Results 8,561-8,580 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Resources (30 Jun 2015)

Alex White: Ireland has a single refinery at Whitegate, Cork that is owned and operated by Phillips 66. My Department is in regular contact with the company and I have met with Irish and US executives of Phillips 66 as well as with union representatives. I visited the refinery in November 2014. The company most recently marketed the Bantry storage terminal, the refinery and their retail business in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Harbours and Piers Development (30 Jun 2015)

Alex White: There is significant expertise in the Cork harbour area for the maritime and energy sectors including the long established presence of the oil refinery at Whitegate, the National Maritime College of Ireland, the Irish Maritime and Energy Research Cluster (IMERC) at Ringaskiddy and the International Energy Research Centre (IERC) in the Tyndall National Institute in Cork City. Inputs from the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (30 Jun 2015)

Alex White: The information sought by the Deputy is set out in the table. The Deputy should note that this information is based on the map produced by the Department in November 2014 and will be subject to change following assessment of all investment plans by operators. Existing and Planned Commercial High Speed Broadband: this is the number of premises by county that commercial operators indicated...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (30 Jun 2015)

Alex White: The aim of the National Broadband Plan is to ensure that all premises will have access to high speed broadband, whether through commercial investment or a State funded intervention. Last November I published a national high speed coverage map for 2016. The map identifies detailed information on over 50,000 townlands on a county-by-county basis and can be accessed at . The map shows Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Efficiency (30 Jun 2015)

Alex White: SI 131 of 2014 established an Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme in line with Article 7 of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. The scheme is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Under the scheme all energy suppliers with annual sales above 600 gigawatt hours (GWh) are required to deliver energy savings to final consumers equating to 0.75% of their annual energy...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (30 Jun 2015)

Alex White: I propose to take Questions Nos. 661 and 662 together. The Government recognises that access to high quality, high speed broadband is important for businesses and households throughout Ireland. The National Broadband Plan (NBP) 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...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Policy (30 Jun 2015)

Alex White: The overarching objective of the Government's energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. A well balanced fuel mix that provides reliable energy, minimises costs and protects against supply disruptions and price volatility, is essential to Irish consumers. The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Postcode System Expenditure (30 Jun 2015)

Alex White: A contract was signed with Capita Business Support Services Ireland Limited in December 2013 to develop and roll out the National Postcode System over a 10 year period. Total spend to date on that contract is €15.3m. Aside from the contract with Capita, the table below includes all companies involved in the project and their associated costs from 2010 to date in the development of the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Postcode System (30 Jun 2015)

Alex White: I refer to the reply to Question No. 268 of 24 June. The position is unchanged.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Commission for Energy Regulation (1 Jul 2015)

Alex White: The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) is Ireland’s independent energy regulator. The CER was initially established as the Commission for Electricity Regulation under the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999. Under the Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act, 2002, CER's remit was expanded to include the regulation of the natural gas sector and its name was changed to the Commission for Energy...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (1 Jul 2015)

Alex White: The National Broadband Plan (NBP) 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...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Expenditure (1 Jul 2015)

Alex White: My Department seeks to ensure that spending on education and training represents value for money and expenditure in this area is incurred in accordance with EU Regulations and Department of Finance guidelines. The annual cost of Learning and Development in my Department can vary depending on demand and the requirement for courses. The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Expenditure (1 Jul 2015)

Alex White: My Department administers a very diverse, complex and technical brief. It has a total complement of around 250 full time equivalent staff of whom a limited number are technical personnel. This requires my Department to procure specialist external professional advice notably in legal, financial and technical areas to assist in discharging its functions. In procuring these specialised services,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Expenditure (1 Jul 2015)

Alex White: Special Adviser appointments are undertaken in accordance with the Instructions on Ministerial Appointments for the 31st Dáil (July 2014) and the Guidelines on Staffing of Ministerial Offices (March 2011) issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. In accordance with Section 11(1)(a) of the Public Service Management Act 1997, I appointed two Special Advisers in 2014. The...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Expenditure (1 Jul 2015)

Alex White: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. The One Person One Salary policy introduced by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform provides that serving public sector employees are not eligible to receive remuneration in relation to their membership of boards of State Bodies. In addition, non-public sector board members may choose to voluntarily waive...

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Postal Services) (Amendment) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jul 2015)

Alex White: Section 66C(2) clarifies section 6A of the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2003, which is the main legislation dealing with data protection. This legislation relates to the processing of personal data which is likely to cause damage or distress. This is a fundamental principle in the Acts. Section 2 provides that this provision in the Data Protection Acts does not apply where the processing...

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Postal Services) (Amendment) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jul 2015)

Alex White: We are taking amendments Nos. 2 to 6, inclusive, and 8 to 10, inclusive, together. The complaints procedure set out in this Bill refers to the process that owners or occupiers of property can follow in regard to a postcode related complaint. The complaints procedure is set out in the postcode contractor's code of practice. I emphasise that the postcode contractor has consulted with the...

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Postal Services) (Amendment) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jul 2015)

Alex White: I thank the Senator. Section 66D of the Communications Regulation (Postal Services)(Amendment) Bill sets out an obligation on the postcode contractor to draw up procedures for dealing with complaints by owners or occupiers of property relating to the use of postcodes by the contractor or by a value added reseller. As is the general rule on primary legislation, this section of the Bill...

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Postal Services) (Amendment) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jul 2015)

Alex White: Although the regulation-making power in the proposed section is expressed as "may" and it is not framed as a mandatory obligation on the Minister, it remains the case that the regulations permitted under the section form part of the overall scheme of the Bill. The Data Protection Commissioner has been enormously helpful and supportive of this entire process, but the decision to bring forward...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Ministerial Meetings (2 Jul 2015)

Alex White: As the Deputy will appreciate, in view of the range of my remit as Minister I receive representations, including requests for meetings from a broad range of sources, including members of the Oireachtas, local and voluntary groups and private individuals and companies. Since my appointment as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources on 11 July 2014 I have attended some 870...