Results 5,061-5,080 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (25 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Smart Meter Upgrade is a key building block in enabling consumers to participate in the low carbon transition as outlined in the recently published Climate Action Plan. The programme will result in the upgrade of 2.4 million meters to modern, smart-ready technology. Like all equipment, meters for measuring gas or electricity use require replacement over time and as older brands and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Policy (25 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: The recently published Climate Action Plan sets out the actions which must be taken to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change. It sets out the actions which must be taken in every sector so we can achieve our targets. In all projected transitions to a low carbon economy, gas will continue to play a role in Ireland’s energy mix. Gas contributes to reducing greenhouse...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Post Office Network (20 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: I can assure the Deputy I will arrange for a transcript of this debate to be passed on to An Post, as he requested. He has made an articulate case for Portlaoise. I know An Post is very conscious of the regional role it plays and of the importance it plays in regional development. This is a decision it will have make and it will do so on the basis of what is in the best interests of the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Post Office Network (20 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: I appreciate the fact that Deputy Fleming has raised the issue, which I know is of acute concern to many people. Last week in the Dáil, the Deputy may have heard somebody else raising the case of one of the other mail sorting centres. The Deputy is an experienced committee Chair and I have soldiered with him on some of them. He is very aware of the legal position, namely, that this is...

Climate Action Plan to Tackle Climate Breakdown: Statements (20 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: I thank the House and, in particular, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action for the huge effort put into helping to develop this proposal. We are talking about massive change in our society. We have learned from other big changes we have managed to make in Ireland in recent years, such as the changes in our Constitution, that the first and most important element is to ensure...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: I will have to get the details from the Deputy and check out what the issue is around that particular site.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Re-introduction of Grey Wolf (20 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: The remit of my Department and of Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) as regards wildlife is confined to inland fisheries species. The Department and IFI have no remit in relation to the matter raised by the Deputy. The feasibility of reintroducing the grey wolf is a matter for consideration by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht. That...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Inland Fisheries Ireland (20 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 177 and 178 together. I am advised by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) that communication with the National Anglers Representative Association (NARA) is on-going. In addition, I am advised that, shortly after the establishment of the Fish Farm Working Group from across a range of disciplines within IFI, angling federations, including NARA, were invited to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Exploration Licences (20 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: The two Lease Undertakings referenced in my letter of 8 May 2018 to the Ceann Comhairle are the Dunmore Lease Undertaking and the Helvick Lease Undertaking operated by Providence Resources PLC. The Lease Undertakings were issued on 1 March 2016 and are subject to the Licensing Terms for Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Development and Production 2007.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Exploration Licences (20 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: Section 57 of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act, 1960 requires the Minister to lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas every six months a report detailing all exploration activities including petroleum exploration authorisations granted during the period of the report. The last such report laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas was in respect of the six-month period ending 31...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (19 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: The premises referenced by the Deputy is in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map, which is available on my Department's website at www.broadband.gov.ie. The AMBER areas represent the target areas for the proposed State led Intervention under the NBP. This intervention is the subject of the procurement process to engage a company to build, operate and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Protected Disclosures Data (19 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: My Department has received three Protected Disclosures since the legislation was introduced in 2015, one in each of the years 2017, 2018 and 2019. My Department has a Protected Disclosure Policy and Guidelines in place to support the implementation of the Protected Disclosure Act 2014.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Expenditure (19 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 232, 233 and 235 together. Under EU State Aid guidelines, it is a requirement that Member States thoroughly evaluate commercial plans so as to ensure that State Aid is confined to areas of well-defined market failure, where commercial investment is unlikely to occur in the near future. The deployment of the National Broadband Plan network is currently to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan: Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (19 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Cathaoirleach and the committee for the huge amount of work they have put into developing the concept of a climate action strategy that will help us achieve the targets we have set. I also take this opportunity to thank my officials who are here, Mr. Brian Carroll and Mr. Eoin McLoughlin, and the many other officials in other Departments who have contributed immensely to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan: Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (19 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: I refer to the learnings that I mentioned among which accountability from the centre is crucial. If one has 15 distinct Departments and they all are working to their own priorities and within their own silos the needed change will not be achieved unless one has not only a verbal commitment to deliver but it also becomes a priority within that silo When things do not work as intended, there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan: Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (19 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for his constructive contribution throughout the debate both in the Chamber and here. On costs, we have €30 billion in the national development plan assigned for this purpose, including investments in retrofitting, the grid and so on. It includes the climate action fund. There is significant money being set aside to achieve this. We have learned that we must...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan: Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (19 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: We need to move to an aggregated system, one which operates on a much larger scale. We must scale up work and give people in particular areas the option to do that work collectively, while also developing smarter finance and easier pay methods to back it up. We need to design a suite of measures that will be effective and offer people different supports depending on their ability to pay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan: Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (19 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: We are starting immediately to set up the cross-departmental group to design that. It is one of our priorities. It is integral to moving from where we are on a more accelerated basis. The Climate Change Advisory Council has indicated that it is doing work on agriculture and land use, and we look forward to the outcome of that. It will be integral to the design of the Common Agricultural...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan: Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (19 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: I absolutely agree with the Deputy that reaching out to communities is crucial. Someone asked me why we put it in as the last chapter rather than the first. That is a reasonably well-made point. I suppose the idea was to outline the scale of the challenges in the sectors and then see how we ensure that communities can participate. I omitted to answer Deputy Dooley's question on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan: Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (19 Jun 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Teagasc stuff is in this.