Results 2,221-2,240 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (13 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 107 together. All post-primary schools will have a 100Mbps broadband connection installed by the end of 2014, through a project jointly funded by my Department and the Department of Education and Skills (DES). The national rollout, which commenced in 2012, will be completed on an incremental basis. Last year some 202 schools were identified for...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (13 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: As the Deputy will be aware I published the second National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) on 28 February last, which reaffirms Ireland's commitment to a 20% energy savings target in 2020 in pursuit of our EU obligations. This is equivalent to 31,925 Gigawatt hours (GWh) or a reduction in annual CO2 emissions of around 7.7 Mega tonnes (Mt). Recognising that Government must lead by...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Conservation (13 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Energy Efficiency Fund (the Fund) will be established with the aim of providing finance to energy efficiency projects in the public and private sectors. The aim is to attract matching funding from the private sector, such that the overall amount available for investment is ultimately greater than €70 million. The Fund will be managed by an independent fund manager and operate on...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Television Licence Fee Collection (13 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The current TV licensing system is underpinned by Part 9 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, which sets out inter alia the requirement to have a television licence and the penalties for not having a valid licence. Currently, only one class of licence and one level of licence fee exist and this covers any number of devices so long as they are all in the same property (residential or commercial)....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Warmer Homes Scheme Applications (12 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme under the Better Energy Programme. The Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures to households that are vulnerable to energy poverty. The SEAI maintains a live database of applicants who apply to be considered for the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Reports (12 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Value for Money and Policy Reviews are designed to secure improved value for money from public expenditure by providing systematic analysis of expenditure programmes and policies to provide a basis on which more informed decisions can be made on priorities within and between programmes. My Department has completed a number of Value for Money and Policy Reviews since March 2011, publishing...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Recreational Angling Sector Data (12 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I can advise the Deputy that it is intended to publish, in the coming weeks, the results of the most comprehensive National survey and analysis ever undertaken of the Recreational Angling Sector. I am advised by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), who commissioned the study, that while it is being finalised, the initial results indicate that there are 406,000 participants in angling across all...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Warmer Homes Scheme Data (12 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) under the Better Energy Programme. Warmer Homes provides a range of energy efficiency measures to households that are vulnerable to energy poverty. The SEAI has received 5,445 applications for the Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme to date in 2013. Of these, 1,217 homes have been...

Other Questions: Broadband Services Charges (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with much of what Deputy Moynihan has said. I can tell him that the figures he has mentioned are wrong. He will have to trust me on that. I will give him the accurate figures. In Ireland, the average monthly cost of residential fixed-line services is €28. The EU average is €22. The average monthly cost of fixed-line services to businesses is €22, compared to...

Other Questions: Petroleum and Gas Exploration (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: At the commencement of the Dáil debate on the report of the former Joint Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture on offshore oil and gas exploration, and in deference to the work of the joint committee, I outlined my intention to seek independent expert advice on the fitness for purpose of Ireland’s current oil and gas exploration fiscal terms. I also said...

Other Questions: Petroleum and Gas Exploration (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I will begin by responding to what the Deputy has said about "interested parties". The Oireachtas committee spent six or seven months on this issue and prepared a report. I am taking the recommendations in the report as the basis of the way to go forward. The entire thrust of policy is to generate more offshore economic activity and increase the offshore exploration rate. We need...

Other Questions: Petroleum and Gas Exploration (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: If it is considered that our fiscal terms are a giveaway, I ask Deputy Colreavy to explain why our coastline is not black with ships exploring the Irish offshore. If our tax regime is so favourable to those who engage in prospecting and exploring, why is that work not under way? We have been drilling less than two wells per annum, on average, for the last dozen years. At that rate of...

Other Questions: Petroleum and Gas Exploration (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: We do not have the State investment for a State exploration company. Therefore, we have to attract companies that can carry out such work. For that reason, we have to pitch the fiscal regime broadly in line with the situation in similar member states. There is no point in comparing apples with oranges. There is no comparison between this country and Norway, which has a particularly...

Other Questions: Hydraulic Fracturing Policy (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I have explained that any decisions down the line will have to be evidence based. I do not know how Deputy Colreavy can draw the conclusions he has drawn. I would say to Deputy Boyd Barrett that I have very limited time these days to watch horror movies.

Other Questions: Hydraulic Fracturing Policy (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: However, there are plenty of experts who will say that what is on display in that particular horror movie is no longer up to speed in terms of the technology. I am not a scientist and I do not have to make this decision. The reason we create agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency, is that we, as policymakers, have expert advice available to us from people who are qualified to...

Other Questions: Hydraulic Fracturing Policy (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Deputy Boyd Barrett should relax. His tap is perfectly safe. It will not go on fire until we at least get the EPA report. When get the report, we will discuss it.

Other Questions: Broadband Services Charges (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: On 26 March last the European Commission published its proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on measures to reduce the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks. The Commission also submitted its proposal to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament as it is required to do as a preliminary step in the EU legislative process....

Other Questions: Hydraulic Fracturing Policy (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I accept what the Deputy has said, namely, that there are genuine concerns about the environmental and public health implications of the technology known as hydraulic fracturing. I accept that we have to get the science right and that any decision made in the future will have to be made on evidence-based conclusions. It is for that reason I have commissioned the EPA - I do not think anyone...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Energy Regulation (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Absolutely, I know a bit about that.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Energy Regulation (11 Jun 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: No, I am not giving away our oil and gas. For the hundredth time since I got this job, can I point out to the Deputy that in the past four decades neither I nor any of my predecessors ever found any bloody oil to give away?