Results 4,341-4,360 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: Some sections are certainly-----
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: Some sections of the media are certainly guilty of misbehaviour. I do not doubt that.
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: What I am saying about what transpired at the Leveson inquiry is that I do not have any personal knowledge of similar circumstances here. Nobody has brought such circumstances to my attention. I am not making any naive vow of incredulity. I do not suggest that matters that have not yet come to light here are not happening. However, I really do not think it has sunk to the level it has...
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: It would be a matter of concern if we had reached that stage. I recall meeting the senior management of the Independent News and Media group in the mid-1990s, when I served as Minister of State with responsibility for commerce. I also met some members of the board of the group, including its then deputy chairman, the late John Meagher. He said to me that as far as the Independent group of...
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: It will not take long.
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: I thank the House. In respect of the â¬10 million and the 7% to the Sound and Vision fund, it is already top-sliced to some extent. In reply to the matter raised by Senator Whelan, of course I am concerned about the finances of the national broadcaster. I share his views about the necessity for value for money. As it happens, I have a meeting with the board of the RTE Authority tomorrow....
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: He has an entitlement for them to be vindicated and to be seen to be vindicated. Second, the normally high standard of that programme should not be damaged and in my view this is best achieved by it being properly and independently investigated and let the pieces fall where they will. In reply to Senator Michael Mullins the investigation is likely to be concluded very soon and in that...
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: All three of them ran into a spot of bother since. As a result, we have gone from excessive deference to corrosive cynicism.
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: This is a real pity because the media is different. Various Members have raised the question of competition and concentration of ownership, dominant position, abuse of dominant position, cross-media ownership and so on. As I have said, it is different from making concrete blocks or producing widgets in the garage because the media conditions the kind of democracy in which we live and...
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: People are observing what is happening in the Leveson inquiry but the answer is that I do not have anyone over there. The Leveson inquiry will produce a report that will be available to us all and I am happy to return to the House when it is available. In the interim, we have the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman. I am quite happy to engage in a private...
- Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: I thank the House for the invitation to speak on the important subject of media standards. It is a subject that, I am sure, is close to the heart of not just those in the public eye but of all citizens interested in the quality of public debate and the health of our democracy. Any modern democratic society needs an active, diverse and robust media sector - it is a fundamental component of...
- Leaders' Questions (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: It is what the previous Government signed up to.
- Leaders' Questions (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: The previous Government did not even know what it was signing up to.
- Leaders' Questions (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: It is better than the old era.
- Leaders' Questions (22 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: Did you sleep through it?
- Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (21 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: My Department has not received an on-line application under the Rural Broadband Scheme from the person named in the question. The Application Phase of the Rural Broadband Scheme (RBS) closed on 29 July 2011. The Department received 5,000 applications and of these, approximately 3,700 qualified under the terms of the scheme. The Verification Phase of the Scheme has now commenced. In this...
- Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (21 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: The Rural Broadband Scheme (RBS) was launched last year in recognition of the fact that, despite the widespread availability of broadband throughout Ireland, there still remained individual premises that were unable to receive a broadband service, due mainly to certain technical difficulties such as line of sight. This Scheme is aimed at making a basic broadband service available to those...
- Written Answers — State Bodies: State Bodies (21 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies provides a framework for the application of best practice in corporate governance by both commercial and non-commercial State bodies. The provisions of the Code do not override existing statutory requirements in relation to such State bodies. The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) is statutorily responsible for the...
- Written Answers — Electricity Generation: Electricity Generation (21 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: The latest figures from ESB Networks are that they have 588 import/export meters installed. These are required for microgeneration. Electric Ireland has advised that they have 448 customers in receipt of payments under their domestic microgeneration scheme. Ireland has a legally binding renewable energy target of 16% under Directive 2009/28/EC. In our National Renewable Energy Action Plan,...
- Written Answers — Energy Conservation: Energy Conservation (21 Feb 2012)
Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 416 and 417 together. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers the Better Energy Programme. I am informed by SEAI that almost 114,000 homes have received energy efficiency upgrades, including heating system upgrades, since the scheme was launched in May 2009. The number of applications for heating system measures applied for and carried...