Results 2,461-2,480 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: EU Agreements (29 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: My answer concentrated on energy security because that is what my Department is responsible for. The person who is best placed to answer questions about foreign affairs policy is the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs. I am sure he would be happy to answer the Senator's question. My understanding, however, is that there has been no change of policy. On the question of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Third Level Fees (29 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator for raising the issue. I am answering on behalf of my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Harris, who of course has gone to great lengths to reduce the cost of further and higher education for students. The Senator will be aware that budget 2024 contains a package of measures to support households with the cost of living. These cost-of-living measures include a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Third Level Fees (29 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator. I understand the feeling that the students must have that this is something they were counting on, and that some courses are funded and some are not. It is open to Marino Institute of Education, as a private, independent institution, to reduce the fees in line with the Government decision, but the budget decision agreed by all parties was for the €1,000 fee to be...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Media Sector (29 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Senator Boyhan for raising this matter. Print media and radio play an essential role in sharing reliable and relevant news and bringing communities together. The wider media sector in Ireland, which is a vital element of our democracy and society as a whole, is undergoing fundamental change. This is in part due to the increased digitalisation of news and media content generally and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Media Sector (29 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The principle is that justice should be seen to be done. Sometimes judges refer to the media as the eyes and ears of the court. It is important that what happens in a court is reported. If it is a local issue, it may not be reported nationally, so we may have no visibility of what is going on in our justice system. It is a part of our justice system and, equally, it is important that what...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Admissions (29 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I am taking this question on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, who is out of the country. I thank the Senator for raising the matter as it provides me with an opportunity to outline the position on school capacity reviews in County Galway, including Ballinasloe, and the use of the ArcGIS system to assist the REALTs in their work of sourcing school places. As...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Admissions (29 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I welcome the young people who are in the Gallery and hope they are able to follow what is going on. The Senator is asking me about making sure the Government is providing enough school places for students in Ballinasloe; whether there will be enough places for the students who are coming; and why we cannot build schools faster. I think that is roughly the Senator's question. The Minister,...

Confidence in the Minister for Justice: Motion (5 Dec 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I was in the north inner city with the Minister, Deputy Foley, when this attack happened. My reaction and everybody's reaction were surely the same, one of absolute horror at the idea of children being stabbed on the street. Shortly afterwards, there was a horrible sense of imminence that there were people on the far right who would see this as an opportunity for advantage. They were...

Confidence in the Minister for Justice: Motion (5 Dec 2023)

Ossian Smyth: We need better regulation of social media using the new laws that we now have in place. We need to reassure people born outside Ireland that they are welcome here and they will not be subject to violent attacks. We need to prosecute the very small number of far-right people who organise these attacks. What we do not need is this shabby pantomime that Sinn Féin is putting on today.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Good morning everyone. I thank the Cathaoirleach for inviting me to appear before the select committee today to take Committee Stage of the Bill. The purpose of this Bill is to rearrange the corporate structure of Gas Networks Ireland. Gas Networks Ireland is currently a subsidiary company of Ervia, which was also the parent company for Irish Water. Irish Water has been moved out of...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: "Saver for certain business activity 4. Notwithstanding the repeal of section 17 of the Gas (Amendment) Act 2000 by subsection (2) of section 3, Gas Networks Ireland may engage in a business activity in accordance with any approval given under the said section 17 in effect immediately before the...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I move amendment No. 3: In page 9, line 29, after “arrangement” to insert “(including any wayleave)” . Amendment No. 3 relates to section 12, which deals with the transfer of rights and liabilities and the continuation of leases, licenses and permissions granted by a dissolved body. While this section is a standard technical provision to transfer land and any...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Deputies Leddin and O'Rourke for tabling these amendments. As Deputy Leddin said, their aim is to broaden the functions of GNI to extend to new gases, such as biomethane and things beyond traditional natural gas, and give it a path to decarbonisation. It is also about preventing large energy users, including data centres, from directly connecting to the gas grid. I am interested to...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I will address Deputy Farrell's question. He asked whether we had a legal power to prevent connections to large energy users, or to data centres, directly from the gas network. I do not believe we do. However, my Department issued a policy statement disallowing direct connections by data centres to the gas network or, in other words, so-called islanded data centres. These are data centres...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I will go to Deputy O'Rourke first. I absolutely agree that decarbonisation is going to be a critical function for Gas Networks Ireland. It has a critical role to play because it is providing sometimes up to half of the country's electricity. It has historically been a fossil fuel company and now it is moving away from that. We are reducing our gas use in the future and we are moving...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I think what the Deputy is saying is that he feels that I have had sufficient time to give a formal response.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I am giving him a formal response. The formal response is no, I am not accepting these amendments. The reason I am not accepting these amendments is that it would be unwise to legislate for something at national level weeks before it was being agreed at European level. Legislating on the meaning of biomethane, hydrogen and decarbonisation strategies for gas companies, when that is being...