Results 21-40 of 1,278 for at speaker:Ossian Smyth

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Recycling Policy (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Deputy O'Sullivan suggested that the local authorities should have the most accessible machines and that is a very good suggestion. I will go back to the local authorities on that. He asked about credit being applied to people's phones. Local authority civic amenity sites do not handle very small quantities of cash, such as 15 cent. They are really looking at what the solution is for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cybersecurity Policy (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I can confirm the NCSC is doing that in co-operation with An Garda Síochána because the gardaí are the people who see first-hand what the effect of these scams is. The scams are always changing because people are protecting themselves. It is an arms race. The criminals then change their methods. Then the NCSC and An Garda Síochána communicate to the public through...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: North-South Interconnector (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: In Deputy O'Rourke's previous question about curtailment, he clearly showed an understanding of what the problems are when we have too much electricity in one part of the island and not enough in another and we cannot share it from one to the other. I am sure he understands what the benefits of the project are. Like any infrastructure project, whether building a road or a greenway, there is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Recycling Policy (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: .... Since the deposit-return scheme, DRS, went live on 1 February, more than 100 million containers have been returned and €18 million has been refunded to consumers in deposits. Daily return rates are growing all the time, regularly exceeding 2 million containers. It reached 3 million on Sunday. A four-month transition period is in place to allow for the selling-off of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Recycling Policy (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Deputy O'Sullivan asked me to name the local authorities. I know my own council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, is engaging with councils in other European countries to figure out how they manage it. I hope it will be one of the first. I do not have a list of the other four local authorities, but when I get it, I will send it to the Deputy. On the question about excess...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: As I understand it, EnergyCloud works by offering people who are on low incomes the chance to have a hot tank of water overnight, and that is done through energy that otherwise would have been thrown away and wasted. I understand this has been a successful experiment. I was asked about it before it started a couple of years ago and I understand that since it has been running it has been...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: There is a very simple answer to the question of whether I support the EnergyCloud system that takes energy that otherwise would have been thrown away and gives it to them to heat their water at night. Yes, I absolutely do. It has been a very successful experiment and I want to see it continuing. If we are going to continue with this kind of system, people need somewhere to store the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: North-South Interconnector (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Sorry, that is the information I have to hand. It only relates to the most recent meeting. I am not aware of whether there were other meetings or briefings before that. If the Deputy has a specific period in mind, as the project has been going on for decades at this stage, I will come back with a better answer.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Corporate Governance (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I will explain the financial structure of the company, very briefly. Yes, I expect that eventually, when the scheme is mature, it will only be returning 92% of cans and bottles, that is, 8% where a deposit is paid and not returned. The money from that pays to run the scheme, in co-operation with a payment by the producers that will be of a similar quantity. The amount of money from...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The climate action plan recognises that a range of cross-government policies are needed to transform our electricity system so that it can become more flexible and successfully accommodate an ever-increasing volume of renewable energy sources that are widely distributed across our island. The dispatch down of renewable energy refers to renewable energy that is available to the grid but...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Electricity Generation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The climate action plan sets challenging targets for installed generation capacity in 2030. This includes 9 GW of onshore wind, 8 GW of solar and at least 2 GW of additional gas-fired generation capacity. Ireland now has over 6 GW of renewable electricity generation capacity, with 46% of electricity generated in Ireland in 2023 being renewable. I am informed by ESB Networks that the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Electricity Generation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The Government acknowledges the Climate Change Advisory Council report and agrees that we must move at greater speed and scale to achieve our electricity targets. Ireland has achieved an unprecedented decrease in energy-related emissions. We had a 7% annual reduction last year and a 21% decrease in electricity-related emissions. This is despite a large increase in our population and a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Conservation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy for the question. The national retrofit plan set targets to carry out 185,000 energy upgrades and install 45,000 heat pumps in existing homes by 2025 and the equivalent of 500,000 B2 upgrades and 400,000 heat pumps by 2030. Between 2019 and the first quarter of 2024, almost 150,000 energy upgrades were supported by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy for his questions. I listened carefully to the points he made. I will now read the formal response from the Minister for Social Protection before discussing the matter further. It is important to acknowledge the excellent work that is done on the full range of work schemes, including community employment, Tús, the rural social scheme, RSS and the job initiative...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dublin City Task Force (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: On behalf of the Minister for Justice, I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this matter today. Dublin city and its surroundings are a hive of business and tourism, particularly at this time of year. Equally, there is a strong community created by local residents. We want the city to be a safe place for people to live in, work in and visit. The Deputy will be aware that today the Taoiseach...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dublin City Task Force (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The Deputy will be aware that the new approach to community safety policing via local community safety partnerships is being piloted in three locations, including the north inner city of Dublin. This approach brings together local communities and local service providers under an independent chair to develop a community safety plan for their local area, and more important, to work in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Commercial Rates (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator for asking this question, which the Minister for housing has asked me to answer on his behalf. Tailte Éireann is the State agency formed on 1 March 2023 following the merger of Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Property Registration Authority and the Valuation Office. All the functions previously carried by those bodies are now being performed by Tailte Éireann....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Commercial Rates (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator. I think I have good news for him. The message from the Valuation Office is that community sports facilities which are exclusively used for community sport and are non-profit are exempt from rates. I encourage him to follow up with the Valuation Office or Tailte Éireann using the contact details I provided. The Senator mentioned that we need to look more broadly...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Bus Services (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The Minister recognises that it can be frustrating for public transport users when delays occur with the roll-out of planned new services. Unfortunately, issues such as the ongoing bus driver and mechanic shortages have continued to impact on the speed at which the public transport network can expand. However, the Department of Transport will continue to engage with the NTA and bus...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Chairperson and members for inviting me to this meeting to discuss the current state of play in respect of the circular economy following on from the signing into law of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act in 2022. In line with the evolution of EU and UN environmental policy, the waste action plan for a circular economy was published in September 2020. The...