Results 1,601-1,620 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

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

Ossian Smyth: This amendment proposes to cover tenancy agreements which cover rent that includes electricity charges. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has been in contact with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on this issue. As the scheme can only credit the domestic electricity account, I cannot accept this amendment. For operational reasons, the...

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

Ossian Smyth: I move amendment No. 11: In page 8, line 14, to delete “192K.(1) An electricity” and substitute “192JA.(1) An electricity”. This is a technical amendment. The electricity costs benefit to be paid out is supposed to be exempt from income tax. We do not want anybody to be paying income tax on the money they receive. The payment will not, therefore, give rise...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cycling Facilities (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Senator Murphy for raising the safe routes to school programme and providing me with the opportunity to address the Seanad about this topic on behalf of the Minister for Transport. The programme for Government sets out an ambitious and wide-ranging set of commitments in relation to walking and cycling. It committed that €360 million in cross-government funding would be spent...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cycling Facilities (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator. Right now, money is not the problem or the constraint. Under our programme for Government, €1 million a day is available for walking and cycling improvements. What better way is there to spend that than to make it safe for children to walk and cycle to school? It has multiple benefits, but part of it is just health and happiness and not making parents have to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Education and Training Boards (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Chair and Senator Kyne. The Minister for Education has asked me to answer this question about staffing arrangements for ETBs on her behalf. As Senator Kyne may be aware, the arrangements for the allocation of teaching posts and the allocation of special needs assistants in all schools, including ETB schools, are set down in various circulars issued by the Department of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Education and Training Boards (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: My understanding is that the ETBs, and I was a board member of the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB in the past, have autonomy and independence in hiring staff and choosing how they spend their staff budget and so on. The problem arises when they are hiring a replacement staff member whose pay is additional to the budget that has already been allocated. As the Senator is shaking his head,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Education and Training Boards (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: When somebody is on long-term sick leave, for example, and an additional person needs to be hired, there is an increase in the budget costs and the ETB is required to go back to the Department to seek sanction. The Department's view on this is that it is approving 85% of applications in that situation. I suppose the intention is for the ETBs to live within their budgets, not to exceed the...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I welcome our guests in the Gallery and they are all very welcome. I would never judge anyone for their mileage because I live in a county that is only 10 km by 10 km, so I understand that some have a greater challenge than me. Having regard to the continued rise in electricity prices, I am pleased to commend the Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Third Level Fees (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science thanks the Deputy for raising this matter because it gives me, on his behalf, the opportunity to set out to the House the position regarding the Maynooth student centre. Maynooth University recently informed the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science that its governing...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Third Level Fees (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I take the Deputy's point. Although this project did not involve Government funding and was instead funded by a student levy and the EIB, the university as a body is funded by the State. It is clear that the Minister is not shying away or distancing himself from this and saying that it has nothing to do with him. He has met the students and the governing bodies. On the three points...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Acting Chairperson and the Senators for their comments. I listened closely to what they had to say. It was a useful debate. Even though we all agree we want to go ahead with this legislation and realise the urgency there, useful contributions have been made by all Members about how we should proceed for the coming months and what is going to happen in the spring because this...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: That is why we have targeted and welfare payments but some people get missed, so we need some universal payments as well. We have the experience of that with child benefit. We have three universal payments, or three universal subsidies that are going through. The first is the direct payment of €600 is provided for in this Bill. The next one is the change in the PSO levy. The PSO...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Senators for tabling these amendments and I take them in the spirit in which they are intended. Each of these amendments proposes to amend the Bill to include wording around non-vacant and non-holiday homes. The scheme being established is going to use the MPRN to identify all domestic electricity accounts to ensure that payments are made directly and automatically without means...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Senator Sherlock. The intention of these amendments is to target the payments towards the person using the electricity and to cover tenancy agreements that perhaps include the cost of the electricity in the rent. For operational reasons, the scheme can only credit the domestic electricity account. The scheme will apply to domestic electricity accounts using their unique MPRN to...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator for her invitation to visit Dublin 7. In fact, a few days ago, I was in the north-east inner city to examine problems with street litter and so on with the Dublin City Council cleanup team. Some of the issues with rubbish on the street are linked to landlords with large quantities of tenants who do not have waste collection contracts in place. I expect they will be...

Domestic Electricity and Gas Disconnections: Motion [Private Members] (18 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Deputies for their engagement on this crucially important issue. The passion behind the contributions is a reminder of how important it is that we have an affordable supply of energy for the economic as well as social well-being of our people. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, made it clear that the scale of the measures introduced by the Government in 2023 totalled €2.5...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: EU Regulations (19 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: EU Regulation 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS) sets out to harmonise digital interoperability within the EU by establishing a cross-border framework for trusted digital identities and trust services. While the Regulation has direct effect in Member States, there are a number of implementation requirements -...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Illegal Dumping (19 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I sincerely thank Senator Malcolm Byrne for bringing this issue to the House and for providing the political will for it to happen. It is all very well to have strategies and theories, but it actually takes somebody to really push something, and to put a bit of effort and passion into it, for it to happen. We are very grateful to the Senator for that. Everybody wants this. Everybody has a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Illegal Dumping (19 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I have been in contact with the LGMA committee that is drawing up the code of practice. I met litter wardens in both Cork and Dublin so I could talk directly to the people on the ground who are dealing with this criminality. I have also spoken to the chair of the committee, Mr. Liam Bergin, and have constantly asked for updates. I understand the committee has now drafted its code of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Expenditure (25 Oct 2022)

Ossian Smyth: I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 and 171 together. Following a public procurement process, a contract was signed with Dogpatch Labs Management DAC for the delivery of the NDRC services. The value of the contract is €3.5m per annum which covers annual investment in companies of €1.3m and the remaining €2.2m covers the cost of all activities required to deliver the...