Results 461-480 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Other Questions: Postal Codes (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The cost of the contract with Capita, which was awarded a ten year licence to develop and maintain the post code system, is €27 million excluding VAT or €33.2 million including VAT. This position has not changed since I last reported on the cost of the contract and covers the design of the Eircode, encoding public sector databases, accessing the GeoDirectory database, the...

Other Questions: Broadband Service Provision (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Government’s national broadband plan aims to ensure every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high-quality, high-speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and State-led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. In July of this year, I published a detailed draft intervention...

Other Questions: Broadband Service Provision (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: Under state aid and other EU rules, I am not in a position to specify a required technology but I am in a position to specify that the service would have a minimum download speed of 30 Mbps and a minimum upload speed of 6 Mbps. If the Deputy reviews the literature and the experience in other countries and the technologies that are available elsewhere, he might come to the conclusion that it...

Other Questions: Broadband Service Provision (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: Full coverage will be attained by 2020.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Post Office Network (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Deputy should wait for the report and see how positive it is. I am confident that it will be positive. The Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection and her Department have a positive attitude to post offices. Social welfare payments comprise a critical component of post office business, irrespective of the size of a particular post office, and support a cross-selling model,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Post Office Network (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Government and I strongly support the maintenance of a post office network across the country. The report, which I will shortly receive and publish, will demonstrate this. The Government's response to the report will demonstrate its commitment to the maintenance of a post office network service right across the country which is viable, remains at the heart of communities and supplies...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan Implementation (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: It has been beyond talking about for quite a while because, as the Deputy is well aware, we are achieving and moving on this important project. It is exactly the same point he makes each time he comes in here, but he knows perfectly well that all of the timelines that I set and that I indicated in the House when I became Minister in July of last year have been kept. We published the map,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Post Office Network (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I am sure we all join Deputy Tom Fleming in wishing Mr. Bobby Kerr a speedy recovery. Mr. Kerr has been doing terrific work for us on this agenda. The post office network business development group, the remit of which is to examine the potential from existing and new Government and commercial business that could be transacted through the post office network, presented its initial report...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan Implementation (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Government’s national broadband plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high-quality, high-speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State-led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. On 29 September the Government approved an allocation of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan Implementation (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Deputy mentioned 2011, which is the year he is interested in. Only 300,000 addresses had high-speed broadband when his party was in office, just before the 2011 election. He can talk about works of fiction all he wants and he can criticise us if he wishes, but the lamentable failure of the Government of which he was a supporter is manifest for all to see. The situation now is that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Broadband Service Provision (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: Creating and maintaining employment, as the Deputy has stated, is one of the most important advantages that will accrue from the national broadband plan. I absolutely agree with the Deputy in that regard. I confirm that in Kerry, high-speed broadband services have been rolled out to over 27,500 premises to date, with a further 11,200 premises expected to be served by commercial operators....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Broadband Service Provision (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I agree with all the points made by the Deputy. He sets out the disadvantage experienced by areas of the country in the absence of adequate and high-speed broadband, particularly with regard to business and access to public and social services, as well as education and ability to interact culturally. All of these are areas of activity and interaction in a modern society and economy to which...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Broadband Service Provision (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Government’s national broadband plan aims to ensure every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high-quality, high-speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and State-led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. Last November, I published a national high-speed coverage map for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I respectfully refer the Deputy to the response of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, some days ago in the House in respect of the guidelines. The Deputy referred to renewable energy. The options include solar, biomass and offshore wind. A range of technologies are coming down the tracks. Some are at a higher level of development than others...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The overarching objective of the Government's energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. A new energy White Paper, which my Department is currently in the process of finalising, will set out Ireland’s energy policy up to 2030, framed in the context of broader EU energy policy as articulated in both the energy union...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I certainly envisage that solar energy will be an important element of our renewables portfolio into the future. In addition to the White Paper, which is the high-level policy document, we are also in a consultation process in respect of a new REFIT regime and looking at appropriate subsidies for technologies such as solar panels so that we can have a mix. Onshore wind energy generation has...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Building Energy Rating Compliance (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Building Energy Rating (BER) scheme was established under the European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2006. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is designated as the issuing authority with responsibility for registering BER assessors, logging BER assessments and managing the BER scheme. Since 2007, all new buildings require a BER before...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadcasting Charge (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The Programme for Government committed to examining the role and collection of the TV licence fee in light of existing and projected convergence of technologies and to transforming the TV licence into a household based Public Service Broadcasting Charge to be applied to all eligible households and applicable businesses, regardless of the device used to access content or services. The primary...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: Globally, wave energy is still at the research, development and demonstration stage, and action across a range of areas is required to support developers in bringing ocean energy devices from prototype to full scale commercial deployment. In Ireland, this action is being taken in the context of the implementation of the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan 2014, which sets out...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Policy (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The overarching objective of the Government’s energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. In order to meet this target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of...