Results 4,901-4,920 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The latest OECD broadband data up to June 2010 ranked Ireland 13th of 19 EU states surveyed for fixed line broadband penetration per 100 inhabitants and third of 18 EU states surveyed for wireless broadband penetration per 100 inhabitants. However, such surveys are confined to retail services only. They do not measure customised electronic services provided over leased lines or Ethernet...

Written Answers — Offshore Exploration: Offshore Exploration (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 95 together. There have been no new commercial discoveries of oil and gas, or other minerals within the jurisdiction of the Irish State in the past twelve months. While there are no petroleum drilling operations currently in progress on or offshore within the jurisdiction of the Irish State, plans are at an advanced stage for the drilling of an...

Written Answers — Postal Services: Postal Services (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The Government's core policy goal for the postal sector is to ensure that Irish customers, both business and residential, enjoy competitively priced, high quality postal services. The Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011, which was enacted in August 2011, has put in place a robust and appropriate regulatory framework for the postal services market, which will offer certainty...

Written Answers — Energy Resources: Energy Resources (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Petroleum exploration in Ireland, in common with most other jurisdictions, is carried out by private enterprise under licence from the State. Petroleum exploration authorisations are issued under the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960 and the operational framework is set out in the Licensing Terms for Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Development & Production 2007. In...

Written Answers — Energy Prices: Energy Prices (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I do not have a statutory function in the setting of energy prices, whether in the regulated or unregulated market. Responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, which is an independent statutory body. Prices in the retail electricity market are now fully deregulated and from 1 October 2011 gas residential...

Written Answers — Energy Prices: Energy Prices (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The Public Obligation Service (PSO) levy has been in place since 2001 and is the support mechanism for peat generation, the development of renewable electricity, and certain plant necessary for security of supply. The levy is designed to compensate electricity suppliers for the additional costs they incur by purchasing electricity generated by plant qualifying under these three headings....

Port Development (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I am grateful to Deputy Carey for raising this important issue. I begin with the positive position that the Irish offshore has recognised potential as a petroleum-producing area. However, while I recently made the announcement to which Deputy Carey refers in respect of the outcome of the 2011 licensing round, which resulted in the offer of 13 licensing options in the Atlantic margin, the...

Port Development (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I again thank Deputy Carey for raising a matter that has not been to the forefront of my mind which does not mean it is not very important. I also have great difficulty addressing a House with no Opposition. It is the first time I have ever seen the House without an Opposition. I have taken many lectures on how dedicated Opposition Members are to spending time in the House while the rest of...

Strategic Energy Infrastructure (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: If I knew the answer to that, I would be going down to Paddy Power. I do not know what the situation will be in four years. What I do know is that market conditions are not propitious right now and, therefore, we will not be selling anything at the moment. I made that clear on a number of occasions. We really should not be rewriting history here. I notice that it is now the new mantra of...

Strategic Energy Infrastructure (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: That is why we are where we are. That is why the previous Government brought in Colm McCarthy, whose report stated that we should sell . It is not possible to forget something that happened before Christmas. Even if someone were a presidential candidate he would remember he was a member of the Executive before Christmas. That was only a few months ago. These are the origins of the problem...

Strategic Energy Infrastructure (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The only thing the last Government did not do was to put in a figure, and according to what the troika told us, that Government begged not to put in a figure and leave it as it was.

State Companies (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I can assure the Deputy that employment creation is the central economic objective of the Government. This issue encompasses a number of key Departments, including Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Education and Skills, and this Department. In so far as my own responsibilities are concerned, I have statutory responsibility for the State energy companies...

State Companies (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with the Deputy that we have a huge unemployment problem. There is no doubt about that. It has been made immeasurably worse by the collapse of the construction sector, and therefore a huge segment of construction workers, with varying levels of skill, are out of work. That is the huge mountain this Government must try to scale. I cannot agree with the Deputy if he is saying that...

State Companies (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with the Deputy about leveraging jobs in the State sector wherever we can. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, has been preoccupied with this issue for more than the last six months. Wherever we can source investment for the creation of new employment connected with the State companies, we will do that. For example, one of the major projects the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd,...

Radio Licensing (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The management of the radio spectrum is a statutory function of the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, under the Communications Regulation Act 2002. In accordance with this function and its obligations under EU law, ComReg designs and manages the spectrum assignment process. In so doing, it must bear in mind the objectives of ensuring the efficient and effective use of radio...

Radio Licensing (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Given the complexity of this issue, I have already suggested to the Deputy that it would be a good idea for the Joint Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture to invite ComReg to make a submission on this matter. The Deputy is probably posing the question because he knows there is no such thing as 100% coverage. He also knows that in many of the precedents set there...

Radio Licensing (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I am reluctant to agree with the Deputy that there is a digital divide in the way he portrays it. The reason we have a statutory body charged with management of this process is that it has the technical and professional capacity to assess it. It is a very complex issue. I think the Deputy understands the point I have made, that there is no precedent in which there has been 100% coverage....

Alternative Energy Projects (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland remains critically dependent on imported fossil fuels, particularly oil and natural gas. This dependency underlines the immediate and long-term imperatives of enhancing energy security, reducing price volatility and ensuring energy sustainability. National energy policy objectives are in line with overall EU policy objectives and are informed by the critical work of the...

Alternative Energy Projects (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: As Deputy Murphy will know, the experts differ on the definition of peak oil and when it will be reached. The central point remains, namely, that the extent to which the State relies on the importation of fossil fuels is critical. That is indisputable and I accept it, but there is an ambitious programme under way to develop our capacity in renewable energy. The Deputy's asked whether there...

Alternative Energy Projects (19 Oct 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Yes. I am currently fighting as if for my life to keep the retrofit programme alive until we move on to the next phase. We have done considerable planning and preparation to divine a new model for retrofitting nationally. Public and commercial buildings constitute a valuable area in terms of potential energy savings and job creation. The idea is to create a new model that will involve a...