure (10 Apr 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: In December 2022, Ireland's Digital Connectivity Strategy was published which supports the ambition outlined in the National Digital Strategy and set out a number of targets including that all Irish households and businesses will be covered by a Gigabit network no later than 2028. The Programme for Government 2025 includes a commitment to “Maintain support to the Mobile Phone and...