Results 381-400 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (1 Dec 2015)

Alex White: The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Member States individual targets for renewable energy in order to attain an overall renewable energy share of 20% by 2020 across the entire European Union. In this regard, Ireland was assigned a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our overall energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. In addition, Member States must ensure that at...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (1 Dec 2015)

Alex White: The telecommunications market in Ireland has been fully liberalised since 1999. Decisions by commercial operators to invest in particular technologies, including fixed line network technologies are taken purely on commercial grounds, having regard to the cost of service provision and the anticipated revenue returns from any such investment. Neither my Department nor the Commission for...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Resources (1 Dec 2015)

Alex White: Approximately 96% of gas consumed in Ireland is imported, with approximately 45% of our electricity being generated using gas. EirGrid, together with ESB Networks and Gas Networks Ireland, have respective emergency plans in place to deal with any unexpected short-term disruption to gas supplies. The security of Ireland’s gas supplies will be significantly strengthened by the coming...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Legal Cases Data (1 Dec 2015)

Alex White: The information requested by the Deputy in relation to my Department is being compiled and will be forwarded as soon as possible. The information sought by the Deputy regarding the agencies under the aegis of my Department is an operational matter for each agency. I will request that they reply directly to the Deputy with the information requested.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Staff Data (1 Dec 2015)

Alex White: My Department does not have any employees on Contracts of Indefinite Duration.

Report on the Regulation and Inspection of Gas Installers: Motion (27 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I thank the Deputies for the very helpful contributions they made in the debate and I am pleased to have an opportunity to respond. As I said in my opening remarks, this is an issue of national importance which is recognised by the committee in the work it has done to bring the report forward. The safety of domestic natural gas consumers and the public in general is of paramount importance...

Report on the Regulation and Inspection of Gas Installers: Motion (27 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I am pleased to accept this opportunity to respond to the Chairman of the joint committee on its report dated July 2015 regarding the regulation and inspection of gas installers operating in Ireland. I welcome this report which makes a valuable contribution to the debate on gas safety and its regulation and I thank the Chairman of the committee, Deputy O'Mahony, and the members of the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Company Data (26 Nov 2015)

Alex White: My Department has passed this query to EirGrid and have requested them to contact the Deputy directly.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Resources (26 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The owners of the refinery, Phillips 66, advised my Department in October that they were putting the Whitegate refinery up for sale. A refinery sale would be a commercial matter between Phillips 66 and a potential purchaser. As this process is underway Whitegate will continue to be operated on a business as usual basis. The Government views the continued operation of the Whitegate refinery...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation (26 Nov 2015)

Alex White: On 31 July last, my Department launched a consultation on a new support scheme for renewable electricity. While the initial phase of the consultation closed on 18 September 2015, there will be two further opportunities to contribute at key stages in the design of any new scheme. The consultations will be informative regarding the technologies that will assist in meeting our future renewable...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Agencies (25 Nov 2015)

Alex White: There have been no new State Bodies established by my Department since March 2011, nor do I plan to establish any new bodies.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Better Energy Homes Scheme Data (25 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf of my Department. The scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures to low income households vulnerable to energy poverty, which meet the defined eligibility criteria. Homes of the scheme beneficiaries receive energy efficiency upgrades free of charge. Measures...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (25 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. On 29 September the Government published its 6 year...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Regulation (25 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The regulation of the electricity market is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and I have no function in the matter. The CER has oversight of the process for connecting generators, both renewable and non-renewable, to the national grid. This is generally referred to as the Group Process Approach (GPA) which has been implemented to date through a series of gates i.e. Gate...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Resources (25 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Whitegate refinery was privatised as a result of its sale by the State in 2001. Under the terms of the sale, the owners are obliged to continue to operate the refinery for a minimum of fifteen years, a commitment which remains in place until July 2016. That commitment is not affected by the planned sale. The owners of the refinery, Phillips 66, advised my Department in October that they...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff Scheme Eligibility (25 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Renewable Electricity Feed-in-Tariff (REFIT) schemes are the principal means of supporting renewable electricity generators for renewable energy exported to the grid. These schemes support electricity generated from a range of renewable sources including small scale hydro. Small scale renewable generation is eligible to apply for support under the REFIT schemes. Further information is...

Topical Issue Debate: National Broadband Plan Implementation (24 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I agree with him on the importance of broadband infrastructure. He was correct in that, when we traditionally spoke about infrastructure, we meant physical infrastructure like roads and other big-ticket infrastructure that was important to a modern economy. Now, though, we must speak of the digital infrastructure. Broadband is at the...

Topical Issue Debate: National Broadband Plan Implementation (24 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I thank the Deputy for his support for what we are doing. His assessment of what we are doing and his analysis of what is necessary is spot on. We are rigorously assessing new and existing industry investment commitments in order to ensure it delivers the services that have been promised. The Deputy laid some emphasis on speed of delivery. That is a factor that we must all be conscious...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Energy Council: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (24 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I thank the Acting Chairman and the committee for affording me an opportunity to brief them in advance of the meeting of the EU Council of Energy Ministers in Brussels on Thursday. This week the Energy Council takes place against the backdrop of the horror that has been recently visited on the people of Paris and France. The meeting also takes place against a backdrop of virtually...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Energy Council: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (24 Nov 2015)

Alex White: We could deal with the energy efficiency in two senses. We may have an opportunity to return to the topic next week. We can certainly talk a bit about Ireland if colleagues wish to do so but here it relates to an EU regulation in the context of energy union and a revised regime for energy efficiency labelling of products, including washing machines, fridges and other such products. We are...