Results 5,381-5,400 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Mobile Telephony Services (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Providing telecommunications services, including mobile phone services, is a matter for the relevant service providers operating in a fully liberalised market regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), as independent Regulator. I do not have statutory authority to require commercial companies to rollout services and make specific investments in particular locations....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bioenergy Strategy (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion has the potential to play an important role in Ireland's transition to a low carbon future. In addition to helping decarbonise the energy sector by replacing fossil fuels, the production of biogas can also reduce emissions in the agriculture and waste sectors. Anaerobic digestion plants can utilise a wide variety of feedstocks ranging from food...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: European, national and regional waste management policy is predicated on the waste hierarchy as set out in Article 4 of the 2008 Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), whereby the prevention, preparing for reuse, recycling and other recovery of waste are preferred options to the disposal or landfilling of waste. Statistics compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency show that we have...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Incentives (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The High Level Design of the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) was approved by government in July 2018. The RESS will be characterised by a series of renewable electricity auctions, aligned with the ambition set out in Ireland's All of Government Climate Action Plan and final National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). The RESS is a significant and ambitious policy measure in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 562 and 563 together. The declaration of a climate and biodiversity emergency by the Dáil on 9 May underlines the importance of the work currently under way to develop a new All of Government Climate Action Plan. The challenge is such that a significant step-up in policy ambition and delivery is required by all sectors, to ensure that we at least...

Seanad: National Broadband Plan: Statements (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Seanad for providing time for statements on this matter. This is a really important investment for the future of the country. Since Telecom Éireann was privatised 20 years ago, we have been totally dependent on the private sector to deliver the telecommunications services we need. It has been very successful and, for 75% of the population, a very good service will be...

Seanad: National Broadband Plan: Statements (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I beg the Senator's pardon.

Seanad: National Broadband Plan: Statements (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: In the first two years.

Seanad: National Broadband Plan: Statements (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Except in education.

Seanad: National Broadband Plan: Statements (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Senators who contributed. I hope I can reassure Senator Horkan. The plan does provide for a lower figure, but that is absolutely due to state aid rules. Originally, it was projected to cover 750,000 homes, but once a private sector operator put up its hand to take on provision in part of the area, there was an obligation on the State to carve it out. That is the reason for it...

Seanad: National Broadband Plan: Statements (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I am not going to comment on that. He made a mistake of meeting someone who was tendering in a process. People have acknowledged that was a mistake. In the event, when the matter was evaluated, it was found that while the Minister made a mistake, he had, by removing himself from his position, removed the potential for the allegation that the process might have been tainted. The verdict of...

Seanad: National Broadband Plan: Statements (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Exactly. It is shared. It is essentially a shared network. There is no comparison between this project and the national children's hospital. One might believe the project is expensive but we made no commitment before we knew the absolute capped cost. The complaint about the national children's hospital was that commitments were made to go ahead with the project and, those commitments...

Seanad: National Broadband Plan: Statements (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I see. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is doing its job, which is to be sceptical about every investment ever considered. As the Senator will know, it was particularly active during the very difficult years, and it continues to be active, but it does not have the final word. We have set up a system whereby, like it or not, 15 Members are elected by the people to make these...

Seanad: National Broadband Plan: Statements (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: It is unusual. It does not happen every day but that does not mean one automatically assumes that the critique, which is the job of critics, is always right. On the issue of the ownership model, the Senator's analogy might lead him astray. We are not asking someone to build us a property that we are going to rent. We are asking someone to lay fibre on rented poles and to operate the fibre...

Seanad: National Broadband Plan: Statements (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Not through the electric cables but they did look at using the electricity network as a basis for rolling it out. That was the alternative SIRO model. There are difficulties, in the context of health and safety, with using an electricity network as opposed to a telephone network. It is not a straightforward option. Regarding Senator Conway-Walsh's point that it cannot be sold on, it can...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The premises referred to 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,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: In April 2017, my Department published an updated version of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map. This is available at www.broadband.gov.ie. The map shows the areas targeted by commercial operators to provide high speed broadband services and the areas that will be included in the State Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan. The Map is colour coded and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Department and National Broadband Ireland (NBI) have completed high level designs to determine the quantities of existing infrastructure that can be re-used and quantities of new infrastructure that will need to be deployed to deliver the NBP project. In addition, NBI has completed a number of low-level designs to corroborate the assumptions made in the high level designs. The...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 151 and 152 together. The possibility of allocating the National Broadband State intervention to the ESB was considered as part of the alternative options analysis conducted by my Department. The Attorney General has advised that there are significant legal risks in relation to both procurement law and state aid law, if the State was to mandate and fund...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna (16 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: While the matter raised by the Deputy is an operational one for Bord na Móna and not one in which I, as Minister, have any function, I continue to monitor developments in this matter closely. I am advised by Bord na Móna that the voluntary redundancy scheme continues to be rolled out by the company in line with operational requirements.