Results 2,001-2,020 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Waste Management (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I have spoken to the Lord Mayor of Dublin, who brought in a scheme whereby there are yellow bins, which are not to everybody's visual liking, in the city centre that can be used for recyclable items, and I welcome that kind of initiative. The idea for bulky waste the Deputy mentioned is good. I had not heard of it but it could be something we would promote through other local authorities. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The first question is about the equity investment, how much money went in, what form it was in and so on. The investors are providing equity funding in NBI Infrastructure and NBI Deployment through the purchase of shares and the provision of shareholder loans. Using both of these instruments is a standard form of investment infrastructure and this is in compliance with the project...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I am absolutely happy to discuss with the Deputy the best way to get him the most information as quickly as possible. The whole purpose of this relates to the number of premises passed. We have a fixed-price contract for a fixed term and we must deliver 540,000 homes in seven years connected to fibre. That is the overall point of the exercise. It is to be done for a fixed price of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I have given the Deputy figures for the end of December and they are projections. I do not have figures for the end of January but I will come back to the Deputy with those tomorrow. I am happy to do that. ComReg's quarterly report details what is going on in the broadband market and it is completely independent of the Government. It reports that 120,000 Irish households were connected...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Waste Management (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy. It is a question close to my heart. I spent several years in local government and came across this matter. My Department published the general scheme of the circular economy Bill 2021 on 15 June 2021. It is my intention under the Bill to facilitate not only the use of CCTV but also the use of a broad range of audiovisual recording equipment in order to assist local...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The goal of our agricultural emissions reduction policy and our agricultural climate policy is not to reduce, increase or stabilise the herd. The goal is to cut emissions and, at the same time, to increase farm incomes. Those are the two things we are trying to do at the same time. How we get there is another question. We do not have to state that farmers must do it in a particular way....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The goal is to cut emissions and increase farm incomes. Farmers may choose to reduce their herd if that is the best way for them to get there. The Deputy referred to the Teagasc report. It states that total farm greenhouse gas emissions in dairy increased in 2020, largely due to an increase in the average herd size. However, greenhouse gas emissions per hectare on dairy farms remained...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: At the request of my Department, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, is currently developing a comprehensive national heat study for Ireland. The study aims to examine options to decarbonise the heating and cooling sectors in Ireland to 2050 and includes the examination of a range of options and pathways. These options include the potential use of sustainable bioenergy such...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: To give the Deputy more information on the SEAI national heat study to which I referred, it will focus on achieving net-zero emissions in the heat sector by 2050 but it also aims to provide a detailed evidence base, including technology and policy pathways, data and insights for the Government, industry and other stakeholders, and enhanced energy sector modelling capacity developed by SEAI....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The Deputy asked earlier about examining the experience of other jurisdictions, including Northern Ireland. Of course, we will do that very carefully and we will see what experience they had with their renewable heat obligations and incentives. He also asked about the SEAI and whether a person who previously received a grant can apply for another grant. He indicated such people are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I will start with Deputy Griffin. On wool insulation, I can say that I know absolutely nothing about that and I will get a proper answer for the Deputy. I will not attempt to answer that without knowing about it. Turning to Deputy Burke, this is a very significant plan for 500,000 homes and it requires 25,000 staff. A very significant amount of planning went into this even before the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I will start with Deputy Higgins's question on solar panels. It is envisaged that one portion of the funding is provided through a grant, and another portion, presumably the remainder, through a low-interest loan which is unsecured on the property. That is what the intention of that is and it is to be brought in in the middle of next year. There was also question on the roll-out and the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy. The Climate Action Plan 2021 commits to reducing emissions from the agriculture sector to 16-18 MtC02eq by 2030, a 22% to 30% reduction from 2018 levels. This will be achieved by committing to a set of core measures which will deliver a minimum level of carbon emission reductions and also by a set of other measures which will aim to go even further. My Department has...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The Government's policy statement on the importation of fracked gas was published in May of this year, fulfilling a commitment set out in the programme for Government. As set out in the policy statement, the placing of a legal prohibition on the importation of fracked gas in national legislation was being considered. However, in the context of European Union treaties and the laws governing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy for his comments. As he understands, the problem with fracked gas is the fugitive emissions. Scientists discovered that in the process of fracking gas a lot of methane escapes into the atmosphere. This has a strongly detrimental effect which is so bad that using fracked gas turned out to be as bad as burning coal. I understand that for a long time in north Kerry there...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The plan is to reduce gas consumption. Between now and 2030, the quantity of gas being used will be reduced. We will have a reducing need for imports of gas rather than an increasing need. This is one of the reasons LNG is not a good answer. LNG is a large, very heavy, long-term investment. For this reason, the Government policy statement does not use the word "fracked". The policy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Policy (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 36 together. The national retrofit plan, published last month as part of the climate action plan, set ambitious targets to retrofit 500,000 homes to a building energy rating of B2 or carbon equivalent and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings by the end of 2030. These targets represent a significant increase in the volume and depth of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Prices (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I accept that we need to do more. We need to do everything that we possibly can. The Deputy spoke about petrol and diesel prices. I note the recent protest by the truck drivers. The fundamental problem here is that the international price of commodities holds us to ransom, and has done for decades. When the international price of gas or oil goes up, we cannot make that go away. We can...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Prices (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: In response to Deputy Griffin, I accept that we need flexibility. We are not taking a rigid ideological approach on this issue. It is important to think about our long-term future and what we will be doing in ten years' time, but we also need to think about what is happening next month and whether people can make their bills for that month. We must be open to that. I am willing to discuss...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Electricity Generation (14 Dec 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The CRU has statutory responsibility to ensure security of electricity supply. This includes the duty to monitor security of electricity supply and to take such measures as it considers necessary to protect security of supply. The CRU is assisted in its statutory role by EirGrid. The challenges to security of electricity supply are set out in EirGrid's All-Island Generation Capacity...