Results 2,441-2,460 of 8,245 for speaker:Bríd Smith

Heritage Bill 2016: Report Stage (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: I agree with the Deputy but-----

Heritage Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: Just before we adjourned, the Minister stated, regarding the decline of the bird population by 28% reported by BirdWatch Ireland, that the EU placed an emphasis on the protection of Ireland's birds. However, she went on to state that the latest report given to the EU was in 2013. BirdWatch Ireland's report is very recent. Obviously, the report from five years ago does not tally with the...

Heritage Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: Absolutely.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Legislative Measures (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: 36. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the rationale behind continued legislation that designates Ireland's economy as suffering from a financial emergency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29108/18]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Investigations (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: 229. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if a public apology on behalf of the State will be issued to the family of a person (details supplied) in view of failures identified in the GSOC report on the person's death; if he will request the Garda Commissioner to do same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28983/18]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Commissioner Appointment (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: 258. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the newly appointed Garda Commissioner will have full access to State files on the Miami Showband massacre and the activities of Glenanne gang. [29315/18]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: I will do my best to be brief and deal with the main issues, as I see them, around passing this Bill and instituting a ban on fossil fuel exploration in Ireland. First, I will say a few words on why I believe this Bill is needed. We have witnessed here in Ireland and globally the effects of rising CO2 levels on our climate. The rise in the number of extreme weather events, deadly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: I want to ask Professor Shannon some questions. What he has just said, namely, that the Bill will lead to emissions increasing rather than reducing, negates what is being attempted. I take his claim extraordinarily seriously. I presume that he has evidence of this, which I ask him to provide. By how much exactly will the Bill increase emissions? How much more CO2 will be forced into the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: Will all due respect, that is very disingenuous. We do not bring energy from Siberia to Ireland. That just does not happen. Most of our energy comes from the connectors with Britain coming mostly from Norway and the North Sea. Putting that to one side, the premise of the Bill is that this is not just the responsibility of a little island on the edge of the Atlantic. This is a global...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: Professor Shannon has just said that Europe imports gas from Russia. We import our gas from Britain. Britain may import a small amount of that from Europe, but we are looking at an ever-decreasing percentage of it potentially coming from Russia. We do not know that for a fact. What we do know is that more than 50% of our gas needs are met indigenously through Kinsale and Corrib and we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: I want to address a question Deputy Gino Kenny asked. He was trying to get at something with the Department which was not directly answered. He asked about seismic testing having read the recent report of the Marine Institute on the worrying impact of seismic testing on the mortality rate among zoo plankton. That has also led to a recent set of statements by the fishing industry as to its...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: My question was whether the Department has ever carried out an environmental impact study on the companies that have been licensed for seismic testing on our shore.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: Therefore the Department has never undertaken any testing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: What I am getting at is that there is plenty of evidence, apart from the Australian study such as that by the Marine Institute in Galway, that seismic testing has a serious impact on zooplankton and dolphin and whale life of the ocean. That, combined with what Mr. Collins has just told us, means that there is light-touch regulation of the companies that are carrying out this testing and that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: Will Mr. Collins answer the other question, please? I am not trying to be provocative but I would like an answer to why, for example, the lease undertaking application of Island Expro, which discovered gas in 2007 during the Schull discovery, has been under consideration since 2011, which is seven years. Why is it taking so long? In the course of that seven years, will that company have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: If it takes seven or 11 years for a company's application to be completed, either for an undertaking or a lease, how does it fit into the premise that we must gradually wean ourselves off CO2 emissions and a reliance on carbon fuels? As Professor John Sweeney demonstrated so well in his presentation, the period from when the licence is first issued through the various stages until the carbon...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: We just heard from Professor Shannon that LNG is extremely damaging and that it creates more CO2 emissions than other forms of natural gas.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: Dr. Walker has just the let the cat out of the bag. The reason it has not proceeded is because it would not make money, not because it would be extremely damaging to the environment. This is where priorities are being skewed. They are skewed towards the companies that want to make a load of money from oil and gas instead of towards the limitation of damage to the environment and planet...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: Why would Dr. Walker want to bring LNG into the country if it is more damaging to the environment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Scrutiny of Petroleum and Other Mineral Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (3 Jul 2018)

Bríd Smith: Dr. Walker just said that the reason it is not being done is that it would not make enough money. The priority of those proposing it is to make money, not to look after the environment.