Results 2,761-2,780 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Media Mergers (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: With a Minister for Justice and Equality as dynamic as the current holder of that office, it would be very foolish to presume his legislative schedule might be abridged in any way by considerations such as those the Deputy raises. The Press Council of Ireland has worked well. One can say it has not yet had a severe enough test, but in so far as I can observe, it has done a good job. Lord...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Media Mergers (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: As Deputy Ross may be aware, at present my primary function in regard to media is directly related to my remit in the broadcasting sector. The responsibility for control of mergers and acquisitions, including those relating to the media in the State, lies with my colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. However, legislation is in train in his Department to significantly...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Guidelines (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The entire exercise we are engaged in is to try to crystallise the benefits to Ireland. That is the entire approach behind what we are doing. As I have said publicly previously, I do not have any intention of settling for construction jobs and making the sandwiches. There must be a return to Ireland, and in terms of the smaller wind farms that have been built already there is a return in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Guidelines (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I do not disagree with very much of what Deputy Moynihan stated. He is correct - and I repeat - that we must proceed with sensitivity. There are always local considerations which must be taken into account. I am very conscious of that fact. On Saturday last in Galway, I met representatives from the organisation known by the acronym CREWE. The full title of the organisation escapes me but...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Guidelines (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with the Deputy that it is important that these developments take place sensitively and, wherever possible, with the consent and support of local communities. I set out some ways in which communities might become involved. I also set out, in the strategic policy statement to which I refer, possibilities for community gain and community participation. Deputy Pringle is bringing...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I do not see how banning turbines would enable jobs to be created here.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The purpose behind what we are doing is using a resource that has not heretofore been exploited in order to create employment, generate earnings for the State and, in the process, diminish our imports in terms of fossil fuels. There is very careful strategic consideration behind what we are doing. It provides the opportunity for a new export sector in Ireland. The scale of it remains to be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Guidelines (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 93 together. The policy of promoting renewable energy in Ireland has been in existence since the mid-1990s. High dependence on imported fossil fuels and the imperative to respond to the challenges of climate change have underpinned the switch to renewable energy. This policy has been reinforced at EU level, most recently with the decision to pursue a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The policy of promoting renewable energy in Ireland has been in existence since the mid-1990s, when the alternative energy requirement schemes were introduced. High dependence on imported fossil fuels and the imperative to respond to the challenges of climate change have underpinned the switch to renewable energy. The policy has been reinforced at EU level, most recently with the decision...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The last thing I want to do is to increase Deputy Colreavy's level of unhappiness, but I have to say to him that what I have just put on the record of the House is that we do indeed have a very refined strategy in this area, and I refer him back to the Strategy for Renewable Energy 2012-2020, which I published last year. I suggest that Deputy Colreavy cannot take up the position he did when...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Television Licence Fee Collection (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The answer is "Yes". I have been talking to Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, for example, which has made certain proposals to me in this regard on the basis that their stations broadcast public service content. I am examining its case. A pretty fundamental review by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland is under way. It is about to be concluded. I will examine it in this context. It...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Television Licence Fee Collection (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: There is certainly a difficulty in this regard. There is no doubt about it. We will examine whether it can be surmounted. I do not dispute what the Deputy has said about the value of the output of these regional stations, which undoubtedly carry public service content. This is not the only sector from which I get representations looking for a share of the licence fee. There are others out...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Television Licence Fee Collection (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The programme for Government commits to examining the role and collection of the television licence fee in the light of the existing and projected convergence of technologies and the transforming of the television licence into a household based public broadcasting charge to be applied to all eligible households and applicable businesses, regardless of the device used to access content or...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Petroleum and Gas Exploration (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 112 together. I assume the Deputies are referring to the Barryroe oil discovery off the coast of Cork and to recent media reports relating to the potential of the Rathlin Basin offshore Northern Ireland. The results from the appraisal well drilled last year on the Barryroe discovery were encouraging and are the first significant flows of oil on...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Prices (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Neither I nor the Commission for Energy Regulation has a statutory function in the regulation of petrol and diesel prices. The Irish oil industry is fully privatised, liberalised and deregulated and there is free entry to the market. There is no price control and it is Government policy to encourage price competition and consumer choice. The upward trend in petrol and diesel prices...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Television Licence Fee Collection (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 105 together. The Programme for Government commits to examining the role and collection of the TV licence fee in light of existing and projected convergence of technologies and to transforming the TV licence into a household based Public Broadcasting Charge to be applied to all eligible households and applicable businesses, regardless of the device...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Post Office Network (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: As the Deputy will appreciate An Post is a Commercial State body with its own Board and Management. Therefore operational matters are a matter for the Board and management of An Post. These are areas in which I have no statutory function. As shareholder, however, I do have a strong concern in relation to the ongoing commercial position of the Company and I regularly liaise with the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Speeds (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Government’s National Broadband Plan aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed services of at least 30Mbps are available to all of our citizens and businesses, well in advance of the EU’s target date of 2020, and that significantly higher speeds are available to as many homes and businesses as possible. Specifically, it commits...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Telecommunications Services Provision (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 104, 106 and 131 together. The Government fully accepts importance of the digital economy and to Ireland’s economic development. Research by Boston Consulting Group cited in the recent UPC report on Ireland’s Digital Future, estimates it will grow from a current rate of about 3% of GDP to 6% by 2016. Research currently underway in the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Alternative Energy Projects (26 Feb 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Wave and tidal energy is still at the RD&D stage globally. Ireland has a rich ocean resource and has significant potential in this area. In order to take forward the ocean energy strategy, an Ocean Energy Development Unit (OEDU) was established in the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) in 2009. The OEDU has been taking forward the development of the sector through...