Results 5,801-5,820 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Online Safety (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: It is very important that we have effective penalties. In addition, the industry must recognise that as well as being a legal obligation, it is at the heart of its business to ensure that its users are safe online. Interestingly, in Australia, which is far ahead of Ireland in this area, there are strong penalties but it has not been necessary to use them. It is interesting that there is a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Taoiseach has been clear that the Government fully accepts responsibility for making a decision, but he has also signalled that a decision of this nature would bind future Governments. There would obviously be a significant period between the appointment of a preferred bidder and the signing of contracts and the Taoiseach has indicated that he would provide the opportunity for the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: The project was opened for a competitive dialogue at the end of 2015. Contrary to what the Deputy said, there was not a financial framework imposed by the State. There was no indication as to what the framework would be. It was a competitive dialogue because it had been designed to ensure we would have the best technology-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: -----to meet the 100% target set by the Government. State enterprises such as the ESB did enter the competition, but, as we now know, it withdrew. The process had been very competitive until the point at which it was decided that the remaining competitors would withdraw. At that point, an additional approach of scrutiny was put in place by the Government to ensure that, even though there...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: Deputy Stanley is simply wrong. The previous Government decided that 750,000 premises would be included in the intervention area but Eir decided that it did not want to let it go. Therefore, it committed to making an investment that would deliver a service to 300,000 homes. That was its right under the state aid procedure.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy needs to understand it is an obligation of the State that a commercial bid from a private company has to be granted. That stimulated Eir to come in with a commercial proposition. To answer Deputy Dooley's question, the period between a preferred bidder being identified and the finalisation of the contract will be several weeks. This is a 25-year contract to build and operate...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: Was it wrong to have grouped the answers to Deputy Dooley's and Deputy Stanley's questions together?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 46 and 47 together. First I will put the Deputies in the picture. They are well aware of the position of the national broadband plan. Since its inception it has driven very significant private sector investment, as it was intended to do. When we entered Government in 2016, 50% of premises had access to high-speed broadband. Over the past five years...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Energy and Climate Action Plan (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: The preparation of a consolidated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) is a requirement under the Governance Regulation of the Energy Union and Climate Action which brings together for the first time energy and climate planning and reporting requirements into a single national reporting framework. Member States were given a template for the Plan as part of the Regulation and had to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Citizens Assembly (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: Climate Disruption is the greatest challenge facing humanity. That is why the Oireachtas requested the Citizens Assembly, which has played a great role in motivating change in our society, to examine Ireland's role in meeting this challenge. Its recommendations are being taken very seriously both by the Oireachtas and by the government. The Joint Committee on Climate Action was...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: In November 2014 my Department published a High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie. This map shows the areas targeted by commercial operators to provide high speed broadband services and the areas that within the State intervention area. In April 2017 the High Speed Broadband Map was updated. This update took account of the Commitment Agreement signed by eir...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: The National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every home, school and business in Ireland has access to high speed broadband. Since December 2015, total premises with access to high speed broadband in Donegal has increased from 48% to 64%. In total today, the number of premises in Donegal with access to high speed broadband is 65,212. Another 2,511 will be served by eir under that...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: As I have outlined to the House, the NBP procurement process to engage a company to build, operate and maintain the State intervention network is now at the final stage. I intend to bring a recommendation to Government in relation to the NBP in the coming weeks. With regard to the deployment of infrastructure for the network, in the event a preferred bidder is appointed and contract is...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: As I have outlined to the House, the NBP procurement process to engage a company to build, operate and maintain the State intervention network is now at the final stage. I intend to bring a recommendation to Government in relation to the NBP in the coming weeks. With regard to the deployment of infrastructure for the network, in the event a preferred bidder is appointed and contract is...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: The renewable energy sector has undergone a considerable transformation over the last 10 years, with the share of renewable electricity generation more than doubling to 30.1% in 2017. However, we must step up the scale of our ambition even further in order to meet our climate ambitions. It is my intention to set a target of 70% for renewable electricity by 2030. I am currently...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: The National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every home, school and business in Ireland has access to high speed broadband. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment across the country, and a State intervention in those areas where commercial operators acting alone are unlikely to invest. The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Incentives (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: The REFIT 2 and REFIT 3 schemes closed to new applications in 2015 in line with the relevant EU state aid notifications and any new aid granted must comply with the EU State Aid Guidelines for Environment and Energy 2014-2020. A number of extensions to both the REFIT 2 and REFIT 3 deadlines were granted in recent years. Following examination of relevant evidence including consumer...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Data (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 68 and 73 together. The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment and a State led intervention. The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. In 2012, less than 700,000, or 30%...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: The National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every home, school and business in Ireland has access to high speed broadband. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment across the country, and a State intervention in those areas where commercial operators acting alone are unlikely to invest. In April 2017 my Department published an updated High Speed...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management Data (27 Mar 2019)

Richard Bruton: The most recent Central Statistics Office figures (2016) state that there are over 1.7 million households in the state. A Report from September 2018 prepared by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) on the household waste collection industry suggests a non-participation rate of 23% based on an analysis of data from the National Waste Collection Permit Office and the CSO....