Results 26,801-26,820 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: It is €150,000.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I think people will be getting an idea of the problem.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am sorry, but may I just ask one more question? My understanding is that it is taking 16 weeks for a pre-connection inquiry to Uisce Éireann for a one-off house. The excuse being given is that it might put pressure on the water supply. If the water supply is that tight, there is a problem before that one house is added. The increase in water use in a house where there is a new baby...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I will just finish on this one and then cede-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I will come back to those later. I will just finish this module because I think we are making good progress. From the CRU's point of view, could Uisce Éireann make a decision that, like ESB Networks, it would socialise half of the cost of putting this public infrastructure in the ground up to a certain distance, perhaps the 500 m that applies with ESB Networks? Furthermore, could it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: If our friends in the CLÁR section of the Department of rural development were to step in with a grant of 50% to any new customer, would Ms MacEvilly have a legal difficulty with that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I do not care what way the costs come down. I am only exploring all the possibilities. We will come back to this another day.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Let us presume the Government had a policy. I had policies like that when I was a Minister. The policy issue is easy; it is a two-minute job. We will be coming to that section after a while. My question is whether there would be a legal difficulty with it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: It would be very useful. I hear what Ms MacEvilly is saying about equity and the public. However, equity is always in the view of the beholder. The one-off house owner does not anticipate this cost and therefore they are not making submissions to public consultations. Ms MacEvilly and I have been around long enough to know that public consultations are very much the province of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I ask Ms MacEvilly to send us details of that. I will be back.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I will try to be as focused as I can. Could ESB Networks confirm if all domestic customers who put up solar panels are guaranteed they will get a connection to the grid and will be able find someone to buy their surplus electricity? My second question is to Uisce Éireann. Some 10% of houses in the State do not have a water supply from Uisce Éireann or a high-quality group...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: But if land gets zoned, Uisce Éireann does build out.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Yes, but Uisce Éireann is still building out.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: So Uisce Éireann can build out, sometimes with its own money and sometimes with the Department's money. Could Uisce Éireann build out a water scheme?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: This is just wastewater.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: That is right; council houses.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Uisce Éireann is in the lower part of the village. It is a very microscopic part of what is a reasonably conglomerated settlement. Would it help the job considerably if there was a 50:50 offer from the Department of Rural and Community Development to encourage Uisce Éireann along the road? I am just being pragmatic about it. The witnesses have to sell it to their bosses.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am talking about doing a proper job. If those two micro schemes had not been there, Mr. O'Reilly would be telling me it would not be done.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: We have the schemes, but they are microscopic compared to the size of the village. They are legacy issues that Uisce Éireann inherited in a variety of ways, including court cases. Obviously we will be expecting the Department to provide money. It would take considerable money to put a new sewer into Kilronan. It would cost a lot less money to just upgrade the existing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Water and Energy Connections in Rural Areas: Discussion (6 Dec 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I do not know if Mr. O'Reilly knows Kilronan.