Results 3,041-3,060 of 4,573 for speaker:Brian Leddin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: I thank Mr. Regan. If I may, I will go first this time. I have a considerable concern about these proposals, and I believe it is reflected in Mr. Regan's opening statement, which is that there is no distinction being made between green hydrogen, which is something that we would pursue probably quite vigorously in Ireland because we have the renewable energy resource, and other forms of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: I am very happy to hear that answer on Ireland's position. It sounds at odds with one of the major suppliers of energy, which I believe does want to go down the low-carbon gas route. Is that the position of the Department now, that we do not see hydrogen in the natural gas grid in the way we are going?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: I am not sure how that would be done technically. If one injects hydrogen into the grid then one has no control after that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: I am conscious that we are here to speak to the EU element of this but we are hearing very interesting answers from you, Mr. Regan, so I will interrogate you a little. I will understand if this question might be deferred to the strategy, but are subsidies for hydrogen seen as part of enabling the market and the sector in this country? Is that the thinking in the Department?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: Thank you for that, Mr. Regan. The committee has agreed to do a significant piece of work in the next five weeks on that bigger ambition, that is, the west coast offshore potential of 30 GW as opposed to 5 GW. That is very much coupled with green hydrogen. We intend to bring in a series of stakeholders to discuss that and we may reach out to the Department again during that series of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: Members of this committee will probably be interested in making a political contribution to that discussion formally because we are very concerned that if we open the gate to low-carbon gas, it may lead to the locking in of fossil fuel infrastructure.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: Mr. Regan, do you want to respond?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: I wish to make a couple of points related to Deputy O'Sullivan's question on storage. I read an article this morning which suggested that the European Union may require member states to have a minimum level of storage in advance of the winter. Is that related to these proposals?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: Is Mr. Regan saying that the requirement is actually on gas suppliers as opposed to member states?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: We still have the interconnectors with the UK and hopefully relations will remain friendly so that if required, we can rely on its reserves and will not need to build anything here. We can rely on their reserves and then we do not need to build anything here. All members of this committee are clear that we do not want any new LNG infrastructure in Ireland. I note other news from the past 24...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: It seems that Ireland will probably go down a positive path. The concern is Europe and countries that may not have the renewable resources that we have. They may rely on fossil fuels, albeit cleaner fossil fuels. Maybe the path for Ireland is to say that we are not just going to supply clean energy to our own market but also to Europe too, to make it easier for Europe to get to net-zero...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: Mr. Brady will be glad to know that when we conclude our series on offshore wind and hydrogen, we are going to get into renewable heat, probably in April or May. We are going to do a series of sessions on that, and building energy as it extends to the policies that have been launched in the past few weeks, including those on the retrofitting scheme and so on. Does Senator Higgins want to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (22 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: That concludes the questions for the witnesses today. I thank them for attending. It was a most interesting session. We covered quite a lot. It is probably only the beginning of a series of sessions in which we will try to tackle some of these very important issues and opportunities. We should acknowledge that there is a significant opportunity for Ireland here. We need to go into...

National Retrofitting Scheme: Statements (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: I want to address the reasons as to why this retrofitting programme is so important. Why do we want to do this? There are many reasons. We want Irish people to live in warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes. In the context of health, asthma symptoms are reduced in warmer homes. Mould conditions increase the severity of asthma and retrofitting, particularly the ventilation aspect,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: 33. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the position regarding the new fund for community centres; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4906/22]

Mobility and Transport Supports for People with Disabilities: Motion [Private Members] (16 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: I reject the personalised attack on the Minister of State by my fellow countyman earlier. This kind of populist politics is reprehensible and has no place in the House. I welcome the Minister of State's ongoing focus on, commitment to and prioritisation of inclusive transport for people with disabilities and we are fortunate to have her working on this portfolio. I welcome this motion...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Climate Change Policy (16 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the Minister of State's comments on the climate action regional offices. I must add, however, that climate action is urgent and there are projects in the pipeline now, such as the one in Salthill, that amount to climate action and which we need to take very seriously. We have a national policy that prioritises sustainable transport and mobility...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Climate Change Policy (16 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: We are here today not just to talk about the Salthill cycleway. The decision in Galway on Monday night is the catalyst for a discussion on how we can achieve our climate ambitions. We are here to talk about a fundamental challenge we face. In the past 18 months, I have been privileged to chair the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action. We shepherded generational...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Commission for Regulation of Utilities Strategic Plan: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Brian Leddin: Thank you, Deputy.