Results 26,061-26,080 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The high level design of the new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) was approved by Government in July 2018.  The RESS has been designed to deliver Ireland’s contribution towards an EU-wide renewable energy target of 32% out to 2030, within a competitive auction-based, cost effective framework. The RESS will deliver a broad range of policy objectives including: the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: In April 2017 my Department published an updated High Speed Broadband Map which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie. This map shows the areas targeted by commercial operators to provide high speed broadband services and the areas that will be included in the State Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan. The Map is colour coded and searchable by address/Eircode: -The AMBER areas...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: Energy efficiency and climate action are inextricably linked.  Using less energy, and using it more efficiently, is the most cost effective and accessible way to take action on climate change. My Department has already achieved the target of 33% energy efficient improvement to be achieved by all public bodies by 2020.  The most recently available data is provided in the Annual...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Chairman and committee for the invitation. I am new to this job and I am sure many of those here are better informed than I am on some of the challenges but I can report on the blunt message from Katowice this week where I attended the UN climate change conference. It will not come as a surprise to the committee that the themes were stark. One was that the window to act in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The model we had then was to identify up to 200 actions per year right across the spectrum of Government. Each action was timelined. During the course of the year, the then Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation then reported on the progress of those targets to the Cabinet committee, chaired by the Taoiseach. We published, in each quarter, the extent to which actions had or had...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: To answer the question on legislation, we will need regulatory change. We will need legislation in areas like foreshore. There is a need for guidelines and standards. We need to consider whether an omnibus item of legislation will be produced to enshrine all of those or whether they will be developed individually. There are legislative or statutory bottlenecks that are holding sectors...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: Working cross-Government has not been easy and we have not been good at it in this country. The Deputy is absolutely right to ask if a global ambition that requires everyone to move will be treated by people as an added extra and not their core work. The key to that not happening is the mandate of the Taoiseach and the decision of Government, both of which I have received. These...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The role of the Committee on Climate Action is a matter for the Oireachtas, not for me. The Committee on Climate Action has a fixed term and a mandate to deliver. There is no doubt that the oversight of my Department, whether it reverts back to the standard committee or remains under this single purpose committee, will stand and fall over whether we successfully deliver on the climate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I do not think that is fair. The national mitigation plan was produced in July 2017, which is some time ago. The numbers tell their own story. For a while, due to the impact of the recession, Ireland looked as if it was going well. It was when the recovery came that we realised that the type of structural change that needed to happen had not happened. The national mitigation plan was the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I agree with the Deputy. When I was the Minister for Education and Skills, although we included retrofit energy as a big part of the ten-year plan, I also had to say most days that getting bums on seats was my top priority and that I had to cater for 20,000 more pupils than in the previous year. One of the messages Robert Watt is signalling is that this must change and that there must be a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: To be fair, the national mitigation plan published in July 2017, and a great deal of work preceded it, set out clear directions. It outlined the spheres where we have to make changes and what changes needed to occur. It has rightly been criticised for not being a roadmap. The climate advisory committee is a strong critic that what we need is a proper roadmap, not a series of signposts, but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The funding was only 10%. It is a €175 million programme in that case and the funding was-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: Yes, it will have to be funded elsewhere so-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: This is a very rapid payback. Funding of lighting would not be at the challenging end of funding. Obviously, the Department and the local authorities must come up with how they fund it. This was priming the pump to get something done to make an impact on climate change. As it is well developed, they will be borrowing for it, which is natural enough. It is the type of area where one can...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: It is certainly not a phrase I coined, but Teagasc gives a fair start to the explanation. Although I have agriculture in my background I will not pretend I understand it but it has outlined proposals that have-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I will deal with that question if the Senator has the time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: My understanding is that Teagasc has set out a framework where that phrase would be defined. It has different areas relating to biofuels, afforestation and sequestration through afforestation and a section on farm methods. From memory, each of the three has the potential to deliver 3 million tonnes in reduction from agriculture from a 20 million tonnes base. It is very significant if they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I presume taking 9 million tonnes from the 20 million tonnes would be an approach to carbon neutrality. One would not be there yet.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The challenge there is how to implement those changes. They are technically possible but how does the sector take them on board, take ownership of that agenda and deliver it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Third Report of the Citizens' Assembly: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: One has to be careful with what targets are put in legislation. If one says it is fair that every sector takes a 30% cut, the cost of that in some sectors may be dramatically different from others. One has to be careful in setting a target because one then forces perhaps a very high-cost solution in one sector. We were just talking about agriculture. The impact of setting the same target...