Results 4,381-4,400 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Inland Fisheries Ireland Staff (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: Inland Fisheries Ireland's current authorised staffing level is 312 full time equivalent and it is also sanctioned to employ additional temporary seasonal staff on an annual basis. The details requested by the Deputy are in the tables. 2018 Job Title Permanent Temporary Grand Total Administrative Assistant Grade IV 3 3...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Landfill Sites (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: I refer to the reply to Question No 530 of 15 October 2019. The position is unchanged.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electricity Grid (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Department can confirm that a protected disclosure was made to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment in May 2018 on these and other issues and the matter has been and continues to be dealt with in accordance with the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. The Department continues to engage appropriately with the individual concerned and the company on the matter which...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Just Transition Fund (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: Ireland’s necessary transition away from carbon-intensive sources of energy, towards more sustainable, renewable energy sources, will have a significant impact on the workers in these carbon-intensive sectors, their families, and the Midlands as a whole. Government has committed to delivering a whole of Government approach, and to working with local stakeholders, to ensuring that a...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Efficiency (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: My Department supports businesses through a range of supports and grants administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). As the scope for reductions in energy or related carbon emissions from the technologies the Deputy mentions is limited, and as the focus for grant supports needs to be on technologies with the potential to deliver the most effective impact (i.e....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: Article 18 of the EU Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste prohibits Member States from impeding the placing on the market of their territory of packaging which satisfies the provisions of this Directive. Plastic bottles fall under the definition of packaging for the purposes of this Directive. However, we are committed to leading the way in reducing single use plastics and are working...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Disposal Charges (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: Since mid-2017, a range of charging options have operated, which encourage householders to reduce and separate their waste. This provides flexibility to waste collectors to develop various service-price offerings that suit different household circumstances. Mandatory per kilogramme 'pay by weight' charging was not introduced. ​A Price Monitoring Group (PMG) was established in mid-2017...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Disposal Charges (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: A Price Monitoring Group (PMG) has met on a monthly basis since September 2017 to monitor the on-going cost of residential waste collection to homeowners across Ireland. The group monitors 26 service offerings across the State (comprising 19 individual companies with several of those being monitored in more than one area). To date the PMG has cost €47,810. Further information on the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Change Policy (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: My Department is currently in the process of preparing Ireland’s Long-Term Strategy to meet the requirements of Article 15 Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action. This preparation of this Strategy will be informed by Ireland’s National Energy and Climate Plan, as well as the Government’s Climate Action Plan 2019, which was...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Trading Online Voucher Scheme (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Trading Online Voucher Scheme is an initiative specifically designed to support small and micro enterprises to trade online. Funded by my Department and administered by Enterprise Ireland through the national network of 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), the scheme offers financial assistance of up to €2,500, subject to matched funding, to help small businesses to develop their...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Legal Cases Data (24 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: There were 4 financial settlements and 11 legal cost settlements by my Department in the five-year period to 23 October 2019. Four of these cases included confidentiality clauses. The information requested in relation to the agencies under the aegis of my Department is an operational matter for each agency. The Department will request the relevant bodies to reply directly to the Deputy with...

Public Ownership of the National Broadband Network: Motion [Private Members] (23 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 2: To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: agrees that: - without high speed broadband, 1.1 million people, mostly living in rural Ireland, will not have access to high speed broadband, and will be left behind; - without high speed broadband it will be significantly more difficult to attract new jobs to rural...

Public Ownership of the National Broadband Network: Motion [Private Members] (23 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: I will go back over a little of the history of this project. In July 2015 the former Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White, engaged in a consultative process on what the model should be. He considered a number of options, including a public utility, as Deputy Howlin is advocating today. He also considered an option in which the State would own the asset...

Public Ownership of the National Broadband Network: Motion [Private Members] (23 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: We were always going to have to provide State aid if rural Ireland was to have access to high speed broadband. An absolute condition of delivering State aid was that there had to be an opportunity for private companies to put up their hands and offer to deliver it commercially.

Public Ownership of the National Broadband Network: Motion [Private Members] (23 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: That is why the then Minister took the decision. It was not a decision on which he had an option or a unilateral decision he plucked from the back of his head. It was a decision taken because State aid was needed to deliver the process. It is important to bear in mind why this option was chosen. What the State is seeking to secure is not a public utility of the sort we could have...

Public Ownership of the National Broadband Network: Motion [Private Members] (23 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: There is a good case to be made that it was a bad decision. The reality is that the State needs to provide, with State support, access to high speed broadband in the most cost effective way possible. We have to rent 1.5 million poles and 15,000 km of duct. We need a company to string fibre along that private network in order to reach those who would otherwise not be reached. That is the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electric Vehicles (23 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Climate Action Plan sets out a range of actions to support the delivery of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. These actions include developing the infrastructure to stay sufficiently ahead of demand. There are currently over 650 standard public charge points and 95 fast chargers (the majority of which are operated by the ESB) in Ireland. I am in the process of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management Regulations (23 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: The European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014 are designed to promote the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. They are intended, in particular, to facilitate the achievement of the targets for the recovery of packaging waste established by the Directive. Ireland surpassed the material specific target of 15% for wood packaging, which encompasses wooden pallets, with a 74% recycling...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Infrastructure (23 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Smart Meter Upgrade is a meter replacement programme which will result in the upgrade of over 2 million meters to modern, smart-ready technology. These new generation electricity meters are also being rolled out across Europe and internationally. The upgrade to smart meters will encourage energy efficiency, support an increase in renewable power on the energy system, and result in lower...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (23 Oct 2019)

Richard Bruton: Every home, farm, school and business in Ireland will have access to high speed broadband – no matter where they are located – following the Government’s decision to approve the appointment of a preferred bidder to the National Broadband Plan. The premises referenced by the Deputy is in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map, which...