Results 4,221-4,240 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Data Centres (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I am aware of letter of the 16 October 2023 from the Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council responding to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action, in relation to data centres. My Department, in conjunction with other relevant Departments and agencies where appropriate, will consider the recommendations of the Council. The Government Statement on the role of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Ireland is in the top five globally for installed wind power capacity per capita, with approximately 4.6 GW of onshore wind generation capacity, and is a world leader in the integration of variable renewable electricity onto the grid. Solar energy is a growing source of electricity and is rapidly transforming Ireland’s energy system with approximately 700 MW of grid connected capacity....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland administers a range of residential energy upgrade schemes on behalf of my Department. Almost 39,000 home energy upgrades have been supported through these schemes to the end of October of this year. This is an increase of 112% on the same period of last year and above the overall target of 37,000 home energy upgrades for 2023. It is critically...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Under the Climate Action Plan Update 23, Ireland has set a target of 80% of electricity demand from renewable sources by 2030 and to reach 22 GW of installed renewable electricity generation capacity by 2030, made up of 9 GW of onshore wind, 8 GW of solar and at least 5 GW of offshore wind. This will require unprecedented levels of investment in renewable electricity generation...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Commercial operators’ fibre rollouts are progressing at pace. Open eir, as part of their IFN fibre programme currently rolling out nationwide, plan to connect over 1.9m premises to their commercial fibre network by 2026. Open eir have already passed over 44,000 homes and businesses to gigabit services in Co. Kerry, with a further c.19,000 premises passed over the next 2 – 3...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: In February 2022, Government announced an enhanced package of measures to support the uptake of home energy upgrades. This included the introduction of a new National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme (NHEUS) and the establishment of a network of registered One Stop Shops. The NHEUS supports homeowners wishing to undertake a whole home energy upgrade to achieve a BER of at least B2 with a...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Fuel Sales (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: While Local Authorities are responsible for the enforcement of the solid fuel regulations and ensuring that only approved fuels are available on the Irish market, I continue to engage extensively with the sector to support their enforcement efforts. My Department is working with the Local Government Management Agency to develop an enhanced enforcement structure to support the provision of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Change Negotiations (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I represented Ireland at pre-COP28 which gathered global ministers to discuss some of the key issues on the climate change agenda in advance of the conference. Given the complexity of climate issues and the limited time available for negotiations at COP28, pre-COP provided an opportunity to begin laying the groundwork for agreement among Parties on key topics such as adaptation, mitigation,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Change Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 46 together. Local Authorities play a key role in climate mitigation and adaptation, as set out in Section 16 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. This requires each Local Authority to prepare a Climate Action Plan (LA CAP), specifying the mitigation and adaptation measures to be adopted. The LA CAPs will see each...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Earlier this year, I, along with officials from my Department, met with the company referred to in the question to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the Irish renewable market for renewable energy developers, Ireland’s regulatory and planning environment and our shared goal to meeting Ireland’s 2030 climate ambitions. No particulars of any specific projects were...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 25, 33, 42 and 98 together. My Department and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group have recently reached an agreement that paves the way for Government-backed, low-interest home energy upgrade loans. The Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme was developed by my Department, the Department of Finance, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, the Sustainable...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Change Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2021 commits Ireland to a legally binding target of a climate neutral economy no later than 2050, and a reduction in greenhouse emissions of 51% by 2030. Under the carbon budget programme adopted by the Oireachtas, the Government has approved sectoral emission ceilings for the first and second carbon budget periods (2021-2025 and 2026-2030)....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: North-South Interconnector (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 47 together. The North-South Interconnector it is a critical infrastructure project for the island of Ireland, which is being developed by Eirgrid as electricity Transmission System Operator. It will be the backbone of a fit for purpose electricity system that will ensure energy security, allow more renewables to be used on the island, reduce the need...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: At the request of the District Heating Steering Group, a research project was initiated to assess the viability of retrofitting an existing communal heating system with a shallow geothermal energy source. An independent consultancy was commissioned by the SEAI to undertake this research. The report has now been finalised and contains recommendations in relation to heat network efficiency and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Change Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: There are four Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs) which provide for a coordinated approach on climate action across the local government system. The CAROs were established in 2018 to support local government to respond and adapt to climate change. They coordinate national and local climate policy and work to ensure there is a more joined-up approach to responding to the climate crisis at...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The National Retrofit Plan sets out the Government's approach to achieving the Climate Action Plan targets of upgrading the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating (BER) of B2/cost optimal level and installing 400,000 heat pumps to replace older, less efficient heating systems by 2030. The Plan is designed to address barriers to retrofit across four key pillars: driving...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Reviews (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I assume the review referred to in the question is the "Independent Review on the Security of Electricity Supply" by Dermot McCarthy. The independent review by Mr Dermot McCarthy into the circumstances requiring emergency measures to be introduced to secure electricity supply was received in January this year. Following consideration of the review and the ongoing development of further...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: In February 2022, Government announced an enhanced package of measures to support the uptake of home energy upgrades. This included the introduction of a new National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme (NHEUS) and the establishment of a network of registered One Stop Shops. The NHEUS supports homeowners wishing to undertake a whole home energy upgrade to achieve a BER of at least B2 with a...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Wind Energy Generation (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Ireland is a world leader in onshore wind, being in the top three per capita of installed onshore wind capacity globally. Building on this hugely successful technology, there will need to be a near doubling of capacity from the current circa 4.7 GW to 9 GW by 2030 in order to meet our climate action targets and support energy independence in the near term. The latest updates provided to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Recycling Policy (16 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: A national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is being introduced to encourage more people to recycle plastic bottles and aluminium cans and to ensure we meet our ambitious EU targets for the recycling of those containers under EU Single Use Plastics and Packaging legislation. The development of a DRS is a significant undertaking and required careful consideration and consultation: In October 2020,...