Results 28,421-28,440 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Telecommunications Services. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: I will check my information but I understand Thurles is included in the third phase of the MAN scheme. At the same time as it is intended to publish our next generation broadband report, I intend publishing the value for money report on the metropolitan area networks which assesses exactly the question asked by the Deputy. We must decide how these metropolitan area networks are used where...

Telecommunications Services. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: I refer the Deputy to the period 2002 to 2004 when the real failure happened. The development of the metropolitan area network concept came when there was clear market failure, when Eircom at the time was not investing in broadband connections. It was decided — with Fine Gael agreement — that an effort should be made to kick-start the market.

Telecommunications Services. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: I was indeed. We co-wrote a report in Opposition. One of the points we made in the report was that the networks should be operated on an open access basis, which they are, but also they should be a collaborative development with existing fibre. We continue to review it and this is the reason the value for money report is crucial and will be published at the same time.

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 27 and 54 together. I will shortly launch the public consultation on the proposed bio-fuels obligation. The consultation process will enable all interested stakeholders to submit their views on the proposal. In that context, EU developments on bio-fuels policy in light of the emerging concerns in relation to sustainability will be fully factored in and...

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: I fully sympathise with and understand the difficulties faced by people, particularly in the haulage industry and elsewhere, because of increasing diesel prices. However, providing a short-term solution that ignores the fundamental long-term problem is not doing them or anyone else a favour.

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: I am talking about the haulage people. We have the eighth cheapest priced diesel in the European Union. We will not serve those people well by addressing a long-term problem with a short-term solution which will not have any material effect in the long run. We are far better investing any resources we have in providing a long-term solution to what is a long-term problem. I return to what...

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: I share the Deputy's concern for those suffering from hunger and poverty, which is a crucial aspect of this matter. That is why the Department of Social and Family Affairs is spending €158 million this year on natural gas and electricity allowances. That is why my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, introduced a new scheme involving...

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: That is why we have practically doubled the budget for the warmer home scheme to assist people in low-income housing to cut back on the use of fuel, which is the best long-term solution, rather than trying to reduce tax which is a short-term solution. The Deputy is correct in saying that at present it is impossible under World Trade Organisation rules to differentiate between various...

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: We are not talking about a long-term issue because it has arrived. Oil at $135 a barrel is a signal that, increasingly, supply cannot meet growing international demand.

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: We must prepare people for the medium term.

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: We must prepare for a time when supplies contract.

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: The State is spending significant resources on road networks to facilitate the haulage industry. We have developed this country's economy on the basis of supporting such a freight system.

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: Rather than offering a short-term tax break to try to solve a long-term problem, it would be better to use any resources to make a fundamental shift in how Ireland works and to prepare the country for a fossil fuel future that is very different from the one we have had over the past 20 years.

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: I disagree fundamentally with the Deputy's approach in that regard and do not believe it is the right solution.

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: The Deputy is correct in saying that farmers are also exposed. There are myriad reasons why world food prices have gone up. One such reason is that climate change has affected crops in Australia and elsewhere.

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: Another reason is that diets are changing in Asia. The consumption of meat has doubled in the last five years in China, which has changed the agricultural model because it takes a lot more food grain to produce a pound of meat than a pound of grain. In addition, certain food crops have gone into bio-fuels rather than the food chain and while that is not the main reason for rising food...

Energy Resources. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is engaged, via Teagasc, on a number of support schemes and a range of different biomass projects. The Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security is working collectively with my Department and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to see what solutions we can deliver to cut our emissions and oil use. It is a win-win...

Price Supports. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: The GATE Three process has recently been the subject of public consultation by the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER. I am advised that no decision has yet been made on the scale or timeframe of GATE Three. Projects under the GATE Two process with grid connection offers and planning permission can access the renewable energy feed-in tariff, REFIT, support scheme, which is operated by my...

Price Supports. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: I do not believe that in the immediate future there will be parity between support measures for offshore and onshore for the simple reason that the environment and the capital costs of offshore are in excess of anything on onshore. It is still an evolving technology and is not yet on a commercial scale. I made a strategic decision that it was right for us as a country to seek to develop our...

Price Supports. (29 May 2008)

Eamon Ryan: It was in January that we announced that scheme. These are projects that require very large capital investment and they take time.