Results 8,121-8,140 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Energy Efficiency (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: Negotiation is under way on the European Fund for Strategic Investment, which is the context of the issue raised by the Deputy. The Department of Finance is leading those negotiations for Ireland. The Council's negotiating position on the draft European Fund for Strategic Investment regulation was agreed at ECOFIN in March this year. A key element of this position was that the governance...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Energy Efficiency (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: Energy efficiency is extremely important and has been accorded a high priority by me and the Government. I have contributed to a number of EU Energy Council meetings on the issue which I regard as an extremely important policy imperative. Energy efficiency features centrally in the current negotiations on the European fund for strategic investment for this reason. Ring-fencing is one...

Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: The 2009 EU renewable energy directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our overall energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. To meet this target Ireland is committed to achieving a 40% renewable energy contribution in electricity, 12% in heat and 10% in transport. In 2013, some 7.8% of Ireland's overall energy requirement was met by renewable energy with...

Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: It is not clear to what extent the cost arising from any shortfall in meeting the targets by 2020 would be an ongoing one. I would prefer to leave that matter and perhaps discuss it with Deputy Pringle subsequent to this engagement. The Deputy raises an interesting issue in respect of renewable generation of heat in the domestic sector. It is not that the case that we want to favour big...

Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: The Deputy is correct. I would not like him to interpret anything I said as an effort to underplay the real risk and threat posed by fines and penalties if we do not meet the renewable energy targets that have been set. I would not like anything I said to be interpreted in that way. Any shortfall in meeting our target would have a cost and we need to ensure we apply a high level of...

Other Questions: Post Office Network (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: Issues relating to the post office network, including opening or closing of post offices, are operational matters for the management and board of An Post and an area in which I do not have a function. I note, however, the recent publication of a six-point plan by the Irish Postmasters Union. The plan aligns with the Government’s consistent message that a strong, modern and...

Other Questions: Post Office Network (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: I am certainly not ignoring it and I am conscious of the importance of a vibrant post office network. That is why I set up this review group under the chairmanship of Mr. Bobby Kerr to report to me. I will be meeting him next week to see how he is getting on with the work he is doing. He is approaching this in an enthusiastic way and the Irish Postmasters Union is co-operating with the...

Other Questions: Post Office Network (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: We do recognise that. That is why we put together this group to see what are the best steps that can be taken to ensure the post office network actually survives. It should survive and there is every reason it will survive. The Department of Social Protection contract for cash payments to welfare customers is for a minimum period of two years and may be extended up to the end of...

Other Questions: Post Office Network (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: I am meeting Mr. Kerr on 11 May to get a progress report from him as to where matters are at. I expect sometime in the summer to have this report. I do not want to give a specific date but there is some urgency about bringing this forward. I would hope that by the summer we would have his report and we can then debate the issue in the House. Deputy Moynihan is correct. The Department...

Other Questions: Electricity Grid Connection Fees (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: The renewable electricity feed-in tariff, REFIT, schemes are the principal means of supporting renewable electricity generators for renewable energy exported to the grid. These schemes support electricity generated from a range of renewable sources including small scale hydro, biomass and wind. Based around power purchase agreements between generators and electricity suppliers, REFIT...

Other Questions: Electricity Grid Connection Fees (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: The scheme to which the Deputy refers was provided by Electric Ireland, which had been offering a micro-generation feed-in pilot since February 2009. It is true that on 31 December 2014, that pilot scheme was closed to new customers, although the scheme will remain open to existing Electric Ireland customers until 31 December 2015. No other supplier had chosen to provide such a tariff...

Other Questions: Electricity Grid Connection Fees (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: Section 10A of the Electricity (Regulation) Act 1999 provides that I, as Minister, may give general policy directives from time to time, but I am expressly precluded from giving any policy direction in respect of any individual undertaking or person. It is therefore not open to me to do that. I do not want to take from the broader point, however. The Deputy said that people should...

Other Questions: Mobile Telephony (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: Licences issued by ComReg require mobile network operators to provide a minimum level of national population coverage. Operators tend to exceed these coverage requirements for commercial reasons. However, as mobile services are a radio-based technology, services can be affected by topography, quality of handsets, capacity of the network, and proximity to mobile telephone antennae. Any...

Other Questions: Mobile Telephony (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: As regards the Deputy's last point, no final decisions have been made on that.

Other Questions: Mobile Telephony (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: Despite what appeared in the press, no final decisions have been made in that regard. I can assure the Deputy of that, as I am a member of the EU Council that deals with that issue. As I mentioned earlier, we have referred the Deputy's concerns to ComReg. I have come across this issue in one or two other parts of the country as well, and I do not doubt anything the Deputy says. While...

Other Questions: Mobile Telephony (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: I agree that all providers of services should be fully accessible to customers. That is a fair point but the point I was making was that if the Deputy, or anyone in the House, is aware of particular areas where there is a continuing problem - he referred to Cavan and Monaghan and I understand what he means in that it is a fairly broad area - and if there are specific black spots where an...

Other Questions: Broadband Service Provision (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: The national broadband plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State-led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing...

Other Questions: Broadband Service Provision (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: There are two phases in regard to the application for state aid. One is the prenotification process and the other is the formal notification process. We are currently in the prenotification process and I expect to get to the formal notification process by Quarter 4. We can do that in parallel with all the other work we are doing to move to the tender and the culmination of the procurement...

Other Questions: Broadband Service Provision (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: Unfortunately, we cannot come to a conclusion with regard to the order. That is something we would have to settle with the successful bidder or bidders. That is not something we can do in advance but as I said to Deputy Moynihan earlier, I publish a report every month and I will be publishing the May report at the end of this week or early next week. I am able to show each month what we...

Other Questions: Renewable Energy Projects (28 Apr 2015)

Alex White: The renewable electricity feed-in tariff, REFIT, schemes are the principal means of supporting renewable electricity generators for renewable energy exported to the grid. Based around power purchase agreements between generators and electricity suppliers, REFIT schemes assure a minimum price for each unit of electricity exported to the grid over a 15 year period. Projects seeking support...