Results 4,301-4,320 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Disposal (12 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: Under the European Union (Household Food Waste and Bio-waste) Regulations 2015, household waste collectors are required to provide, or arrange for the provision of, a separate collection service for food waste from households in designated brown bin areas. In accordance with the Regulatory Impact Assessment prepared for these Regulations, the roll-out of the brown bin has been phased in on a...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Change Policy (12 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 454 and 456 together. In January 2018, my Department entered into a five-year financial commitment of €10m to establish four Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs). Building on a business case prepared by the Local Government sector itself, this commitment recognises the significant obligation which has been placed on Local Government to develop and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Freedom of Information Data (12 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Freedom of Information Disclosure Log for my Department was last updated on 11 November 2019. The log, which contains details of all valid non-personal FOI requests received, is updated and published on a weekly basis, or more frequently as required. This exceeds the requirement provided for in the Code of Practice for Freedom of Information for Public Bodies, which requires that...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electric Vehicles (12 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Climate Action Plan, which was published in June, sets out a range of actions to support the delivery of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. These actions include expanding the Electric Vehicle Home Charger Grant, provided by the SEAI, to include locations with shared parking such as apartments. Budget 2020 provided €36 million in funding to my Department to support...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (12 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: Following approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on competition grounds, notification of the proposed transaction referenced in the question was received by my Department on 22 October 2019. I have 30 working days from the notification date of 22 October 2019 to conduct an initial, or phase 1, assessment of the case on media plurality grounds. Following this...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Quality (12 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: I refer the Deputy to the replies to Questions Nos 462 of 1 October, and 58 of 16 October. The position is unchanged.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Plastic Bag Levy (12 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: My Department published a consultation paper on 6 November 2019 which outlines proposals with regard to environmental levies. This consultation will help inform the development of a new range of environmental levies on a phased basis over the period 2020-2025, aimed at encouraging positive environmental behavioural change and climate action. The proposals regarding the plastic bag levy are:...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Advertising Campaigns (12 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The ‘Be Winter Ready’ campaign is coordinated by the Office of Emergency Planning, under the remit of the Department of Defence. This year the theme of the campaign is Met Éireanncolour coded weather warning system. While my Department does not run ‘Be Winter Ready’ information campaigns aimed directly at the public, agencies operating in the sectors for which...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Alternative Energy Projects (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The installation of an anaerobic digester must comply with relevant planning and permitting legislation. This can vary by the type of installation and feedstock that is planned to be used. For instance, an anaerobic digester may require a waste permit or licence from a Local Authority or the Environmental Protection Agency. Approval from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine may...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: I do not propose to comment in detail in respect of a project in another jurisdiction. I understand, however, that the aim of Project Stratum is to improve broadband connectivity by extending Next Generation Access (NGA) broadband infrastructure to premises across Northern Ireland that cannot yet access such a service. I further understand that while a budget has been identified and a public...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: Since the Government decision in May, work has continued on the due diligence necessary to conclude the NBP contract. This process is progressing towards contract award, which is expected before the end of the year. The Bidder will commence the deployment of the network shortly after that. In parallel to the work of finalising the contract, I am considering the recommendations of the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 185 and 186 together. As a State intervention, the NBP must comply with the requirements of the European Commission’s Guidelines on the application of the State aid rules on broadband. The Guidelines require, amongst other things, that Member States carry out a detailed mapping exercise to identify as far as reasonably possible those areas where...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Government appointed National Broadband Ireland (NBI) as the Preferred Bidder for the NBP in May 2019. This followed a tender process designed to ensure that every home and business throughout the country will have access to future proofed high speed broadband and will cater specifically to an estimated 1.1 million people, representing almost 25% of the population of rural Ireland who...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 3: The State of Play in Regulation (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: I congratulate the committee members and other parliamentarians on this initiative. The background to the regulatory environment in Ireland is very much set in our broad plan on online safety. It involves several Departments, including the Departments of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Justice and Equality, Health, Taoiseach, Children and Youth Affairs, and Education and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 3: The State of Play in Regulation (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: In developing Government legislation on an online safety commissioner, we will adopt the principles set out in some of the Private Members' Bills, particularly provisions defining harmful content which listed issues such as cyberbullying, creating suicidal intent and so on. We will look at how we accommodate those. Nonetheless, getting legislation through the Office of the Parliamentary...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 3: The State of Play in Regulation (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Online Advertising and Social Media (Transparency) Bill 2017 will be handled by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. It is part of the electoral legislation. I am sure the Minister will seek to adopt the principles set out in the Bill. The Department has articulated clearly what its definition of political purpose is and it has started to list what the informational...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 3: The State of Play in Regulation (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: There is no doubt there was an attempt to interfere in some of the referenda and in those instances it was a voluntary take-down policy that was adopted by platforms rather than a legal provision. I spelled out earlier that aside from the requirement to have transparency around political advertising, the reporting of targeting and so on, much broader legislation will cover the funding of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 3: The State of Play in Regulation (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: We have not encountered that but I am interested to hear about those. We have been working on a narrower definition of creating legislation that would require companies to have codes and an online commissioner to vet those codes. There would be a power to serve notice on platforms where a code is deficient in some respects. The crime would be created if there was a failure to comply with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 3: The State of Play in Regulation (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: By its nature, regulation always tends to be catching up with developments that have moved ahead of it. As for, artificial intelligence, I read a book by Mr. Jamie Susskind, a US writer who has written about the processes embedded in artificial intelligence that will determine things like our right to get insurance and jobs. The political and governance system, in Ireland and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 3: The State of Play in Regulation (7 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Government is absolutely aware of that. That is why a lot of work has gone into this and it is being led from the Taoiseach's office. There is no doubt that the importance of this is recognised. Equally, we recognise that what we do is interdependent with what colleague nations are doing. We need to work together in designing systems that will be enforceable, robust and consistent...