Results 27,101-27,120 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree that we need to be far more ambitious and see far greater delivery in the area of community energy. The Deputy attended, as did I, the European Commission and CRU event last week on empowering citizens in the energy revolution. We need to be really ambitious and fast. The auction system has not delivered what we would want, which is why we are switching. I also agree with the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The sustainable energy communities, of which there are some 750, are really important. They are very strong on retrofitting and they need to be strong on self-generation as well. Combining supply companies and generators is one of the examples from Europe we should be encouraging. The SEAI has a critical role in this regard. We need to de-risk a lot of the investment to the community...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Observations show that Ireland's climate is changing, with increases in average temperature, changes in precipitation patterns and weather extremes. Climate change is expected to have diverse and wide-ranging impacts on Ireland's environment, society and economic development, including on the built environment, managed and natural ecosystems, water resources, agriculture and food security,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree that nature-based solutions should get the highest priority in our flood management plans because they are the most effective long-term way of holding back water. We need to work with nature. We saw devastating flooding recently in Midleton, Carlingford and Clarinbridge. The river basin catchment management process, which involves assessing water flows from the source of rivers...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I am speaking about completing the first draft within weeks, so it will be before the end of the year. That will help to inform people and give a direction from central government, following consultation. It will set the path. The process takes too long. There are many examples one could pick of it taking a long time to take remedial measures. I could cite Sandymount in my...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: A community projects category was included in the RESS 1 and RESS 2 competitions. In total, seven community projects were successful in the RESS 1 auction. Four remain in progress and are either energised or due to energise this year. In RESS 2, eight community projects were successful in the auction, are continuing to progress and are currently expected to energise by the end of 2025. ...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: We came to this change because, in a sense, the auction-based system was not working. In the early 2000s, there was a similar competitive bidding system. One of the several reasons projects ran into difficulty was that people were bidding down so tightly that they were not able to get financing and get their projects built. This was a particular issue in the past two to three years. With...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: One of the other key developments we need to work on – the CRU has been tasked with this and will shortly conclude its work – is grid connection policy. Of all the various aspects, that policy has been one of the main challenges. I have seen that myself in meeting various community groups. They often have grid connection points, but they take on the full cost of the relevant...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: There will be a document published in the very near future from CRU-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The changes on the auction system was from my own personal assessment that it needed a much more guaranteed stable certain pricing regime, particularly for community.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: COP28, the annual UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, will take place in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December. Mitigation of and adaptation to the impacts of climate change, climate finance for adaptation and mitigation and loss and damage will be priorities for Ireland during the conference. While public finance remains key, other more innovative sources of finance must also be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I expect it to be approved, and I very much welcome it. Politics always involves compromise, but it is a significant advance which Ireland was very centrally involved in last year at Sharm el-Sheikh in the context of agreeing the principle of a fund and then being on the transitional committee to deliver it. The World Bank is an appropriate vehicle - I said as much at the United Nations...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I very much appreciated going to that event hosted by Deputy Ó Cathasaigh. It was useful. There is real urgency. The reason we support the World Bank is because we need to be quick. The former US Vice-President, Al Gore, stated in a good presentation earlier on the summer that there is a €1 billion climate impact event happening every 18 days. It is happening now. It is here...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: There was an earlier question. Without being disrespectful to the drafters of the written reply, maybe I gave a similar response to the first question today. I might, if I can, add to that the basic details of it - 28 actions, a series of annex reports, from former Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach, Mr. Dermot McCarthy, and from Cambridge Economic Policy Associates, CEPA....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The key parameter is the strategic outcome and the security. We want to have a vessel that is there and know it is not being used just to sell gas on. It will be there to provide a continuous level of security and will be operated in a way that gives us that. In terms of ownership, we need to get the lowest price for the Irish consumer. Without being definitive, maybe we could get a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: It absolutely has to be for the future of GNI. It has to see this transition as its own. I spoke at a recent conference and made a comparison, which I think is a useful one. Looking at Bord na Móna, four years ago it found itself in really challenging circumstances. It was legally required to stop the production of peat. It has turned matters around and is probably the most...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: To capitalise on the considerable resource potential of our marine area, Government has adopted a phased approach to offshore renewable energy development in Ireland, with the overarching objective of achieving 5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 and a net-zero economy by 2050. Phase one is intended to deliver the maximum competitively procured offshore wind capacity at the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I do not have the exact detail on the timeline, but I expect it in the coming months. Very shortly, we will set out the designated area and that will be followed by a further auction next year and the year after. Next year will be the next auction. It is to design them on a rolling, regular basis so that it gives certainty to industry and that we meet the 5 GW targets. What I should have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I might answer that question first. It relates to an earlier question about grid connections and the crew looking at our connections policy. There is real potential for us to maximise the existing grid where we do have both solar and wind. They tend not to come at the same time. Windy days are typically cloudier, sunny days less so. It makes real sense to integrate wind and solar, as the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 strengthens the role of local authorities for effective climate action. It sets out a statutory requirement for each local authority to prepare a local authority climate action plan. The local authority climate action plans must be consistent with the most recently approved national climate plan and include both...