Results 4,381-4,400 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Fisheries Conservation: Fisheries Conservation (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Following scientific research conducted by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) indicating that the European eel stocks are in a critical state, the EU introduced Council Regulation 1100/2007, the objective of which is to achieve recovery of the stocks to previous high levels. The Regulation required that all Member States prepare a national Eel Management Plan...

Written Answers — Inland Fisheries: Inland Fisheries (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I can inform the Deputy that the opening and closing dates for lakes are fixed annually by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) on the basis of assessment of demand from anglers and resources to manage those lakes responsibly. Local advice is one of the factors taken into consideration when considering the length of period of the season. In the case of South Kerry, I am informed there has been no...

Written Answers — Post Office Network: Post Office Network (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Post office network issues are an operational matter for the Board and management of An Post and one in which I have no statutory function.

Written Answers — Energy Conservation: Energy Conservation (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Better Energy: Warmer Homes delivers a range of energy efficiency measures to households that are vulnerable to energy poverty with a total of 20,388 being addressed in 2011. The scheme is managed on behalf of my Department by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and delivered through a range of Community Based Organisations (CBOs), augmented by a panel of private contractors...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Details of the senior management of my Department and their responsibilities are outlined in the table below. Department of Communications Energy and Natural Resources Senior Management Organisation Chart Aidan DunningSecretary General Katherine LickenAssistant SecretaryCommunications & Knowledge Society Michael ManleyAssistant SecretaryFinance, Corporate Services & Natural...

Written Answers — Information and Communications Technology: Information and Communications Technology (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: The provision and quality of electronic communications services, including broadband, is primarily a matter for private sector service providers, regulated and licensed by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). The State is not a service provider in the telecoms market and tends to intervene only in cases of demonstrated market failure. The Government's investment in...

Written Answers — Ministerial Appointments: Ministerial Appointments (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I wish to advise the Deputy that there are 18 State bodies under the aegis of my Department. Of these there are 15 whose boards are appointed in whole in or in part by the Minister and/or the Government. The table below sets out appointments made by me to State boards since taking up office on the 9th March 2011 and the relevant fee, as determined by the Minister for Public Expenditure and...

Written Answers — Energy Conservation: Energy Conservation (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 394 to 396, inclusive, together. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers Better Energy on behalf of my Department. As announced in the context of the Budget, the Government has committed significant funding of €76 million to the Better Energy Programme this year. The scheme was launched in March 2009 and since then has paid out over...

Written Answers — State Assets: State Assets (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Two Inter-Departmental groups were established in 2011, one to consider the best approach in achieving a part-sale of ESB, including energy policy, regulatory, legal, financial and economic considerations, and a second group to examine other possible disposal candidates in order to inform any further decisions that the Government may wish to make. Both of these groups reported in December,...

Written Answers — Inland Fisheries: Inland Fisheries (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: A licensed snap net fishery operates on the River Nore. This fishery has operated for several hundred years. The snap net fishery is allocated a percentage of the total available catch (available salmon surplus). The division of the total available catch between the snap net fishery and the rod and line fishery is determined after consultation with the District Committee, which includes...

Written Answers — Inland Fisheries: Inland Fisheries (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: The 2007 EU Eel regulation (1100/2007), drafted in response to the endangered status of the European Eel, required EU States, including Ireland, to develop an Eel Management Plan. Based on the scientific facts available, a recommendation of this plan was that Ireland close both the commercial and recreational eel fisheries in 2008. Bye-laws, Conservation of Eel Fishing Bye-law No. C.S. 303,...

Written Answers — Sheirbhísí Craolacháin: Sheirbhísí Craolacháin (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Bhuail mé le RTÉ ar roinnt ócáidí le bliain anuas maidir le réimse leathan ábhar. Ina measc sin, bhí an aeráid reatha eacnamaíochta agus an tionchar atá aige sin ar RTÉ i dtéarmaí a dheacrachtaí maoinithe. Is craoltóir náisiúnta neamhspleách seirbhíse poiblí í RTÉ ar a bhfuil an sainchúram agus na dualgais a léirítear san Acht Craolacháin 2009. Léiríonn Alt 114...

Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland's telecommunications market has been liberalised since 1999 and thus the delivery of all communications services in that market, including broadband services, is a matter for private sector commercial operators, in the first instance. EU State Aid and competition rules govern how states can intervene in the market which, as a general rule, prohibits State intervention in areas...

Written Answers — Broadcasting Services: Broadcasting Services (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Broadcasting services which use the radio spectrum are planned at an international level. This is to avoid broadcast services in the different countries interfering with each other. The move from analogue to digital broadcasting is no exception and the planning for this has taken place on a world wide scale. In Geneva in 2006 a conference was held between the countries of Europe, Asia and...

Written Answers — Energy Conservation: Energy Conservation (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to roll out a Pay-As-You-Save (PAYS) energy retrofit scheme for domestic buildings in early 2014. Such a scheme would substitute Exchequer funding currently being provided to the Better Energy Programme. The PAYS concept is an innovative financing mechanism that would allow consumers to finance upgrades directly through the energy savings...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: No such payments are being made to persons who have retired from my Department. One member of staff, retiring at end February, who has been the Irish member of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf for over ten years and whose last term of appointment is to expire on 15 June, 2012, will attend the 29th session of the Commission from 8th to 21st April 2012 inclusive. In...

Written Answers — Energy Resources: Energy Resources (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I am aware of the report of the SIPTU Oil and Gas Review Group and I welcome its contribution to the wider debate on how best to maximise the benefits to Ireland from the exploration and production of our indigenous oil and gas resources. There have only been four commercial gas discoveries and no commercial oil discoveries since exploration began offshore Ireland in the early 1970s. As a...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: It is not possible to provide the information requested in the timeframe allowed but my Department will provide it directly to the Deputy shortly. This information will cover the years 2008 to date only as it cannot be predicted what, if any, retirements will occur in future years and what associated entitlements will arise.

Written Answers — Natural Gas Network: Natural Gas Network (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: The development and expansion of the natural gas network is in the first instance a commercial matter for Gaslink, which is mandated under Section 8 of the Gas Act 1976, as amended, to develop and maintain a system for the supply of natural gas that is both economical and efficient. The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is a statutory, independent body, has, since 2002, been...

Alternative Energy Projects (14 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: It is catching.