Results 28,461-28,480 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Bord na Móna (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: I have recognised that much wider context as well. I have appointed a just transition commissioner in the person of Mr. Kieran Mulvey and I have given him a very wide brief in terms of the proposals announced in the budget around developing retrofitting opportunities, repurposing the public service obligation, PSO, to allow work occur on the bogs to do a high level of restoration of bogs so...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Bord na Móna (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The just transition commission is not replicating the industrial relations service of the Workplace Relations Commission. In terms of what I am doing, for which I have obtained funding, I am putting in place a fund that can allow alternative developments to occur, including training for workers. I am also making sure that we repurpose the PSO so that we can continue to employ workers on the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for the question. The focus of the climate action plan is on the sectors generating the major greenhouse gas emissions. These are agriculture, power generation, the energy use of buildings, transport, industrial processes and resource-use by all sectors. The plan has identified the policies that can deliver change at least cost and offering most opportunity. More...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: A four-day working week without loss of pay raises far wider issues than climate. I am happy to look at evidence of any policy initiative and its impact on climate. If there is data, I will examine it. Clearly, things such as remote working which reduce people's use of public transport is a way of doing the same. If people work one day from home, they will get much of the savings. Every...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy is articulating a position which is a valid aspiration, however what I have been asked to do is ensure that our power generation shifts to renewable sources, that our buildings are more energy efficient and that our industrial processes are less carbon intensive and that we change the shape of our transport system. I must focus on those as they are the areas that will deliver a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Just Transition Fund (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Government has appointed Mr. Kieran Mulvey as the Just Transition Commissioner on a non-statutory basis to facilitate discussions and work with stakeholders to develop, mobilise and deliver opportunities for the midlands for both the workers directly affected and the wider community. I have asked the commissioner to engage with all relevant stakeholders, including local community...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Just Transition Fund (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: We are providing immediate funding for bog restoration on both non-Bord na Móna bogs and Bord na Móna bogs. We are working to get final approval from the EU under state aid. We have submitted a Bord na Móna proposal to get the additional repurposed PSO which will allow significant numbers to be re-employed on the bogs doing restoration to a much higher level. We have also...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Just Transition Fund (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy is asking whether the just transition commissioner will have an industrial relations role. It has been clear that he will not have an industrial relations role. We have a joint industrial relations council between Bord na Móna and its unions chaired by the WRC. Unresolved issues can be escalated in the normal way to the Workplace Relations Commission. As Mr. Kieran Mulvey...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan Implementation (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: There is no doubt the availability of high-speed broadband in rural areas will have a transformative effect. As I have stated, high-speed broadband will be the most basic service in the long term and will be thought of like rural electrification. We will look back on this as being a very important decision, with people probably being puzzled as to why there was so much controversy about it....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan Implementation (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: IDA Ireland is always consulted in any of these initiatives. We have identified 300 broadband connection points right across the country in every county and there is a focus on more remote areas. Many are on islands that might otherwise have no access to such a connection. During 2020 we will deliver 150 Mbps capacity to those centres and some of them will be very significant; they could...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan Implementation (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: We will deliver the 300 broadband connection points during 2020 and also in that year the laying of fibre will commence in 15 counties, with 10,000 homes or premises to be connected. In 2021 we will see the big impact, with every county involved and 115,000 homes or premises getting connected. There will be 70,000 to 100,000 premises connected each year thereafter. There will be a major...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: Yes. I am glad to be able to tell the Deputy that budget 2020 has doubled the financial allocation for the warmer homes scheme. It is one area where we recognise that we need to facilitate more homes. This is a scheme where the State provides a 100% grant for people who are qualified for the fuel scheme. That is approximately 22% of the population. The Deputy is right. The level of...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: I am conscious that the Deputy and his party recently supported a motion that would have seen the deferral of the broadband plan for five years. His concern for a fast roll-out in Donegal is belied by his actions. The truth is that we will be starting in 15 counties in 2020 and all counties in 2021 will see the active roll-out of fibre broadband. National Broadband Ireland will be...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Tánaiste answered part of the question on Littleton. A waste facility has been developed there and it is hoped that waste facility can continue to expand. On the broader issue of the use of the just transition fund, as the Deputy knows, this was established for the first time as a result of the introduction of the carbon pricing and we recognise that a number of counties will be...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: This is a matter for RTÉ in the first instance, given that it is an independent body with its own board, overseen by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland as its regulator. The House has previously expressed its belief that some of the pay is excessive. That was included in RTÉ's recent plan, which outlined a 15% cut. RTÉ is in discussions with its unions on the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Expenditure (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The contract that I signed with National Broadband Ireland on 19 November is the Government’s plan to rollout high speed broadband to the 1.1 million people living and working in the nearly 540,000 premises including almost 100,000 businesses and farms, along with 695 schools, where commercial operators will not commit to deliver the service. It will ensure that one quarter of the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Quality (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: Transitioning away from fossil fuels to more renewable, sustainable energy sources is at the heart of the Climate Action Plan. Currently 40% of our homes use coal and peat for heating, many in combination with other fossil fuel heating systems. By 2030, we will upgrade a third of all homes to at least a B2 energy standard, installing approximately 400,000 heat pumps. Currently over 99% of our...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: I welcome the focus given by the Joint Committee on Climate Action in its report to the future of Bord na Mona and the Midlands region. The Committee correctly identified that, while all sectors face challenges transitioning to a low carbon economy, immediate interventions must be put in place in those locations and for those sectors imminently under threat, such as those whose livelihoods...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The managed transition out of peat envisaged by Bord na Móna has been significantly impacted by the An Bord Pleanála decision to refuse planning permission for ESB's West Offaly Power station beyond the end of 2020 and the subsequent ESB decision to withdraw a planning permission application for the Lough Ree Power station. Government has already taken significant steps to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (28 Nov 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Government recognises the need to roll out high speed broadband as quickly as possible and is conscious that the full rollout of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) State intervention area will take a number of years. Broadband Connection Points are key NBP locations in communities across Ireland. Broadband Connection Points are locations of community importance such as community centres,...