Results 3,701-3,720 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: The position is that a key pillar of the clean air strategy was the approach to banning smoky fuels. Deputy Naughten will be aware of the desire to extend the smoky coal ban nationwide. This ran into a difficulty legally in that no distinction could be drawn on an environmental basis between the impact of peat and the impact of coal. This made a nationwide ban legally uncertain. I took...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: On the first issue, the Deputy is correct in that peat harvesting has got into a difficult planning process. The right to harvest was challenged in the courts. It was found that to resolve those issues a substitute planning would have to be lodged by Bord na Móna. Permission has been granted by An Bord Pleanála to lodge that application and it has been lodged by Bord na...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: I welcome Deputy Whitmore's comments. She is absolutely right that we have not had the legislative framework to allow for a focus on delivery. However, this is the last time we will have transition statements in this House, as they are a legacy of the 2015 legislation. The new legislation, the general scheme of which was published in December, sets out the new approach which will be very...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: I have listened to all parties in this House, and no party that I have heard has indicated that it plans to set targets for a reduction of the national herd. What Teagasc has done is shown the immense opportunities that exist not only in farming methods, where it believes we can deliver a 3 metric tonnes reduction, but also in land use where potential lies in areas like forestry, restricting...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: Absolutely, the 2030 target that we have to reach at the moment is for a 30% reduction in non-ETS areas. Many people talk about the 30% target, but that excludes electricity. We have put in place measures that we believe will deliver that. In any event, the EU has stepped up its ambition although it is using a 1990 target. The EU ambition is for a 50% to 55% reduction on a 1990 target....

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: That is fine.

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: We have a long-term strategy to which we have to commit and which we have to deliver to the European Union. We are committed that it will contain an element of net zero, which will be our target for 2050. The Department has been giving thought to what new policies we need to introduce under the EU Green New Deal because that is moving from a 40% to a 55% target on 1990 levels. Clearly,...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy is right in saying the climate action delivery board is an important element. I was Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in 2016 when we designed the climate action plan, which was designed to get every Department on board with the primary challenge at the time, namely, to create employment. It operated through the Department of the Taoiseach to hold people to account for...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy has recognised, remote working and remote delivery of health services are really transformative opportunities. In the health area they have taken huge pressure off our hospital system. We are beginning to see that digital technology can revolutionise our environment. For remote working, the estimate is that 10 KW hours per remote worker - a person who opts for that - per...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: While I fully accept the value of woodlands in urban areas and the importance that we, in our urban living, put on natural resources, I am not in a position to comment on the specific case the Deputy raises. Coillte is not an agency under my Department so, unfortunately, I cannot comment on the merits of the case being put forward, although it sounds persuasive as the Deputy sets it out. ...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: I fully accept that we need consultation in the areas referred to by the Deputy. However, we must deliver a very ambitious increase in both forestry and wind farms. The Deputy is correct that offshore wind energy represents a significant opportunity for us. We have pencilled it in for 3.5 GW of power and, as such, it would be a very significant part of the story over the next decade. It...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: The target is not a 2020 target. It is a cumulative target we must hit. We will certainly not be down 20% in 2020 unless the impact of Covid-19 has a huge impact on our reduction, because the 2019 figures are well ahead of where we should be. The reality is that we were in credit in the early period. I am not claiming that is a great thing, but the trouble is that our trajectory is in the...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: It is best if the Deputy looks at the climate action plan rather than the transition-----

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: Let me try to answer to the best of my ability. The climate action plan indicated that if we did nothing, we would be 58 million tonnes off target by the end of the decade. The purpose of the climate action plan was to get us back on a track where we would wipe out that deficit. That plan has been published and, roughly speaking, it indicates a 3.5% annual reduction in our emissions. It...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: Yes.

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: The way those targets are evaluated is that it is the cumulative number between 2013 and 2020. It is not the number in 2020. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, we were ahead of target. We were exceeding what was expected, but that, of course, was because of the depressed economy. In 2016 and 2018, we undid all that and went on a rising trend. We are about balance, however, so the two years in which...

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (10 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: It is an honour to have the opportunity to make a transition statement at this time, as we are almost at the first anniversary of the publication of Ireland's first ever whole-of-government climate action plan, which was published around 17 June last year. We have made significant progress in both the Oireachtas and the Government over that period. For example, the Oireachtas unanimously...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Infrastructure (9 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: The project to which to Deputy refers, the Shannon LNG project, is a commercial project and the location, development and final investment decision for this project is the responsibility of the project promoters. It is the responsibility of the project promoters to comply with all legal, planning and regulatory requirements. My Department is carrying out a review of the security...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Data (9 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: The data requested by the Deputy is not compiled by the Department.  The information set out in this response has, therefore, been prepared using Central Statistics Office (CSO) data. Part One: Number of Residential Holdings in each Local Authority Area and Number of Residential Holdings with Oil Fired and Gas Fired Heating Systems The data is found in Table E1053: Private...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Data (9 Jun 2020)

Richard Bruton: The Government’s Climate Action Plan has set an ambitious target to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2 (or cost optimal equivalent), and to install 400,000 heat pumps to replace existing heating systems by 2030. Achievement of these targets will be supported by the financial allocation under Project Ireland 2040 of EUR 3.7 billion, and a range of other...