Results 21-40 of 866 for speaker:Ossian Smyth in 'Dáil debates'

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: As the Deputy said, this information is not available on the website at the moment. When I started in this position, at the launch of the national broadband plan, there was no information beyond two years. If it was beyond two years, it just stated some time between now and 2026. I asked the NBI to provide the exact date or at least to the nearest quarter when it would be provided to tell...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I am willing to give the Deputy or any other Deputy information like that if they seek it in particular. About 240,000 homes have now been passed. About one third of the people passed have connected to the service. I expect that will keep rising until about 80% of people passed will connect. We will also reach the halfway mark for the project and will complete by the end of 2026. We will...

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: Recycling Policy (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: -----because if they try to sell to sell any stock that does not have the Re-turn logo from 1 June, they are liable to fines of up to €5,000.

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

Ossian Smyth: There is close co-operation across many sections of Government regarding cyber risks and threats and the specific issue of cybercrime is under the remit of the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána. The National Cyber Security Centre, NCSC, which is part of my Department, monitors, detects and responds to cyber security incidents in the State, and builds resilience in IT...

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: I am glad that the Deputy agrees with his colleague, Conor Murphy MLA, that there are great benefits to this project. I absolutely agree that there has to be good engagement with landowners. EirGrid manages the national electricity grid. It recently issued letters to about 400 landowners on the route of the planned North-South interconnector. The letters outline the infrastructure...

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: I propose to take Questions Nos. 55, 59 and 60 together. 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...

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: Yes.

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: The North-South Interconnector is an essential infrastructure project that will link the electricity transmission networks of Ireland and Northern Ireland, leading to a more secure, affordable and sustainable supply of electricity across the island. As a transmission project, the North-South Interconnector is being undertaken by EirGrid, which is independent of the Minister, with EirGrid...

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

Ossian Smyth: The most recent.

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: Electricity Generation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I think the first part of the question was about delivery. It was about how much the Government has installed of new capacity. We have seen more than 2 GW of capacity installed over the course of the past four years. The fact there is now 1 GW of solar on the grid is incredible. I expect another 1.5 GW will be added this year and another 1.5 GW next year. Looking towards an 8 GW target...

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

Ossian Smyth: A national deposit return scheme, DRS, has been introduced to encourage more people to recycle bottles and cans and to ensure we meet our ambitious EU targets for the recycling of those materials under EU single-use plastics and packaging legislation. The Separate Collection (Deposit Return Scheme) Regulations, SI 599 of 2021, makes it the responsibility of beverage producers to establish...

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

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy. I take her point that she did not find sufficient information on Re-Turn's website. As I said, I speak to it regularly and indeed receive information from it daily. I will ask it to update its website and add more information, certainly to the level that is on any other. I did not check. The members of the board, for confirmation, are Tony Keohane, who is...

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...