Results 8,441-8,460 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Electricity Generation (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Involved in what?

Electricity Generation (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with the Deputy that anything that reduces Ireland's dependence on the importation of fossil fuels is a positive development and there are certainly possibilities into the future in this regard. In addition, it undoubtedly would help to reduce Ireland's carbon emissions. As for the role of NewERA in this regard, the main issue confronting the Government is the provision of adequate...

Telecommunications Services (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The telecommunications market in Ireland, including the provision of next generation broadband networks and services, has been fully liberalised since 1999 and has since seen the steady growth and development of significant well regulated competition in the provision of the full range of telecommunications products and services. Provision of broadband services, including next generation...

Telecommunications Services (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Of course I agree with Deputy Tom Fleming that every part of the country should have adequate connectivity. I am not sure the facts and figures bear out the notion that those in Kerry are especially disadvantaged. I know all Kerry men are very good at communicating that view, especially on the third Sunday in September, but I do not think it is necessarily true. The point he is raising...

Strategic Energy Infrastructure (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Investment in the development and maintenance of Ireland's gas and electricity network infrastructure is of fundamental strategic importance for the economy. Secure and reliable energy supply is a prerequisite for inward investment, for indigenous enterprise and for all consumers. Energy is the lifeblood of all economic production, whether in the high-tech ICT and bio-pharmaceutical...

Strategic Energy Infrastructure (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I have no difficulty reconciling what we have said. There is no doubt that these are strategic assets and it is for that reason that the Government has decided to sell only a minority stake in the ESB to ensure the State maintains a controlling interest. It would have been my wish that we were not forced into this position at all, but the memorandum of understanding with the IMF and EU...

Strategic Energy Infrastructure (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: If I knew the answer to that, I would be going down to Paddy Power. I do not know what the situation will be in four years. What I do know is that market conditions are not propitious right now and, therefore, we will not be selling anything at the moment. I made that clear on a number of occasions. We really should not be rewriting history here. I notice that it is now the new mantra of...

Strategic Energy Infrastructure (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: That is why we are where we are. That is why the previous Government brought in Colm McCarthy, whose report stated that we should sell . It is not possible to forget something that happened before Christmas. Even if someone were a presidential candidate he would remember he was a member of the Executive before Christmas. That was only a few months ago. These are the origins of the problem...

Strategic Energy Infrastructure (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The only thing the last Government did not do was to put in a figure, and according to what the troika told us, that Government begged not to put in a figure and leave it as it was.

State Companies (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I can assure the Deputy that employment creation is the central economic objective of the Government. This issue encompasses a number of key Departments, including Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Education and Skills, and this Department. In so far as my own responsibilities are concerned, I have statutory responsibility for the State energy companies...

State Companies (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with the Deputy that we have a huge unemployment problem. There is no doubt about that. It has been made immeasurably worse by the collapse of the construction sector, and therefore a huge segment of construction workers, with varying levels of skill, are out of work. That is the huge mountain this Government must try to scale. I cannot agree with the Deputy if he is saying that...

State Companies (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with the Deputy about leveraging jobs in the State sector wherever we can. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, has been preoccupied with this issue for more than the last six months. Wherever we can source investment for the creation of new employment connected with the State companies, we will do that. For example, one of the major projects the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd,...

Radio Licensing (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The management of the radio spectrum is a statutory function of the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, under the Communications Regulation Act 2002. In accordance with this function and its obligations under EU law, ComReg designs and manages the spectrum assignment process. In so doing, it must bear in mind the objectives of ensuring the efficient and effective use of radio...

Radio Licensing (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Given the complexity of this issue, I have already suggested to the Deputy that it would be a good idea for the Joint Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture to invite ComReg to make a submission on this matter. The Deputy is probably posing the question because he knows there is no such thing as 100% coverage. He also knows that in many of the precedents set there...

Radio Licensing (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I am reluctant to agree with the Deputy that there is a digital divide in the way he portrays it. The reason we have a statutory body charged with management of this process is that it has the technical and professional capacity to assess it. It is a very complex issue. I think the Deputy understands the point I have made, that there is no precedent in which there has been 100% coverage....

Alternative Energy Projects (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland remains critically dependent on imported fossil fuels, particularly oil and natural gas. This dependency underlines the immediate and long-term imperatives of enhancing energy security, reducing price volatility and ensuring energy sustainability. National energy policy objectives are in line with overall EU policy objectives and are informed by the critical work of the...

Alternative Energy Projects (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: As Deputy Murphy will know, the experts differ on the definition of peak oil and when it will be reached. The central point remains, namely, that the extent to which the State relies on the importation of fossil fuels is critical. That is indisputable and I accept it, but there is an ambitious programme under way to develop our capacity in renewable energy. The Deputy's asked whether there...

Alternative Energy Projects (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Yes. I am currently fighting as if for my life to keep the retrofit programme alive until we move on to the next phase. We have done considerable planning and preparation to divine a new model for retrofitting nationally. Public and commercial buildings constitute a valuable area in terms of potential energy savings and job creation. The idea is to create a new model that will involve a...

Fiscal Policy (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 10 and 14 together. The EU-IMF Programme of December 2010 involves a commitment that the Government will outline methods to raise funds through asset disposal. The 2011 budget included a similar commitment. The programme for Government includes a commitment to finance investment from the proceeds of the sale of certain non-strategic State assets. Far from...

Fiscal Policy (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: If ever there was a booby trap set for a Minister, this is it.