Results 10,761-10,780 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Inland Fisheries (21 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Inland Fisheries Ireland, (IFI) is the statutory agency responsible for the conservation, protection and development of the inland fisheries resource and recreational sea angling. It has also a remit to promote the inland fisheries and sea angling resource. I am advised by IFI that a comprehensive and wide-ranging array of measures is implemented aimed at the conservation, protection and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Wind Energy Guidelines (21 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Renewable electricity is supported through REFIT (Renewable Energy Feed-in-Tariff). Various renewable energy technologies are supported through REFIT, including onshore wind, hydro, landfill gas, biomass CHP, anaerobic digestion and biomass combustion and co-firing. The lowest REFIT reference rates are offered in respect of onshore wind. The objective of the five part All-Island Grid...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Information and Communications Technology Issues (21 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: My Department uses both 1890 lo-call number and national number for members of the public. The use of a lo-call number affords considerable savings to people who do not have access to free national call services. In accordance with best practice there is an accompanying note on the Department’s website and in press notices or other literature advising that the rates charged for the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Information and Communications Technology Issues (21 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 156 and 157 together. The telephony/switchboard service in my Department is currently under contract with the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI). I understand that NCBI provides services to other public bodies in this regard. The contract provides valuable employment for two people with a registered disability as well as an excellent...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Presidential Reports (21 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Being Young and Irish was an initiative launched by President Higgins, the consultation process of which took place between May 25 and September 29, 2012. Young people aged 17-26 from across the country were invited to share their views on the future of Ireland. Arising from the consultation process, a report entitled ‘Take Charge of Change’ was produced. I have received a...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadcasting Sector Regulation (21 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The policy approach in regard to the imposition of programming obligations on broadcasters is set out in the Broadcasting Act 2009, which also sets out the objects of our national public service broadcasters. In pursuit of these objects RTÉ and TG4 are charged, inter alia, with ensuring that programmes reflect the varied elements, which make up the culture of the people of Ireland and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Alternative Energy Projects (21 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: My Department is aware that thorium is an alternative to uranium as a fuel for nuclear fission. I understand that there are large scale thorium resources available worldwide but that it will be some time before nuclear power stations fuelled by thorium become commercially available. The use of nuclear fission for the generation of electricity in Ireland is prohibited by Section 18(6) of the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (21 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Decisions by commercial telecommunications operators, including Eircom, in relation to investing in infrastructure or new services are taken on purely commercial grounds, having regard to the likely return on the investment in question. I therefore have no role or function in relation to the matter raised in the Deputy’s Question.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Inland Fisheries (26 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Control of Fishing for Salmon Order 2013, SI No. 75 of 2013 sets out the process and the criteria for the issuing, by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), of commercial salmon licences in 2013 and also allows for up to 14 commercial public draft net licences in the Kerry District. I am advised by IFI that all valid applications for licences for the Kerry District will be categorised under...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation (26 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a natural process involving the decomposition of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. The biogas that is produced can be used to generate electricity, provide heat or can be used as a biofuel in the transport sector. Biogas can also be upgraded by removing impurities to create biomethane, a direct substitute for Natural Gas, which can be injected directly...

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

Pat Rabbitte: All post-primary schools in Ireland will have a 100 Mbps broadband connection installed by the end of 2014, through a project jointly funded by my Department and the Department of Education and Skills (DES). The national rollout, which commenced in 2012, will be completed on an incremental basis. In 2012, 200 schools were connected across 14 Counties, including Counties Longford and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Wind Energy Strategy (26 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Electric Ireland has been offering a 9c/kwh feed in tariff, on a commercial basis under specified terms and conditions, to domestic micro-generators since February 2009. No other electricity supply company has to date chosen to enter the market and to offer a micro-generation feed-in-tariff on a commercial basis, although the Commission for Energy Regulation invited them to do so. ESB have...

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

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland’s telecommunications market has been fully liberalised since 1999 in accordance with the requirements of binding EU Directives. The market has since developed into a well-regulated market, supporting a multiplicity of commercial operators, providing services over a diverse range of technology platforms. The EU framework establishing a liberalised telecommunications market...

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

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland’s telecommunications market has been fully liberalised since 1999 in accordance with the requirements of binding EU Directives. The market has since developed into a well-regulated market, supporting a multiplicity of commercial operators, providing services over a diverse range of technology platforms. Details of broadband services available in each County, including County...

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

Pat Rabbitte: The broadband service contracted under National Broadband Scheme (NBS) is a basic, affordable, scalable product in keeping with EU State Aid clearance for the Scheme. Under the terms of the contract which my Department has in place with “3”, the NBS service provider, the NBS mobile wireless service currently offers minimum download and upload speeds of 2.3 Mbps and 1.4 Mbps...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Public Sector Remuneration (26 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I wish to advise the Deputy that the information she has requested is an operational matter for the individual Bodies concerned. The Deputy should deal directly with the Bodies concerned.

Topical Issue Debate: Electricity Transmission Network (27 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I can confirm that I was able to make several changes to REFIT 1 and 2 which I announced this morning at the spring conference of the Irish Wind Energy Association and that they will meet the requests that Deputy Mulherin has been making to me for some time in respect of the operation of REFIT. They will also greatly enhance the installed capacity in the seven or eight years to 2020 which...

Topical Issue Debate: Electricity Transmission Network (27 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The developers will have received a fillip from this morning's announcement, and the necessary certainty that they seek. The consultation process in respect of curtailment and scheduling took a great deal longer than anybody could have predicted three and a half years ago. It is also true that EirGrid has not been able to deliver as quickly as might have been anticipated for a variety of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Schemes (27 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 188 to 190, inclusive, together. The Better Energy Homes scheme is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) as part of the Better Energy Programme. The scheme provides financial assistance to households who wish to improve the energy performance of their homes. Fixed grants are allocated towards the cost of a range of measures...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: State Agencies (27 Mar 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I wish to advise the Deputy that there are 18 State bodies, including Regulatory Authorities under the aegis of my Department. Of these there are 15 whose boards are appointed in whole in or in part by the Minister and/or the Government. Appointments to State owned banks do not come under the remit of my Department. The majority of boards, under the aegis of my Department, are not funded...