Results 11,201-11,220 of 20,455 for speaker:Brian Stanley

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: Was there a cap before then?

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: I was looking at the figures for last year and grants were paid out for 1,467 BMW vehicles, 44 Jaguar vehicles, 439 Mercedes-Benz vehicles and 315 Land Rover vehicles. Payments were made in respect of 174 top-of-the-range Land Rover Evoque vehicles. I welcome the fact that there is a cap on it, but I would argue that the cap is too high. The point I make is that the people who purchased...

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: A lot of the vehicles on the list are SUVs that will never be off the road because they were purchased in the Dublin area. The other figures I got relate to where cars were bought. The latest figure I received for the total number of electric cars in County Laois, for example, is 457 and there were 349 in County Offaly. In Dublin there were 21,519. If we look at the figures for cars...

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: I accept that. There is a problem here and now and for the coming years for many people in those areas or people who are living in Dublin and have to travel to Kildare to work. This is not exclusive to the midlands. People in Dublin who have to travel out of Dublin for work are affected. Workers on the median to average wage who are not in a position to buy an electric vehicle, who do not...

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: I understand that the SEAI does not set the policy, but I ask that it keep this matter under review. Obviously, it makes recommendations to Government. I am of the view that the information needs to go back to the Government. I do not expect Mr. Walsh to have the answer for this next question but could he furnish it to the committee later. The number of charging points is outlined in...

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: When doing that, can the SEAI let us know what local authorities have applied for these grants? We need to ask those that have not applied why they have not done so. Is it a grant of €5,000 for each local authority?

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: It is per charge point. How much is the grant for the home-charging point?

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: Six hundred euro.

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: Will this include the take of the local authorities that have applied? It would be useful for us to know that? I thank our witnesses and call Deputy Colm Burke.

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: I invite members to come in for a second round starting with Deputy Catherine Murphy.

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: On energy supply, the Department might take the following question. In the discussion earlier, the SEAI's point of view was that there would not be a problem in relation to extra EVs, EV charging points or retrofitting and heat pumps. However, we are planning to install 600,000 heat pumps, according to the briefing, and there will be 945,000 electric cars and the charging points for those....

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: Are both EirGrid and the ESB happy enough?

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: With regard to the SEAI's role with renewables, the talk is about wind. We have a great resource and we are lucky. It is to be hoped that we can develop that, particularly the powerful offshore element of it and floating wind turbines. However, wind is not a dispatchable power. We do not always have it. At the times of the greatest energy needs on this island, and there were a number of...

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: Is the Department flagging this to the Government?

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: You and Ms O'Hora are flagging this.

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: Okay. I will return to retrofitting for a moment, and the warmer homes scheme and value for money. You outlined that 50% for the warmer homes scheme comes from the EU. This is the scheme for people who are on the fuel allowance. That has been expanded a little, which is welcome. There are many homes in the State that still have single glazing. In general, they are the poorest...

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: Under the previous scheme, and there was a leaflet on it, it was not listed on that. However, you are saying that if the surveyor says it must be done, it is done.

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: That is welcome. The issue is to try to get every house double glazed. Obviously, it is a good place to start. I have another question and it relates to mass concrete housing. Your Department does not do the local authority retrofit scheme. A typical mass concrete house has 9 in. walls. There were tens of thousands of them built in the 1930s and 1940s. If they are privately owned the...

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: We are dealing with houses that are not slabbed at the back or they have no wraparound outside and they have no cavity in the middle. They are being left until last because they are hard to do and more expensive.

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Brian Stanley: My point is that there is an urgent need here. It is more urgent now because solid fuel prices are rising. These households really have their backs to the wall. One can ask anybody in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul around the country. They have their backs to the wall because they have high energy usage. The heat is flying out through the walls and the windows and they need to be...