Results 501-520 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Broadband Plan Expenditure (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: The public consultation on the Government’s National Broadband Plan draft Intervention Strategy closed on 25 September last. A total of 38 submissions were received, representing views from a wide range of stakeholders including companies, agencies and individuals. Non confidential versions of these submissions have been published on my Department's website. Meanwhile, my Department...

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

Alex White: The post office network plays an important role in serving the needs of domestic and business customers across Ireland. However, the postal sector is undergoing systemic change, with migration towards electronic communications resulting in significant core mail volume decline year-on-year. In recognition of the changing commercial environment I established the Post Office Network Business...

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

Alex White: The development and expansion of the natural gas network is in the first instance a commercial matter for Gas Networks Ireland (GNI), which is mandated under Section 8 of the Gas Act 1976, as amended, to develop and maintain a national system for the supply of natural gas that is both economical and efficient. The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) is statutorily responsible for all...

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

Alex White: I propose to take Questions Nos. 556 and 557 together. The Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill 2015 sets out proposed statutory obligations in relation to the development of a National Low Carbon Transition and Mitigation Plan (National Mitigation Plan), incorporating sectoral mitigation measures underway and additional measures to be implemented to enable Ireland to move to a low...

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

Alex White: The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive sets Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. Ireland is committed to achieving this target through meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heat and 10% of transport from renewable sources of energy. In 2014, 8.6% of Ireland’s overall energy requirements were met from renewable...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Community Radio Stations Funding (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I recognise that many local and community radio stations, both rural and urban, are of great benefit to the communities they serve and provide additional value to them, most particularly in the area of local reporting. In terms of funding for community broadcasters, a proportion of the television licence fee monies are made available to commercial and community broadcasters through the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Projects (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 commerciality. In Ireland, this action is being taken in the context of the implementation of the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP) 2014, which sets out...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Broadband Plan Implementation (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I hope to commence the formal procurement process for the NBP towards the end of this year. This process will be an open and competitive one, conducted in accordance with Department of Finance and EU procurement frameworks. Furthermore, the current State Aid Guidelines governing investments in broadband markets contain detailed compliance obligations on all public bodies considering a...

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

Alex White: The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is a Government initiative which aims to deliver high speed broadband to every citizen and business in Ireland. This is being achieved through a combination of accelerated commercial investment by telecoms operators, and a proposed State intervention to provide high speed broadband to those parts of the country where the commercial sector will not invest....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Broadband Plan Expenditure (10 Nov 2015)

Alex White: I propose to take Questions Nos. 563 and 564 together. The Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) 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...

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

Alex White: A wide range of policy initiatives to promote an awareness of energy use and energy efficiency in the commercial sector, including the hotel and hospitality sector, have been implemented in recent years. These measures are focused on addressing the barriers identified to undertaking energy efficiency activity in the commercial sector rather than providing direct grant assistance to business....

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

Alex White: On 31 July last, I launched a consultation on the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to incentivise larger heat users in the industrial and commercial sector to change to heating solutions that produce heat from renewable sources. While the initial phase of the consultation closed on 18 September 2015, there will be two further opportunities to contribute at key stages in the design of...

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

Alex White: The EU's 2020 targets for emissions reductions, renewable energy and energy efficiency form a cornerstone of EU energy policy. The EU aims to deliver a 20% improvement in energy efficiency, a 20% reduction in Green House Gas emissions and 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020. In addition, the 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of...

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

Alex White: The increasing use of renewable generation technologies on the electricity power system presents a range of operational challenges - challenges that can only be overcome through effective and ongoing research and innovation. A number of research initiatives are underway to facilitate the use of different types of renewable technologies on the system and are worth noting. First, a Smart...

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

Alex White: The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020 and in order to meet this target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewable sources, 12% renewables in the heating sector and 10% in transport. Ireland has made good progress with regard to renewable energy...

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

Alex White: I propose to take Questions Nos. 570 to 573, inclusive, and 575 together. Government policy in the area of telecommunications and broadband is aimed at delivering high speed broadband and general telecommunications access across the country by creating an environment conducive to commercial investment and by using State assets where appropriate. The State itself is not a player in this...

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

Alex White: It is Government policy that An Post remains a strong and viable company, in a position to provide a high quality postal service and maintain a nationwide network of customer focused post offices in the community. The post office network faces significant challenges given the impact of the economic downturn over the last few years, changes in technology and customer retail preferences....

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

Alex White: The 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. The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately...

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

Alex White: EirGrid and SONI periodically publish an All Island Generation Capacity Statement. In February of this year, the All Island Generation Capacity Statement 2015-2024 was published. The report examines the generation adequacy over a number of economic scenarios. These projections are based on economic forecasts published by the ESRI, namely the Quarterly Economic Commentary, published in October...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Staff Relocation (5 Nov 2015)

Alex White: My Department does not maintain transfer lists of staff who wish to transfer to other Departments or locations. These lists are maintained by the Departments to which the staff member wishes to transfer. The rules on how these lists are operated is a matter for individual Departments subject to any requirements set out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.