Results 5,321-5,340 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Postal Services Regulation: Postal Services Regulation (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The postal market has been open to competition since 1 January 2011 under the Third Postal Services Directive. The Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill seeks to put in place a robust and appropriate regulatory framework to reflect the key provisions of this Directive and offer certainty and protection to An Post, its competitors, and postal service users. The Bill has passed...

Written Answers — Energy Efficiency: Energy Efficiency (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I am advised that officials from the Sustainable Authority of Ireland (SEAI) have met with representatives of the various industry associations in connection with the Better Energy programme. The involvement of the energy suppliers in the retrofit market is under development. At present, only one energy supplier is processing grant applications on behalf of customers. This is being...

Written Answers — Electricity Supply: Electricity Supply (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Pursuant to Section 53 of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1927, as amended, ESB is statutorily entitled to place any electric line above or below ground (Section 53(1)). Before placing any line across any land ESB must serve on the owner and on the occupier of such land a notice in writing stating its intention to place the line and giving a description of the nature of the line and the...

Written Answers — Prospecting Licences: Prospecting Licences (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: A licence to prospect for base metals, barytes, silver, gold and platinum group elements under the Minerals Development Acts, 1940 to 1999 was granted to Connemara Mining Company Ltd. in January 2005 for a period of six years, over a prospecting area which is centred around Castlemaine. This licence was renewed in March 2011 for a further six years until March 2017. Prospecting licences...

Written Answers — Alternative Energy Projects: Alternative Energy Projects (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: In line with the Programme for Government commitment, my Department and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) are finalising a cost benefit analysis of a feed-in tariff programme for microgeneration. I expect their assessment to be submitted to me shortly. A microgeneration programme must be fully cost effective taking into account the overall cost implications for all...

Written Answers — Energy Efficiency: Energy Efficiency (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has responsibility under the European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations (SI No 666 of 2006) for the registration of Building Energy Rating (BER) Assessors, for the maintenance of a register for BER Assessors, for maintaining a methodology of BER assessment, for registration and maintenance of a register of BER...

Written Answers — Inland Fisheries: Inland Fisheries (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: As advised in my previous reply, extensions to the fishing season for salmon and sea trout would have to be considered on a river by river basis. In the case of the Waterville area, I am awaiting finalised advice from Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) on the possible extension of the season for sea trout in 2011. The Deputy will recall that I have asked IFI to review the temporal management of...

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

Pat Rabbitte: I have no statutory function in the setting of energy prices, whether in the regulated or non-regulated 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. The electricity retail market is now fully deregulated and CER has announced that the small to medium business...

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

Pat Rabbitte: The procurement process to select an organisation to implement a national postcode system is being managed by my Department on a ring-fenced basis and I will not be commenting on that process until it has concluded.

Written Answers — Alternative Energy Projects: Alternative Energy Projects (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 326 and 327 together. Ireland is bound under the Renewable Energy Directive to achieve a binding target of 16% of energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, a five fold increase on 2005. As set out in the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP), the bulk of Ireland's target will be met by the electricity sector. 40% of electricity consumption...

Written Answers — Alternative Energy Projects: Alternative Energy Projects (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (REFIT) is designed to incentivise renewable energy generators and suppliers to participate in the wholesale electricity market. This market calculates an open market price every half hour and is therefore is very volatile; thus, new projects would find it virtually impossible to source finance without a predictable floor income. Under the REFIT scheme,...

Written Answers — Alternative Energy Projects: Alternative Energy Projects (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Table 10 below from Ireland's National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) submitted to the European Commission in 2010 sets out the projected electricity generation from renewable sources in the decade to 2020. Two versions of Table 10 were included in the NREAP. One of these was modelled by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) using their electricity and biomass models....

Written Answers — Semi-State Bodies: Semi-State Bodies (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: My Department is currently in the process of compiling the data sought by the Deputy and I will forward it to him as soon as possible.

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The Bill requires that access to a universal service provider network should be agreed in the first instance on a commercial basis. I stated on Committee Stage that I did not believe legislation which restricted legitimate commercial activity would best serve the needs of postal users, the economy or An Post. Especially in the context of a contracting market and the need for flexibility in...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: There was quite a substantial debate on this at Committee Stage. As we discussed then, I moved an amendment to extend the designation period for An Post from seven years to 12 years with the Minister now having a consenting role in a decision made by ComReg in the designation process. I cannot accept Deputy Ó Cuív's proposal to extend further the 12 year period to 20 years and Deputy...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: He either accepts that the directive requires me to do that on behalf of the Government of this member state or he does not. If he accepts that I am required to do it, then I have done it in the most considered way feasible. I must oppose the amendments.

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Mr. Mark Killilea used to deliver them out of the boot of the car at that time.

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: It would appear, listening to Deputies Fleming and Ó Cuív, that Fianna Fáil has now come out against privatisation. That may be a very good thing but the Deputies are entirely wrong when they ask me to look at the Telecom Éireann experience as being evidence of where competition does not work. It is not competition that has led to the situation we have in telecoms, it is the asset...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The Government has done about the best job one can do in this regard. As Deputy O'Reilly noted, I have taken a Bill with which Fianna Fáil was satisfied that included a seven-year derogation. There was not a peep out of Deputy Ó Cuív then. I checked because I thought he might have made observations on the memorandum.

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (19 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: However, he made no observations on the memorandum at the time. I must explain to Deputy Martin Ferris that when a Cabinet Minister sends around a memorandum for the Cabinet, his or her colleagues have an opportunity to make observations on it.