Results 10,561-10,580 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Media Mergers (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: My colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, will bring the refurbishment of competition law to the House during this term. It will transfer the responsibilities referred to by the Deputy to my Department. On the point about plurality, the review group examined this issue and the law will reflect the importance the Government attaches to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Media Mergers (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: With a Minister for Justice and Equality as dynamic as the current holder of that office, it would be very foolish to presume his legislative schedule might be abridged in any way by considerations such as those the Deputy raises. The Press Council of Ireland has worked well. One can say it has not yet had a severe enough test, but in so far as I can observe, it has done a good job. Lord...

Other Questions: Social Media Regulation (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Question Nos. 95 and 103 together. Social media consist of on-line platforms which allow people to create, share and exchange information and comment among themselves in virtual communities and networks. To date, social media have not been subject to a formal regulatory regime in Ireland or elsewhere akin to that in place to regulate traditional radio and television...

Other Questions: Social Media Regulation (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: My understanding is that the relevant Oireachtas committee is about to commence its hearings on this issue. I hope to have the opportunity to be heard by that committee. My Department has been seized of this issue for some time. Our position is little different from that of other jurisdictions which have found, for the reasons that I have set out, that one cannot simply regulate this...

Other Questions: Broadband Services Provision (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Considerable progress has been made in recent years in both the speeds and coverage of national broadband infrastructure, with a multiplicity of commercial operators providing services over a diverse range of technology platforms. The Government has also undertaken a number of initiatives to bring broadband to those parts of the country where commercial operators have been unable to offer...

Other Questions: Broadband Services Provision (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: As the Deputy knows, the architecture of the plan we published in August last year essentially envisages a three-tier formation. In other words, by 2015 some 50% of the population will have access to very high-speed industrial strength broadband. By the end of the lifetime of the Government in 2016, a further 20% of the population will have a broadband speed of 40 Mbps per second or better....

Other Questions: Broadband Services Provision (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Deputy Murphy is right. The putative €9.2 billion that was notionally allocated for the connecting Europe facility was diminished during the process leading to the conclusion of the multi-annual financial framework budgetary discussions. The figure on the telecommunications side now is a rather miserly €1 billion. However, I do not believe it will have much impact on our...

Other Questions: Broadband Services Provision (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The answer I gave earlier to Deputy Moynihan covers Kerry as well and that is the plan. In the short term Deputy Griffin ought to examine if any of the areas to which he referred are covered under the national broadband strategy. The strategy was an agreement entered into between a leading telecommunications company and the previous Government and there is a facility under the agreement...

Other Questions: Energy Schemes (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 97, 133 and 140 together. Energy efficiency is internationally recognised as the most cost effective means of delivering greenhouse gas abatement. It is equally important in the current fiscal climate that energy efficiency offers an opportunity to stimulate economic activity and employment and improve national competitiveness. Extensive studies...

Other Questions: Energy Schemes (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: In response to Deputy Michael Moynihan, I should clarify that the energy efficiency fund has not been set up to replace the retrofit scheme but is in addition to it. The difficulty in respect of domestic retrofitting - I agree with the points made by Deputies Michael Moynihan and MichaelColreavy - is that it is a grants-based incentive, but in the programme for Government we have committed...

Other Questions: Energy Schemes (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I will be happy to bring that proposal to the attention of the SEAI.

Leaders' Questions (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Deputy should know well about obfuscating before a tribunal. All he need do is consult his former leader.

Leaders' Questions (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Deputy should tell that to his teddy bear.

Leaders' Questions (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Bypass.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Petroleum and Gas Exploration (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 112 together. I assume the Deputies are referring to the Barryroe oil discovery off the coast of Cork and to recent media reports relating to the potential of the Rathlin Basin offshore Northern Ireland. The results from the appraisal well drilled last year on the Barryroe discovery were encouraging and are the first significant flows of oil on...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Prices (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Neither I nor the Commission for Energy Regulation has a statutory function in the regulation of petrol and diesel prices. The Irish oil industry is fully privatised, liberalised and deregulated and there is free entry to the market. There is no price control and it is Government policy to encourage price competition and consumer choice. The upward trend in petrol and diesel prices...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Television Licence Fee Collection (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 105 together. The Programme for Government commits to examining the role and collection of the TV licence fee in light of existing and projected convergence of technologies and to transforming the TV licence into a household based Public Broadcasting Charge to be applied to all eligible households and applicable businesses, regardless of the device...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Post Office Network (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: As the Deputy will appreciate An Post is a Commercial State body with its own Board and Management. Therefore operational matters are a matter for the Board and management of An Post. These are areas in which I have no statutory function. As shareholder, however, I do have a strong concern in relation to the ongoing commercial position of the Company and I regularly liaise with the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Speeds (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Government’s National Broadband Plan aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed services of at least 30Mbps are available to all of our citizens and businesses, well in advance of the EU’s target date of 2020, and that significantly higher speeds are available to as many homes and businesses as possible. Specifically, it commits...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Telecommunications Services Provision (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 104, 106 and 131 together. The Government fully accepts importance of the digital economy and to Ireland’s economic development. Research by Boston Consulting Group cited in the recent UPC report on Ireland’s Digital Future, estimates it will grow from a current rate of about 3% of GDP to 6% by 2016. Research currently underway in the...