Results 3,961-3,980 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Pollution (17 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: Part IV of the Air Pollution Act 1987 makes provision for Special Control Areas for the control of air pollution. This is a process which may be initiated by a Local Authority, but in practice this has proven cumbersome in the past, with requirements for consultation, and public hearings where there are objections to a proposal for an order, before ultimately returning to the Minister for...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Warmer Homes Scheme Funding (17 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme is funded by my Department and administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). The Scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures free of charge to low income households vulnerable to energy poverty, who meet the defined eligibility criteria. As Minister, I have no function in relation to individual applications. However...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Online Safety (17 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: On 4 March 2019 I launched a public consultation seeking views on the content of the proposed Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill. The public consultation closed on 15 April 2019. A wide range of responses were received to the consultation from members of the public, NGOs, industry and government agencies. These responses, which were published on 27 June 2019, have informed the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Pollution (17 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has published figures comparing the respective costs of domestic fuels. These are available online at and show that while low smoke fuels are typically more expensive to buy on a weight-by-weight basis, they have a higher heat output than coal or lignite nuggets and, therefore, represent better value for money than smokier fuels. There is, in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electricity Generation (17 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: Electricity supply to the distribution grid is an operational matter for ESB Networks, which is regulated by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, an independent statutory body and solely accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas for the performance of its functions. I therefore have no function in the matter. I understand that Eirgrid, the transmission system operator, adopts a...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Prices (17 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: Responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets is a matter for the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU), an independent statutory body and solely accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas for the performance of its functions. As part of its regulatory role, CRU accredits electricity and gas price comparison websites that adhere to the CRU price comparison...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Mobile Telephony Services (17 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: Providing telecommunications services, including mobile phone services, is a matter for the relevant service providers operating in a fully liberalised market regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), as independent Regulator. I do not have statutory authority to require commercial companies to rollout services and make specific investments in particular locations....

Estimates for Public Services 2019: Motion (12 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: I move the following Supplementary Estimates: Vote 6 - Chief State Solicitor's Office (Supplementary) That a supplementary sum not exceeding €5,000,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2019, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. Vote 7 - Finance...

Estimates for Public Services 2019: Motion (12 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: I am just moving the motion.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (12 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location. This is being achieved via a combination of commercial investment and a State led intervention. The NBP State Intervention contract is the Government’s plan to rollout high speed broadband to the 1.1 million people living...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Budgets (12 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: Multi annual capital allocations are agreed and published on a rolling three years basis. Annual capital expenditure ceilings for my Department for the three-year period 2020-2022 were published in the Budget 2020 Expenditure Report and are set out in the table below: Year €m 2020 371 2021 517 2022 ...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (12 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: The National Broadband Plan is the Government’s plan to rollout high speed broadband to the 1.1 million people living and working in the nearly 540,000 premises including almost 100,000 businesses and farms, along with 695 schools, where commercial operators will not commit to deliver the service. Following the contract signing on 19 November, work has already begun and a deployment...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Expenditure (12 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: There are three official credit cards in my Department at present. One is held by my Private Secretary and two held by Departmental officials working in the Finance and Accounts area. The card held by my private secretary is used to facilitate expenditure associated with official Ministerial duties, particularly when travelling abroad, where the use of a credit card is necessary. Every...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (12 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the Government’s plan to rollout high speed broadband to the 1.1 million people living and working in the nearly 540,000 premises including almost 100,000 businesses and farms, along with 695 schools where commercial operators will not commit to deliver the service. The Deputy's Question relates to a premises which is located in the AMBER area on...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: EU Directives (12 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: The State’s obligations to report greenhouse gas emissions and greenhouse gas removals in the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector are set out under Regulation 525/2013, while accounting obligations are set out in Directive 529/2013 up to 2020 and Regulation 2018/841 (“the LULUCF Regulation”) for the period 2021-2030. These relate to the UN Framework...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation (12 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Electricity Regulation Act,1999, as amended, sets out the current legislative framework for Direct Lines. Specifically, Section 37 of the 1999 Act provides that the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) may grant permission to construct a direct line not connected to the transmission system or distribution system but only where an application to connect and use the transmission...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (12 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: In order to deliver on the ambition set out in the Climate Action Plan, my Department is developing the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS). The RESS has been designed within a competitive auction-based, cost effective framework and the scheme will provide for a renewable electricity (RES-E) ambition of 70% by 2030. The Scheme is subject to state aid approval from the EU Commission. ...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Pollution (11 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: Transitioning away from fossil fuels and to more renewable, sustainable energy sources is at the heart of the Climate Action Plan. The Plan includes a number of actions which will also have a significant impact on reducing emissions and improving air quality, including: - Putting 180,000 electric vehicles on our roads by 2025 and almost 1m by 2030 - Ensuring the EV charging network...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Cybersecurity Policy (11 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: 5G (5th Generation) deployment of network technologies is a major enabler for future digital services and a priority for the Digital Single Market strategy. 5G networks represent a technological shift and will provide new opportunities for the economy and society of Europe, enabling innovation and advancement in many key sectors. 5G networks will form part of Europe’s critical...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (11 Dec 2019)

Richard Bruton: The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the Government’s plan to rollout high speed broadband to the 1.1 million people living and working in the nearly 540,000 premises including almost 100,000 businesses and farms, along with 695 schools where commercial operators will not commit to deliver the service. The Deputy's Question relates to a premises which is located in the AMBER area...