Results 16,021-16,040 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (3 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I cannot support the amendment. The national climate objective, as drafted, specifically sets within it the transition to a climate-resilient, biodiversity-rich, environmentally-sustainable and climate-neutral economy. That sense of resilience is much broader and one I believe is more appropriate. It is sufficiently well drafted in the national climate objective. We might confuse matters...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (3 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Again, I do not see that the definition provides any greater clarity. I do not see our emissions reductions coming from accounting or storage systems. We are going to have to stop the use of all fossil fuels in the State, in line with the Paris Agreement. We are where we are in using or storing them in the way we have just discussed. Changing the definition would risk uncertainty as to...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (3 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I share the objective set out in the amendment. It is better covered within the existing provisions in the Bill. When it is amended, the new section 4(8)(k) to be inserted in the Act deals with the requirement for a just transition. It will apply to rural Irish farming more than anything else. This is a better way to achieve that objective. While I understand the objectives of the...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (3 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with Deputy Bruton that what Mr. Mulvey and others have done in the midlands is a really good example of practical intervention on a just transition basis. That work is far from complete and there is an urgency behind delivering some of the funding that has been allocated. I recognise that, but what has been done is a start in the right direction. The principles of just...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (3 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I move amendment No. 2: In page 5, line 30, to delete "other than sections 18 and 19" and substitute "other than sections 18, 19, 20 and 21". I confirm that I am in the Leinster House complex. I thank the committee for the work it did on this Bill at pre-legislative stage, which was more extensive than any previous pre-legislative process and was effectively akin to Committee Stage,...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (3 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I will give the Deputy the details. Of the 29 existing authorisations, three are petroleum leases, only one of which is currently producing. That is the Corrib gas field. Four are lease undertakings, 18 are exploration licences, two are licensing options and two are petroleum prospecting licences. The issue of energy security was debated extensively in recent years at hearings of previous...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (3 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: While I understand the sentiment of the amendment, unfortunately I will not be able to support it. I want to cite where the objective is included in the Bill and is set out clearly in section 5, in the proposed section 3(3), which is probably the most critical section of the legislation: The Minister and the Government shall carry out their respective functions under sections 4, 5, 6, 6B,...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (3 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I am not able to support this amendment. There are already target-setting criteria established in the Bill, which provide that any carbon budget plan or strategy the Government adopts will take account of a number of limited but crucial considerations, such as our EU and international obligations, including the Paris Agreement commitments, as well as the calculated national and voluntary...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (3 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Bill does not include provision for offsetting. Such inclusion would not be appropriate as it would undermine the obligations contained in the Bill. The legislation has been developed to focus on achieving obligations through emissions reductions and removals in the State, not by way of markets here or elsewhere, as provided for in the relevant definitions in respect of emissions and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: North-South Interconnector (1 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The North-South interconnector is critical to improving the efficient operation of the all-island single electricity market and increasing security of electricity supply in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It will also help Ireland to move towards our 70% renewable electricity target by 2030. A resilient and well-connected energy infrastructure is vital for Ireland's economic well-being and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: North-South Interconnector (1 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: We have not yet appointed the team. I expect it will be appointed shortly and that the review will take a short number of months. It is important for all concerned that we get clarity on this and it reaches a conclusion. The project has been an issue for many years now. It has been subject to extensive planning consultation, court hearings and ongoing court proceedings in Northern...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: North-South Interconnector (1 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I acknowledge the reports in the Sunday newspapers to which the Deputy referred. They are correct in that we have seen, in recent months, a series of amber alerts on our system pointing out the real difficulties we have. These are due to a whole variety of different complex issues, largely gas infrastructure being out of commission. They are also due to a lack of investment in the grid and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Schemes (1 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I thank Deputy Canney for his question. The better energy warmer homes scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures free of charge to low-income households who are vulnerable to energy poverty. In order to qualify for support, applicants must own and live in their home, which must have been built and occupied before 2006, and must be in receipt of certain social welfare payments....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Schemes (1 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I will commit to looking at that. The key issue is that we are looking to get to every single house in the country. That is what we have to do to meet this climate change challenge. Every place matters. We have to go to every community in a systematic way. It will take three decades, with 500,000 houses a decade and 50,000 houses a year reached. That is what we need to do. That is why...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Schemes (1 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: It is true what the Deputy says about the supply chain. Across a range of different sectors what we are seeing as a result of the pandemic is disruption to global supply chains. It is very real and is occurring in the construction sector as well as other sectors. It is adding to inflationary pressures, which is a real difficulty. We have to hope and expect that, as the economy returns to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (1 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I thank Deputy Bruton. With the 2030 Climate Target Plan and EU climate law, the EU will raise its ambition on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. This is a substantial increase compared to the existing 40% emissions reduction cut. The Commission is preparing to present by July 2021 an overhaul of all relevant climate legislation as part of a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (1 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Much of what happens here will depend on the outcome of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, negotiations which are not concluded yet. I will be honest in saying that I will be very supportive of new income streams that we can create to pay for nature-based or environmental services that our farming community might deliver. It is critical that the CAP negotiations help in delivering on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Electricity Grid (1 Jun 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Ireland’s increased climate and energy ambition is reflected by the Government target to achieve 5 GW of installed offshore wind generation by 2030. There is a further commitment in the programme for Government to develop a longer-term plan to utilise the potential 30 GW of offshore floating wind power in our Atlantic waters. The 5 GW target will be primarily met through...