Results 2,141-2,160 of 20,758 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: That is fine. It is just to clear that up. It is good that I asked the question because that clears it up. I am very supportive of what SEAI does. I do not think the public is fully aware of how wide a mandate it has and the disparate areas it is involved in. I say this as a former Minister with responsibility for climate change that it is almost as if there were a range of issues and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: Covid had an impact.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: I deal with many people who are looking for various grants etc. run by the SEAI, such as the warmer homes scheme and a few more. From what I have seen, the issue is that the application process can take up to 13 months and the administration process, regarding delivery, can take 14 months. That is 27 months. I have a bit of sympathy for the SEAI on this because there are issues across the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: Are human resources the real issue? Is it getting people to be able to do this work?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: I remember.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: Is there an issue with contractors and getting people to be able to do this work?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: I am asking in relation to public sector buildings.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: Many public sector buildings are quite old. Some others are not. Many of the hospitals, which are huge, probably cannot be retrofitted. What is the plan of action around that? Are there different plans for different sectors, such as education, health, justice etc.?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: Are strategies using waste being looked at? For instance, much waste comes out of the large hospitals in Ireland. Is putting in district heating solutions based on waste being looked into?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: That is the way we will have to go.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: Anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis and all that sort of stuff has been around for a while. Will any example or demonstration happen in any public sector area? Given the volume of waste that comes out of any hospital in Ireland, for instance, if that waste were to be used in an appropriate way regarding energy, surely we should be trying to demonstrate that this could be used to perform the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: It should be looked into. That is the future. It is all very well saying we will put it into Ringsend and all of that sort of stuff. However, I am talking about the effect from a carbon point of view of trucks going from Bantry hospital to Dublin. We will have to look at on-site solutions for public sector buildings. With the amount of waste that comes out of them, surely solutions can...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: The technologies are advancing so quickly. I look into this myself, given my background. The technologies are moving on so quickly that this is a space we need to move into quickly. Other countries are moving into this space. I thank Ms McCarthy and I might follow up directly with her on that. On the famous electric vehicles, EVs - the SEAI got lumped with that as well, but anyway...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: How many last year?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: Is that above or below what was expected?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: I have one small, final thing. The SEAI administers the grants and I get all that. Is there a hindrance to people taking up those the grants to get EV cars because the public infrastructure around the country is not strong enough? Is that part of the reason the volume of people applying for the grants for the chargers etc. is not there? I would expect that to be the case. I live in rural...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: A total of 80%.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: I presume it is. It is not a criticism. It is just reality.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: I respect that. I think there is a major issue which is wider than this committee's remit to try to get people into the industry. I ask Mr. Walsh when the SEAI last met the Office of Public Works, OPW.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Alan Kelly: Exactly.