Results 441-460 of 1,799 for speaker:Luke Flanagan

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: I will be supporting the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013. The current legislation dates back to 1871 and one does not need to be a genius to work out that the attitude to allowing people with mental problems to make their own decisions has changed considerably since then. So the Bill is long overdue. Treating people with such problems is evolving, but not as quickly as I and...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: I thank them for their presentation. I have quite a few questions. How much extra does pay as you go cost the consumer? Does it cost more per unit of electricity? Is there interest to pay on what one is paying back? Also, they make it sound a good deal more rosy than it is in that if consumers cannot pay their bills, they can go on pay as you go and will not be cut off. That creates...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: In effect, it would be an offshore wind farm for Britain.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: What about hook-up costs and the €27,000 just to lodge an application for a connection?

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: Will Mr. Nolan deal with it?

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: Will the witness explain the following? If after the application is made a party hands over €27,000 but two weeks later somebody decides to join the process, with the name being put on the company's register, how does it cost anybody in excess of €10,000 to make the name change? What are people being paid in the office? Is it €1 million per day?

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: How did the CER settle on the 3% rate for the increase? Within the space of a couple of days it will become fact, so I would like to know exactly how the commission arrived at the figure. That is how things work in this country, and if something is said often enough, it becomes the truth.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: The commission has made these calculations and it was not done on the back of a sheet of paper. Could that be sent to us? That is asked at meetings like the one I attended last night in Ballinameen. We need to know how the commission arrived at the figure. The ratio keeps changing, which does not really help confidence. The 3% increase needs to be nailed down. Will it be sent to the...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: There was another question on whether one pays more if one chooses the pay-as-you-go option. If a user has all one's debts paid and he or she buys €10 worth of electricity, does he or she get the exact same value as if he or she were paying a bill or does it cost more?

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: So it could be cheaper then?

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: Could we get details in that regard? Does it relate to one individual scenario or is it common?

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: Yes. It is just that in many cases the poorest end up paying the most.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: If that is the case; that is great. It is wonderful.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: It will be.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: If Mammy or Daddy gets too drunk to go out and pay it the children end up in the dark and cold. That is the long and the short of it. Flawed and all as the other system was, if Mammy and Daddy went out and got drunk the children would have electricity. I understand where the witnesses are coming from but it will create hell for many children.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: Could a customer be forced to have such a meter if they continuously do not pay their bills?

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: I have a question specifically for Mr. Nolan on the midlands. The legislation for the CER is for all of Ireland. Has a provision been built into it that I have not seen? Have we now gone so far that not only is Ireland an offshore windfarm for Britain but also part of Britain? The CER does not seem to have any say. It is strange that the legislation establishing the CER concerns the...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: The CER can be bypassed by sleight of hand.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: Are generators not customers also? Do they not have to be regulated also? Is it not within the CER's remit?

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation (11 Dec 2013)

Luke Flanagan: It is just a case of theory. The CER cannot regulate theory but it regulates actual things.