Results 1,581-1,600 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (4 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: The National Development Plan 2021-2030, NDP, published last year, demonstrates the Government’s commitment to meeting Ireland’s infrastructure and investment needs over the medium-term horizon. The NDP 2021-2030 provides €165 billion in public capital funding alongside a detailed and positive vision for Ireland up to 2030 as part of Project Ireland 2040. In budget...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (4 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I understand the capital carry-over is projected to be €800 million for next year, although we will not know without the outturn. The Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, can tell me if I am wrong, but in general I believe we are not constrained by money in our capital programme at the moment. The real constraints are coming from lack of labour and delays that arise in the legal process...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (4 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I meet quarterly with the Construction Industry Federation to ask it how things are going. My understanding is that it is happy and satisfied and is not looking for changes to what was brought in in the inflation co-operation framework. When a new capital works contract is taken out, the various sub-indices of inflation are agreed and a risk-sharing arrangement is put in place. If a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Living Wage (4 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: Public procurement procedures require applicants to meet certain standards when applying for public contracts, including declaring whether they have breached aspects of employment law. All public works projects that are delivered under the Exchequer-funded element of the Government's capital plan must be procured in accordance with the provisions laid down in the capital works management...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Living Wage (4 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: It is Government policy that there should be a living wage for all Irish employees. I would like to see it too and we have a programme working towards that goal. The Deputy's question, though, asks if we can implement this through our public procurement policies and my understanding is that it is not legal to do that. It can be imagined that if we set a certain wage for a public...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Living Wage (4 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I think what the Deputy is saying is that a small minority of current public sector workers are earning the minimum wage but not the living wage.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Living Wage (4 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: Yes, they are earning a rate below the living wage. The Deputy would like us to address this issue and I will discuss this with the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, and see what progress we can make on it.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (4 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: The contract for the National Broadband Plan (NBP), signed with National Broadband Ireland (NBI) in November 2019, provides for the deployment, management and operation by NBI of a high-speed broadband network to all premises in the NBP Intervention Area. The maximum possible cost to the State for the NBP contract will be €2.7 Billion over the 25 year term of the contract....

Public Transport: Motion [Private Members] (5 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this motion, which, as they can imagine, is close to my heart. I thank Deputies Pringle, Joan Collins and McNamara for their clear statements, which I listened to and which I will address in detail later on. The 50% cut in the price of public transport for young people and the 20% cut are the most dramatic interventions in the fare system for public...

Communications Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage (5 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." That a lot has changed since 2002 will not be a controversial contention. This proposition is arguably more accurate for the electronic communications sector than for any other. In 2002, there were fewer than 3 million mobile subscriptions in the State but, by 2021, that number had ballooned by over 4 million, bringing the total number...

Communications Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: Yes.

Communications Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Deputies for their interesting contributions. Deputies O'Rourke and Ó Murchú raised the question of nuisance calls, scam texts and scam calls, and asked for an update in that regard. Last year, I convened a meeting of the mobile operators, the head of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, the head of the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau and ComReg. We set up a task...

Communications Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I commend the Bill to the House.

Communications Regulation Bill 2022: Referral to Select Committee (6 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Transport and Communications pursuant to Standing Orders 95 and 181.

Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (11 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." As we are only too well aware, energy prices have continued to rise to unprecedented levels. The Government is keenly aware of the impact this is having on consumers and the need to take action at scale. Therefore, I commend the Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 to...

Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí go léir. I acknowledge and am thankful that the Opposition is supporting the Bill, which, in general, will help everybody. However, there were plenty of questions, comments and criticisms. I will try to address all of the latter in so far as is possible. The general question at the start was why this Bill is so similar to another Bill we...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Infrastructure (11 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: The Question refers to a premises located in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map which is available on my Department's website www.broadband.gov.ie. The AMBER area represents the area to be served by the network to be deployed under the NBP State led intervention. I am advised by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) that, as of 30 September 2022,...

Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: The amendment proposes to establish a committee that will look into ways in which future schemes may be targeted at individuals who are most vulnerable to fuel poverty or who are financially vulnerable. I like this proposal and I think it is a good idea. The Department has already set up such a committee, however, about which I will tell Deputies something. I propose to reject the...

Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: Part of the remit of this committee is that it targets payments towards people most in need. That is the idea of having a better understanding and better data about energy poverty. For clarity, part of the remit of the committee is that it targets those parts.

Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: The committee has only recently been created. This Bill is a universal payment measure. It is one of three universal measures to target the price of electricity and gas this winter. This is a universal payment to everybody with a meter point reference number, MPRN, who is a domestic customer. In addition, there are two other universal payments. There is a reduction in VAT from 13.5%...