Results 5,961-5,980 of 21,588 for speaker:Denis Naughten

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: -----in terms of State-led intervention are met.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: I am also responsible for answering questions on the timelines associated with the Government rolling out high-speed broadband to non-commercial areas as soon as possible and meeting with the targets set out under the digital agenda for Europe. The Department is required to keep the Minister and the Government informed of the progress, timelines and the likely cost implications for the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: During the talks on the programme for Government the procurement board itself made an announcement that it would delay the process, which was independent of any Minister being in place at the time. Do Members want a situation where all progress in the communications area would be stalled pending the completion of the process?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: Deputy Dooley would, correctly, have come in here today and criticised me if this system had fallen apart and Mr. McCourt had said that the Government and the Minister of the day refused to meet him and as a result he was withdrawing from the process. Deputy Dooley sat across from me at a lunch table in December when I sat beside Richard Moat, who was involved in the bidding process at that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1, 2 and 5 together. I welcome the opportunity to update the House on progress of the national broadband plan. The commercial sector has failed to bring high-speed broadband to large parts of rural Ireland. The purpose of the Government’s national broadband plan is to address this market failure. Ireland is not alone in facing this challenge. It...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 30 together. As I have previously informed the House, my Department has recently received the submission of a final tender from the bidder in the National Broadband Plan procurement process. This is a significant milestone and brings Ireland a step closer to realising the ambitious goals of the NBP, which is to bring a high speed broadband...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Resources (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: 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. Despite starting from the fifth lowest level of renewable energy sources in our...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: In its third report, How the State can make Ireland a leader in tackling climate change, the Citizens’ Assembly recommended the introduction of a tax on emissions from agriculture together with rewards for farmers that undertake land management that delivers enhanced carbon sequestration benefits. In addition, the Assembly also recommended that the State should review and revise...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: I am fully cognisant of the urgent, global challenge of climate change and its effects, particularly those experienced in the developing countries. The publication on Monday of the IPCC Special Report on the Impacts of Global Warming of 1.5⁰C highlights in stark terms the urgency of managing our global trajectory of emissions. The scale and complexity of this challenge demands a...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Efficiency (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: The National Development Plan 2018 -2027 recognises that improving the energy efficiency of the built environment is a central plank of Ireland’s action on climate change. Energy efficiency will also realise benefits for air quality, health, social inclusion, business competitiveness and better public services, all of which will make a real and positive impact on people’s lives....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: The 2009 Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) 406/2009/EC established binding annual greenhouse gas emissions targets for EU Member States for the period 2013 to 2020. These targets concern emissions from most sectors not included in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), such as transport, buildings, agriculture and waste. For the year 2020 itself, the target set for Ireland is that emissions...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Television Licence Fee Collection (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: I am very much aware of the challenges that face the existing TV Licence system, including the current unacceptable levels of evasion.  While the rate has fallen from 15.3% at the end of 2013 to the current rate of 14.1%, it is still very high.  In light of changes in technology and viewing habits, I accept that the current system needs to be reformed. Having said...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: The extent of the challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with our EU and international commitments, is well understood by the Government, as reflected in the National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development, published in April 2014, and now underpinned by the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 which was enacted in December 2015.  The...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: As has been highlighted by the Climate Change Advisory Council in its 2018 Annual Review, published on 25 July, meeting Ireland's EU targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and 2030 will be extremely challenging. For 2030, the recently agreed EU Effort Sharing Regulation sets out binding annual greenhouse gas emission targets for each Member State for the period 2021 to 2030....

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: On 18 September 2018, my Department received the Final Tender submission from the bidder in the State led intervention.  My Department's procurement team is now evaluating the bidder’s detailed submission. The procurement process for the National Broadband Plan has of necessity been a complex and lengthy process. It had the benefit of competing bidders from the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Online Safety (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: The Law Reform Commission Report on Harmful Communications and Digital Safety, published in 2016 recommended, inter alia, the establishment of an Office of the Digital Safety Commissioner of Ireland. As the Deputy is aware, in February the Government did not oppose the passage at second stage of a Private Members Bill by Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire which seeks to establish an Office...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Post Office Network (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: As Minister, I am responsible for the postal sector including the governance of An Post which is a commercial State company with a mandate to deliver a postal delivery service and a viable post office network. I am acutely conscious of the value placed by communities in both rural and urban areas on services provided by post offices and I am fully committed to ensuring that a sustainable...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: The regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland is determined through two different mechanisms. Emissions from power generation and large industrial installations are regulated by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which imposes an overall emissions target at EU level rather than Member State level. Emissions from other sectors of the economy, including agriculture,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Environmental Policy (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: I am working closely with the European Commission and other EU Ministers for the Environment to agree a Directive that will give Member States the powers to take measures to reduce the impact of single use plastics on the environment. As the Deputy will be aware, all Member States, including Ireland, are prohibited from immediately banning single use plastic packaging, in accordance with...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Alternative Energy Projects (10 Oct 2018)

Denis Naughten: The 2014 National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development sets out an ambitious long-term commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Ireland by at least 80% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2050 across the electricity generation, built environment and transport sectors; and in parallel, to pursue an approach to carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land-use sector,...