Results 2,161-2,180 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (9 Nov 2021)

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 at 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 appreciate people's frustration when they are living so close to a fibre network but cannot get a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: This is a timely question given that the climate action plan will come out today. The question is not whether but how we do this. How do we do it in a way that is fair, acceptable and just, one which people will buy into and see makes sense? The Deputy's asked if we can do more on electricity and, in that way, avoid changing other sectors. The electricity sector has high ambitions. It is...

Seanad: Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senators for proposing this debate and Senator Boylan for contributing. I welcome the opportunity to address the House on flooding matters. Flooding is an important issue that affects many people in Ireland. That is increasing as time goes on. Extreme weather events around the world in the past year have shown us all that we must act quickly to protect ourselves and our...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: When I started in this role I informed the company that I would be applying all of the penalties I could legally apply and there would be no mercy shown. I did so because I did not want the idea to form that I would overlook issues and we would just try to work together. A range of penalty clauses apply for being late with the delivery of installation. Penalty clauses also apply if the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I am sorry that this discussion is taking place hours before the climate action plan is published. On bringing people with us, I am not deluded and I do not think the Government and the Dáil can just impose things on people. We rule with the consent of the public and we cannot make changes that people do not feel are fair and reasonable. People will make huge changes, as we saw in the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: Technology is the solution to many issues but not everything. We cannot count on technologies that have not been delivered yet or have only worked in a test phase. Our experience is that huge technological advances are possible. What we cannot do is choose not do anything and wait for a technological miracle to deliver things in the future, so we will have business as usual. We must...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: Deputy Farrell asked if the climate action plan can evolve and adapt. It can but the target does not change. We have to reach the 51% target. Every quarter we reassess the climate action plan's progress, as I said, and every year we do a new climate action plan. We are changing the plan all the time, with regard to the implementation steps, but not the goal. On mining, we are trying...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I accept that it is a shift and we need new tools and metrics and ways of managing it. It is something new, but it is not all negative. The fact is that at present LULUCF is generating emissions in the wrong direction - it is 4.8 MTCO2e - but it is also true that it could be a sink. That is not the case with other sectors of the economy. This is a sector of society which can make progress...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: Absolutely. In the commentary and debate about what needs to be done for climate action, too often the position of agriculture and farming is taken as definitely to be a negative. It is discussed in terms of pain, suffering and job losses when actually it is a time of opportunity. It is a traditional sector with a long heritage. It is difficult to have deep changes in such a sector, or...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan. I am not complaining about answering questions; it is my job. I have been asked about Cork North-Central in the past and the more the Deputy asks those questions, the more things are likely to happen in a faster way in that area. The Deputy is right to do it. There are over 276,000 premises in County Cork, of which over 80,000 are within the national...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy. The deployment areas, each of which include approximately 4,000 customers, do not match the constituencies. Therefore, we have three different deployment areas covering Cork North-Central. Large parts of those deployment areas are not in the Deputy's constituency and that is why I am mentioning areas that are outside of where the Deputy is. Clogheen Mixed National...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I am the Minister of State responsible for broadband and that does not just involve the NBP. I am also responsible for ensuring the whole country has broadband and there are blackspots within urban areas as well. There are over 624,000 premises in County Dublin, of which 15,000 are within the NBP intervention area. Those premises will receive access to high speed broadband under the NBP....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: If the Deputy has constituents who are unable to access decent broadband they can apply to be in the intervention area through my Department if the Deputy emails broadband@dec.gov.ie. They will be surveyed and assessed and if broadband is unavailable to them from any other supplier up to 30 MB then they can be included in NBI's roll-out. SIRO is developing in the border area between the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: North County Dublin has much larger areas and is a lot more rural than south County Dublin. That is why more areas in north County Dublin were listed. I will contact NBI if the Deputy has specific areas in the Dublin mountains that he thinks need to be surveyed and I will ask it to look at that. On blackspots in urban areas, I have spoken to NBI about this and in some cases a commercial...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: Greenhouse gas emissions and removals associated with LULUCF are reported in Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions inventory, prepared by the Environmental Protections Agency, EPA, and submitted annually to the EU and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. LULUCF includes activities associated with forestry, croplands, grasslands, wetlands, settlements and other lands. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The influence on climate action is partly because people can work from home and would not have to travel so far. Additionally, the network essentially works on light and takes less power to operate. There are many benefits.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: He is right and we should have better data. The Deputy asked about the baseline definition of high-speed broadband and there is a target being developed in the EU currently for gigabit broadband by 2030. I do not know if the Deputy is familiar with that. There probably should be an intermediate target but it is what people are heading towards.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: Every country has some version of a national broadband plan. I have not met any communications minister from any country with a more ambitious plan than ours. Most of them are going for some form of wireless as their final delivery. Wireless technology is good but it is just not upgradable to the levels we are trying to achieve, as we are eventually looking at 25 Gbps.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I will.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (4 Nov 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The programme for Government recognises the need for research and development of hydrogen from renewable sources, known as green hydrogen, for use in power generation and as a zero-emission energy source in difficult to decarbonise sectors such as transport and industry. In July 2020, the European Commission published a hydrogen strategy for a carbon-neutral Europe. Ireland supported the...