Results 3,961-3,980 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte
- Written Answers — Semi-State Companies: Semi-State Companies (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 23 together. Bord Gáis Ãireann (BGÃ) appoints contractors in compliance with the appropriate competitive processes under EU and national rules as set out in the Department of Finance Guidelines on Public Procurement. The appointment of contractors is a matter for the Board and management of Bord Gáis and I have no function in the matter. My...
- Written Answers — Electricity Transmission Network: Electricity Transmission Network (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: Supervision of the grid connection process is the statutory responsibility of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). The Gate process was put in place by the CER following public consultation. It is a group processing approach towards the processing and issuance of grid connection offers to renewable generators. The CER issued its Gate 3 Direction to the system operators on 16/12/08...
- Written Answers — Electricity Transmission Network: Electricity Transmission Network (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: Supervision of the grid connection process, including access to offers, is the statutory responsibility of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). The Gate process was put in place by the CER following public consultation. It is a group processing approach (GPA) towards the processing and issuance of grid connection offers to renewable generators. Under the GPA or Gate process,...
- Written Answers — Natural Gas Grid: Natural Gas Grid (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: On the 21st March last, I met with the Western Development Commission. The meeting provided the opportunity for very useful and informative discussion in regard to the Commission's Report into the benefits of national gas infrastructure for the North West. We also discussed the role of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the economic criteria governing the CER's gas networks...
- Written Answers — Alternative Energy Projects: Alternative Energy Projects (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: The offshore wind farm at Arklow Bank was commissioned in 2004. It pre-dated the introduction of the REFIT scheme and is part of an earlier scheme to support renewable generation namely AER or Alternative Energy Requirement. Under Orders brought in under the 1999 Electricity Regulation Act, the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) is responsible for calculation and certification of the...
- Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: As the Deputy will be aware, the responsibility for control of merger and acquisitions including those relating to the media in the State, lies with my colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. At present I have no function with regard to media, outside of my broadcasting remit. However, legislation is in train in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to...
- Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: The protection of telecommunications infrastructure from theft is a matter for the owners of such property in the first instance. The investigation of any individual case of theft, as a criminal offence, is a matter for An Garda SÃochána and is not a matter in which I have any statutory role. I am aware of reports of thefts from public lands and premises of metals for the scrap value of...
- Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: My Department's expenditure from its consultancy services and value for money and policy reviews budget was â¬1.364m in 2011, and expenditure of â¬208k has been incurred to date in 2012. In procuring these specialised services, my Department always seeks to ensure value for money and the keeping of expenditure to the minimum necessary. In this regard, the Deputy might note that...
- Written Answers — Broadcasting Services: Broadcasting Services (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 27 together. I have no function in relation to the matters raised by the Deputy. I have however, made enquiries with SAORVIEW. There is no registration system for installers of TV equipment in this country. I have been informed that SAORVIEW has established relationships with three trade bodies representing installers â the Irish Satellite and...
- Written Answers — Broadcasting Services: Broadcasting Services (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: I am very much aware of the challenges digital switchover brings, in particular for households that are reliant on the existing "free to air" analogue TV network. It is estimated that about 250 thousand households are solely reliant on the Irish analogue TV network. A further 350 thousand households use the network for secondary TV's or as a back up. The necessary assistance and support...
- Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 88, 92, 93 and 95 together. The provision of electronic communications services including broadband services is, in the first instance, a matter for competing service providers operating in Ireland's fully liberalised telecommunications market, regulated by the independent regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). The Government...
- Written Answers — Energy Prices: Energy Prices (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: I do not have a statutory function in the setting of energy prices, whether in the regulated or unregulated market. Responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets is entirely a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation, (CER), which is an independent statutory body. Prices in the retail electricity market for both domestic and business customers are now fully...
- Written Answers — Broadcasting Services: Broadcasting Services (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: The Broadcasting Act 2009 Act provides the statutory framework for the licensing and regulation of broadcasting and multiplex services in Ireland. The 2009 Act also established the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) to regulate content across all Irish broadcasting services and it sets out a range of general and specific objectives for the BAI including ensuring the provision of open...
- Written Answers — Electric Vehicles: Electric Vehicles (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: The administration of the Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme is an operational matter for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and I have no function in the matter. I have communicated the Deputy's concerns to the SEAI and asked that they respond directly to him.
- Written Answers — Prospecting Licences: Prospecting Licences (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: Exploration under the 18 extant petroleum exploration licences is ongoing and while there have been four new discoveries of oil and gas in the Irish Offshore in the past ten years none of these has been declared commercial to date. Three of the discoveries were in the North Celtic Sea and one in the Slyne Basin. Applications for lease undertakings in respect of two of the discoveries in the...
- Written Answers — Energy Prices: Energy Prices (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 90 and 91 together. I do not have a statutory function in the setting of energy prices, whether in the regulated or unregulated market. Responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is an independent statutory body. Prices in the retail business and residential...
- Written Answers — Energy Resources: Energy Resources (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: Completion of the Corrib gas field development works by the developer is the principal factor that will determine the date for first gas. Pending such completion, it is not possible to state a date for when gas from the Corrib gas field will become available. It is estimated that construction of the onshore section of the pipeline, including the construction of a 5 km tunnel, which began...
- Written Answers — Postal Services: Postal Services (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: The Government's core policy goal for the postal sector is to ensure that Irish customers, both business and residential, enjoy competitively priced, high quality postal services. The Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011, which was enacted in August 2011, has put in place a robust and appropriate regulatory framework for the postal services market, which will offer certainty...
- Written Answers — Broadcasting Legislation: Broadcasting Legislation (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: I have no role in relation to journalistic standards in the print media. In this regard, I would note that the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman were established by industry to safeguard and promote professional and ethical standards in Irish newspapers and magazines, and have been formally recognised under Section 44 of the Defamation Act 2009, which falls under...
- State Contracts (2 May 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: The Deputy is in possession of as much information as I am. This is a giant international company the services of which were procured in the normal way by Bord Gáis Ãireann. Bord Gáis Ãireann has gone to considerable difficulty to persuade Deputy Ferris and myself that it did everything above board, which is not to say some of the matters Deputy Ferris brought to my attention are, and...