Results 11,901-11,920 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (3 Dec 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 can be found on...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Transmission Network (3 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Development of the high voltage electricity grid as planned in the EirGrid Grid25 strategy is critical to Ireland's economic and social development. Ensuring secure reliable and safe supplies of electricity is critical to Ireland’s ability to attract inward investment and retain and create jobs.All projects in the Grid25 programme are undertaken in accordance with EirGrid’s...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Metropolitan Area Networks Programme (3 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: A table of the Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) and their respective locations, the year of completion and year lit for each MAN is attached.The MANs Programme, which was eligible for co-funding of 40-50% under the European Regional Development Fund, has cost in the region of €176 million to date. Phase I of the MANs programme delivered optical fibre networks to twenty eight towns...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Bord Gáis Privatisation (3 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: A total of four officials from my Department were involved in the Working Group and Steering Group overseeing the sale process for the Bord Gais Energy business. No additional resources, either internal or external were retained by the Department for the purpose of the process and officials undertook this work as part of their normal duties. My Department did not directly engage or incur any...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Inland Fisheries Ireland Issues (3 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland manages salmon stocks generally on an individual river basis. Each river contains a genetically unique stock, which migrates to sea as juveniles and returns to the same river in adulthood to spawn. The conservation imperative means that exploitation of salmon of each river is only permitted where the independent Standing Scientific Committee (SSC) for salmon determine that the stock...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Media Mergers (3 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: As the Deputy will be aware, at present my primary function with regard to media is directly related to my remit in the broadcasting sector. The responsibility for control of mergers and acquisitions, including those relating to the media in the State, lies with my colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation as provided for in the Competition Act 2002. The Government decided...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Digital Strategy Implementation (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: One in five adults in Ireland has never used the Internet. Many if not most of these are older people. That is why older people are a key focus in the Government's national digital strategy, which I launched earlier this year. I awarded grants in July under my Department's benefit programme to 17 community and voluntary organisations to deliver basic digital skills training to people who...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Digital Strategy Implementation (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with Deputy Moynihan that we have to be very careful to ensure a new digital divide does not develop in this country. Many older people did not have access to this technology when they were being educated or during their working lives. The Deputy is right to suggest that they can suddenly become isolated. The merit of the benefit programme is that it assists such people. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Digital Strategy Implementation (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The figures show that 23% of the population have never accessed the Internet. The programme to which I referred has trained some 83,000 people in basic digital literacy skills. In respect of the particular cohort to which the Deputy refers, especially those who may be living in remote locations, the whole point of the benefit programme is that it sponsors these programmes in partnership...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Bord Gáis Privatisation (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 4 together. In May of this year, a process was initiated to sell the Bord Gáis Energy business. This process was led by Bord Gáis Éireann and overseen by a government steering group which included officials from my Department, the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, and the NewERA unit of the NTMA. I am advised...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Bord Gáis Privatisation (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: It seems there is nothing I can do to make Deputy Colreavy happy.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Bord Gáis Privatisation (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: He does not want me to sell the energy business of Bord Gáis, yet when I do not sell it he is also unhappy. I am sorry about that, but I think it was the right decision because we did not get value in so far as we regard the energy business of Bord Gáis as a very good business. We made plain from the beginning that unless we got value we would not sell. It would appear that some...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Bord Gáis Privatisation (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Deputy Moynihan is correct in that market conditions are affected by various developments, not least the shipping of cheaper coal into Europe by the US as a result of the revolution in prices therein arising from the exploitation of shale gas. This is just one of the factors affecting gas market conditions to which the Deputy referred. Deputy Colreavy raised a comparison with Eircom. We...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Energy Resources (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: We are getting more democratic every day.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Energy Resources (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Yes.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Projects (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive outlined targets for member states for renewable energy penetration. The directive set Ireland a binding target where at least 16% of our energy requirements should come from renewable sources by 2020. In order to meet our overall 16% requirement, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heating and 10% of transport from...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Projects (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Deputy is correct. The memorandum of understanding between myself and the UK Secretary of State for Energy, Mr. Edward Davey, was a statement of intent on an intergovernmental agreement, which we are required to do under the relevant European directive if we are to open up a traded sector between this country and Britain. It did not deal with the matter of a strike price because it...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Projects (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: If Deputy Colreavy worked at it, he could not get the wrong end of the stick more perfectly than he has done there. How in the name of heaven can we agree a strike price until we know exactly what it is that we are trading? There is no template for this and nothing has been done. Not one single turbine has been erected and no irrevocable commitments have been entered into. Nothing is...

Other Questions: Energy Prices (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: As stated by the Deputy, thus far, happily, the winter has been very mild. Let us hope it continues that way. As we enter the winter months I remain concerned about energy poverty and its impact on the most vulnerable in society. Energy poverty is a function of a person’s income, the thermal efficiency of his or her home and the price he or she pays for energy. As the Deputy will...

Other Questions: Energy Prices (4 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: As the Deputy knows, under the warmer homes segment of the better energy programme, the State bears the total cost of refurbishment of houses. The others are grant based incentive schemes in respect of houses in the private sector. We expect an additional 10,000 homes to be refurbished this year. This does not take into account the moneys being spent by my colleague, the Minister of State...