Results 12,401-12,420 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Semi-State Bodies Issues (26 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: There are three Commercial Semi State companies under the aegis of my Department which have employee share ownership plans (ESOPs) in operation, namely Bord na Mona (BnaM) , Bord Gáis Éireann (BGE) and the ESB. The (ESOPs) in all three companies were established in return for specific, substantial, verifiable changes to be delivered by employees which give value to the company and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Prices (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Responsibility for the regulation of the gas market is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) which is an independent statutory body. The CER continues to regulate the supply tariff for Bord Gáis Energy’s (BGE) domestic customers. All other segments of the gas market have been deregulated and price setting by the other four gas suppliers operating in the domestic...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadcasting Sector Regulation (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I refer to the reply to Question No. 408 of 19 November 2013. The position is unchanged.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Policy Review (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: My department operates a range of programmes and policies in the energy arena and most are under ongoing review. The National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) is the overarching policy framework for energy efficiency in Ireland and reaffirms Ireland’s commitment to a 20% energy savings target across the economy by 2020. Oversight of the NEEAP is provided by the NEEAP...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Post Office Network (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Operational matters and the role of developing commercial strategies for the post office network are a matter for the management and Board of An Post and one in which I have no statutory function. As shareholder, however, I have a strong concern in relation to the ongoing commercial position of the Company and I regularly liaise with the Company in this regard. Information in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Internet Safety (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I share the Deputy’s concern in relation the possibility that the proliferation of internet connectivity may well expose children to bullying and harassment online. There is no doubt that the pervasive use of social media has challenged a wide number of previously accepted norms, both in terms of media governance and in more general societal terms. To that end, I have asked the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadcasting Sector Regulation (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I met with the company detailed once since taking office. I, along with the then Secretary General and my special advisor, met with Denis O'Brien, Communicorp on the 27th April 2012. The meeting was requested by Communicorp to discuss the media merger provisions of the Consumer Protection and Competition Bill.

Seanad: ESB (Electronic Communications Networks) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Ar an gcéad dul síos I welcome Senator Ó Clochartaigh’s general support for the Bill and the general support of the House for it. As regards the amendment before the House, the purpose of this Bill is to provide an explicit legal basis to enable the ESB to engage, now or in the future, in the installation and operation of an electronic communications network attached to...

Seanad: ESB (Electronic Communications Networks) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: All Members of the House have supported the motivation behind the Bill. The idea is to use the existing infrastructure of the ESB to roll out future-proofed fibre optic cable to parts of Ireland that would not have a realistic prospect of that happening. It is a very innovative use of infrastructure in the ownership of a commercial State company. It proposes to do it by way of a joint...

Seanad: ESB (Electronic Communications Networks) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: When I started the sentence I was very proud that I was going somewhere but I have now forgotten. Several colleagues in the Lower House had all kinds of figures on where we rank on broadband provision and connectivity today. Most of it was wrong. I know we could never level such a charge against a Member of this House but in the Lower House Members are poorly informed on some matters and...

Seanad: ESB (Electronic Communications Networks) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: This changes nothing as regards the supply system. The supply system is owned by the ESB. The ESB will come forward with this shareholder agreement, which I have not yet seen, in respect of the creation of the joint venture. The ESB is free to make what arrangements it thinks appropriate. That will come to me in due course in respect of the shareholder agreement but in terms of the...

Seanad: ESB (Electronic Communications Networks) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Feb 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: These amendments have been drafted following consultation with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and are required to improve the legal certainty of the Bill. They do not represent a change in policy in respect of the sections affected. These are drafting amendments.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Bodies (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Sustainable Authority of Ireland (SEAI), was established under the Sustainable Energy Act 2002 and appointments to its Board are made in accordance with that Act. As a State body, SEAI must comply with the revised Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies published by the Department of Finance in 2009. On an annual basis, the Board reviews its compliance with the Code. Arising...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Transmission Network (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: On 28 January last, in response to EirGrid’s recent public consultation process, I announced that I had appointed an Independent Panel of Experts, to be chaired by Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness, to decide the terms of reference for, and to oversee the integrity of a process to be undertaken by EirGrid to report on, comprehensive, route-specific studies of overhead and underground...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Transmission Network (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The €240m Grid West project, which is part of EirGrid’s Grid25 plan to upgrade the national transmission system between now and 2025, is a new high-capacity power line linking the Bellacorick area in County Mayo to a strong point on the transmission grid at Flagford in County Roscommon. Grid West is needed to connect the electricity generated by the region’s huge...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Wind Energy Generation (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: A full cost benefit analysis is on-going to determine if it is mutually beneficial for Ireland and the United Kingdom to enter an Inter-Governmental Agreement to facilitate trade in renewable energy. The amount of energy that might be procured by the UK and the mechanisms for sharing the resultant economic benefits, including an appropriate return to the Exchequer, are among the matters under...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 221 and 222 together. The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. In order to meet this target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heating and 10% of transport power from renewable sources, with the transport target also...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Usage (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Energy in Ireland Report for 2012, published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and available on its website, shows a total heat demand in 2012 in the domestic, public, commercial and industrial sectors of 4,267 kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). Of this, 2,017 ktoe was in the residential sector, 1,464 ktoe was in industry, 430 ktoe was in the commercial services sector and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Resources (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 224, 225 and 228 together. The large hydro resources available in Ireland have been largely exploited and, together with all smaller developments, now comprise a total installed capacity of around 213 MW. This figure excludes Turlough Hill which is a pumped storage system. A resource study titled "The Small-Scale Hydro-electric Potential of Ireland" was...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Fisheries Protection (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The development of hydro generation requires planning permission from the relevant planning authority in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Acts, having due regard to other relevant legal frameworks and guidelines. The principal legislation governing the protection of fish in the development of hydro generation is set out in Part 8, Chapter 5 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act...