Results 29,061-29,080 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Oct 2020)

Richard Bruton: It was really on the scope of litigation and tightening up many of these legislative proposals such as having annual targets and perhaps having the view that each year 7% should be delivered, as advocated by some people. Does that create a vehicle where we will be regularly in the courts taking on groups at the very time we are trying to socialise the need to make dramatic change? I refer...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Oct 2020)

Richard Bruton: My questions are similar. In our system we have groups such as Teagasc, which is an agricultural research body. It contains much of the cutting-edge thinking about what can be done. It seemed strange to cut it out of an advisory council when many of the issues will be with regard to how agriculture can be adapted. The other issue is that although the EPA is a State body it is in itself...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Oct 2020)

Richard Bruton: I thank Professor FitzGerald. It is good to hear his voice. In his last comment, Professor FitzGerald raised the point about the distinction between biogenic methane and other greenhouse gases. The way in which the legislation has defined the 2050 target is a "climate neutral economy", meaning "a sustainable economy, where greenhouse gas emissions are balanced or exceeded by the removal of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Oct 2020)

Richard Bruton: I thank Professor FitzGerald. He commented that one of the frustrations for the Climate Change Advisory Council was in securing access to modelling data in order to get a full picture. He also noted that line Departments ought to participate more in the research that leads to the council's conclusions. I could not agree with him more on that. As a former Minister, I can say that one of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Oct 2020)

Richard Bruton: I have a couple of questions for each witness. Professor Buckley makes a very valid point that on tapping into nature's capacity to provide its own solutions that can really supplement man-made solutions. Does Professor Buckley envisage many sharp trade-offs being made? How should these be made? For example, there is a choice between conifers and hardwoods. If one were to look at a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Oct 2020)

Richard Bruton: Yesterday, the committee heard from Professor John FitzGerald. In the course of an interesting presentation, he said there is a tension between listing a whole range of elements which we must regard. We now have 25. These will create a process within the Climate Change Advisory Council of having to trace these individual items. This could throw one open to fairly constant litigation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Oct 2020)

Richard Bruton: Whoever thinks they have an answer is welcome to reply.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Oct 2020)

Richard Bruton: I am not really talking about any specific plan. It seems that our list of criteria, to which we must have regard, is getting longer. We have short-lived gases versus long-lived gases and a need to measure our timescales over five-year budgets or 50-year perspectives. It seems that we are putting more straws on the camel. I am not saying that biodiversity should be the straw that is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Oct 2020)

Richard Bruton: Does Dr. Glynn wish to respond to the same question?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (3 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 32. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has an estimate of the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on greenhouse gas emissions during 2020; and if he envisages domestic policy initiatives to make Irish agriculture more climate resilient in 2021. [33394/20]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (3 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 164. To ask the Minister for Health the nature and composition of a target capacity for test trace and quarantine at the various levels of the Government's roadmap; and if he envisages problems of building the surge capacity or getting compliance with quarantine and isolation [33391/20]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (3 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 175. To ask the Minister for Health if there is evidence that Ireland has learned to manage the medical progress of Covid-19 in vulnerable populations since spring; and the way in which it is influencing policy for managing the virus [33392/20]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Search and Rescue Service Provision (3 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 321. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has considered the potential of the Air Corps to participate in the search and rescue operations; if this has been factored into future plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32858/20]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (3 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 590. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of low-cost sites that have been made available in the past year for persons to build a home or for a small co-operative to build a set of homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32591/20]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (3 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 600. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that persons who are with employers on EWSS are not receiving loan approval under the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme; and if there are concerns that this will be very disruptive for the families concerned. [32812/20]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 717. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if consideration will be given to schools that are scheduled to lose teachers on the new enrolment numbers in order that they could have the continuity necessary to manage the Covid-19 difficulties. [32493/20]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (3 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 816. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when construction will commence on a school (details supplied). [33690/20]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (3 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 877. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if there is a delay in issuing PPS numbers to persons returning here; and the steps being taken to deal with this delay. [32853/20]

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Recycling Policy (4 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 23. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he has developed initiatives to extend full household recycling to apartment developments which do not now provide them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34001/20]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Recycling Policy (4 Nov 2020)

Richard Bruton: 59. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if planning permissions for apartment developments are now required to provide full recycling facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33998/20]