Results 5,161-5,180 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: The new National Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) which was announced in Budget 2010 has the objective of radically improving the energy efficiency of both domestic and non-domestic building stock nationwide, with a particular emphasis on low-income households. The detailed design of the new programme will be finalised and subject to...

Written Answers — Departmental Websites: Departmental Websites (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: My Department manages a number of websites that are focused on delivering information and mapping services to the wide range of stakeholders that have an interest in the Communications, Energy, and Natural Resources areas for which my Department is responsible. As the unique visitor numbers illustrate, the websites vary between those of general interest, and specialised websites which supply...

Written Answers — Alternative Energy Projects: Alternative Energy Projects (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: At the request of my Department, Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) has commissioned a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on Wave, Tidal and Offshore Wind Development in Irish waters. The Ocean Energy Development Unit in SEI is progressing the SEA with the assistance of expert technical advice. The process is being overseen by a Steering Group which comprises my Department, SEI, the...

Written Answers — Broadcasting Legislation: Broadcasting Legislation (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: This issue is a matter for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The Broadcasting Act 2009 provides for the Compliance Committee of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to accept complaints from the general public in relation to a range of issues. The grounds and procedures for making complaints are set out in Section 48 of the Act. The Compliance Committee of the Broadcasting Authority...

Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: Broadband services are provided by private service providers over various platforms including DSL (i.e over the telephone lines), fixed wireless, mobile, cable, satellite and fibre. Details of the availability of broadband services in County Roscommon, are available at www.broadband.gov.ie. I would add that the information contained in this website is provided by service providers....

Written Answers — Alternative Energy Projects: Alternative Energy Projects (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: There are currently 153 wind farm projects proceeding through the Gate 3 process. The list of Renewable Projects in Gate 3 has been published by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and available on its website (http://www.cer.ie). There are 10 Wind Farm projects in Gate 3 located in the Galway area. The total capacity applied for is 407.59 MW. 8 of these projects are due to receive...

Written Answers — Energy Regulation: Energy Regulation (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: The regulation of electricity network charges is the statutory responsibility of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999. I have no function in setting these tariffs. The CER reduced the network charges for all domestic and business customers from May 1st 2009 which resulted in an average decrease of electricity bills of 10.3%. This brought...

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services and Electronic Communications Infrastructure) Bill 2009: Second Stage (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I am pleased to bring this important Bill before the Seanad for its consideration. The primary purpose of the Bill is to transfer the function of regulating premium rate services from Regtel to the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. During its passage through the other House, I introduced an important amendment to the Bill that changed it from one dealing solely with premium...

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services and Electronic Communications Infrastructure) Bill 2009: Second Stage (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: No, I am due to leave at 5.30 p.m.

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services and Electronic Communications Infrastructure) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I welcome the support of Senators for Second Stage of this Bill. I shall deal with a couple of points. Senator O'Reilly said something that bears repeating about the good work the existing agency, Regtel, has been doing. We acknowledge this, while recognising the lack of statutory powers which hindered Regtel from doing the work necessary, especially in an evolving area, thus requiring us...

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services and Electronic Communications Infrastructure) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (20 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: The Senator is right. The question then is whether the customer is not looking for it, because unwarranted advertising is a very serious issue. It is slightly different from the premium rates services issue. In that sense it is a contract that is entered into, either wittingly or unwittingly, whereas the issue of unwarranted communications is primarily a matter for the Data Protection...

Postal Codes. (26 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: A smart economy requires that the underlying infrastructure supports enterprises based on knowledge and innovation. For this, an ability to collate and assess data spatially is a prerequisite and postcodes can play a key role and can deliver economic and social benefits across the whole economy. Ireland is the only country in the EU that does not have such a postal code in place, but as the...

Postal Codes. (26 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I must be careful because within a week we will start a competitive process which should deliver quickly in terms of the exact system we introduce. Given that it will be within a competitive process I must be careful not to skew the result one way or the other. The case is not as set out by Deputy Coveney. I agree with the Deputy that post codes are right for this country and that as well...

Postal Codes. (26 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I am not rejecting any accurate system. It will be up to the competitive tendering process to decide on which system. I have had several good conversations with the Data Protection Commissioner, who has the important job of protecting people from invasion of privacy. That can be done while still delivering a system with the level of accuracy we need for locational code purposes and in the...

Broadcasting Services. (26 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, was established on 1 October 2009 under the Broadcasting Act 2009 as the new statutory body to regulate the broadcasting industry in Ireland. The budget set by the authority's predecessor, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, BCI, for 2009 amounted to €6.238 million. That budget was prepared on the basis of a full year's operation although it...

Broadcasting Services. (26 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Deputy that every organisation must be conscious of costs in these difficult times and keep budgets tight-----

Broadcasting Services. (26 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: -----and live within them. The chairman and chief executive of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland are aware of that fact. They are committed to examining every aspect of their business, ensuring that they pare the costs down to the bare minimum and that the final outcome in terms of expenditure could be below what has been estimated. They will publish an initial estimate but they are...

Broadcasting Services. (26 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: The budget for last year was €6.238 million for the full year. The BAI was only in operation for the last quarter. The budget from April to September, therefore, was set at approximately €4.550 million and the remaining budget of approximately €1.5 million - the accounts have still to come in - was the estimated cost for that fourth quarter. It was largely met from cash flow...

Broadcasting Services. (26 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: It was legislated that the new body would not be paid by direct Exchequer payment, and provision was made for that in the accounts for last year.

Broadcasting Services. (26 Jan 2010)

Eamon Ryan: The interim payment was made through existing cash flow resources the authority had. The levy was always due to be applied. It will be paid quarterly, with the payment being applied to the previous quarter. The first payment in the first quarter this year, therefore, is retrospective.