Results 581-600 of 28,190 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Dublin Airport Authority (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 187 and 192 together. The appointment of CEOs to Commercial State bodies under the aegis of my Department must be made in accordance with establishing legislation of the agency and the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, and should be by means of an open recruitment process, undertaken by the agency. Terms and conditions for the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Dublin Airport Authority (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I wish to thank the Deputy for his question. However, as the matters raised are a matter for daa I have forwarded your question to daa for direct reply. If the Deputy does not receive a response within ten working days, please advise my Private Office.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Dublin Airport Authority (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I wish to thank the Deputy for his question. In line with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, daa's annual report and financial statements include information on performance evaluations of the Board and its committees. The 2024 and 2023 reports as published on daa's website provide details on the evaluations which took place in those years and note any findings. ...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Dublin Airport Authority (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I wish to thank the Deputy for his question. It is my Department’s policy not to comment on the nature of any Protected Disclosures which are received, to protect the identity of reporters and the integrity of any investigations under the Protected Disclosures Act. The Department provides general statistics on the number of reports received and the nature of wrongdoing reported within...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Dublin Airport Authority (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I wish to thank the Deputy for his question. In 2024, in line with the requirements of relevant legislation, I provided four Ministerial approvals to daa. These approvals related to daa business proposals. In 2025, I provided five such approvals to daa. These related to business proposals, borrowing, pensions and service delivery restructuring.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Network (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. This is...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Network (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: There is significant investment and development planned for the Cork City and County region over the next few years to both address existing demand and to prepare for future potential growth. BusConnects BusConnects is a transformative programme of investment in the bus system, providing better bus services across five cities. It is the largest investment in the bus system in the history...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Regional Airports (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: In line with National Aviation Policy, Government provides substantial annual funding under a Regional Airports Programme. This Programme, which is administered by my Department, supports Ireland’s smallest regional airports, those that provide scheduled passenger services and handle fewer than one million passengers per annum. Kerry Airport along with Ireland West and Donegal...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Air Navigation Orders (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 198 and 199 together. Under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989, it is expressly prohibited for civil aircraft to carry munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory, without being granted an exemption to do so by the Minister for Transport. Since October 2023 and to date in 2025 no...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Energy Policy (17 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: District heating is a proven technology that can decarbonise the built environment, diversify fuel sources for heat and improve quality of life. Government policy recognises the contribution that district heating can make to Ireland’s energy and climate goals. This is underpinned by the findings of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland's (SEAI) 2022 National Heat Study which...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Energy Policy (17 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The District Heating Working Group was established in 2023 to support the work of the Heat and Built Environment (HBE) Taskforce. The Working Group is continuing to support the implementation and delivery of the recommendations from the 2023 District Heating Steering Group Report www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environme nt/publications/district-heating-steering-group/,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Environmental Schemes (17 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Anaerobic digestion (AD) harnesses natural bacteria to treat biodegradable materials to produce biogas. Biogas can be upgraded to sustainable biomethane which is fully compatible with the national gas network and existing appliances, technologies, and vehicles. It can seamlessly replace fossil gas to reduce emissions in industrial heating, transport, and power generation. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Energy Prices (17 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 114, 140 and 144 together. The most recent Eurostat report on European energy prices, published in April 2025 for the second half of 2024, lists Ireland as having the third highest electricity prices in the EU after Germany and Denmark. There are a number of historic reasons for this, including our dispersed population and low level of interconnection with...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Renewable Energy Generation (17 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department is committed to delivering onshore and offshore energy in a way that is both sustainable and provides avenues for engagement, participation and tangible benefits to local communities. The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is Ireland’s flagship support scheme and delivers grid-scale renewable electricity capacity through its annual auction cycle. It has been...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Public Procurement Contracts (17 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 117 together. My Department is committed to promoting transparency and aligning with national and EU open data standards and will continue to review and enhance its publication practices to ensure compliance and accessibility for all users. In this context, from Quarter 2 2025 procurement-related quarterly payment reports over €20,000 will now...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Energy Infrastructure (17 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme of Government 2025 - Securing Ireland’s Future specifically notes that the Government will take all necessary action to ensure and protect Ireland's energy security. In terms of energy security more broadly, Energy Security in Ireland to 2030 was published in November 2023 and outlines a strategy to ensure energy security in Ireland for this decade, while ensuring a...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Legislative Measures (17 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Heads of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill 2025 were approved by Government along with priority drafting on the 29 of July. The unprecedented outages caused by Storm Éowyn exposed critical vulnerabilities arising from unmanaged vegetation and commercial forestry close to electricity infrastructure. Accordingly, the Bill will provide for the establishment and maintenance...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Energy Policy (17 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Following Storm Éowyn, I asked ESB Networks to prepare as a priority a Winter 2025 Resilience Plan to enhance the resilience of the grid in the most vulnerable locations for the upcoming winter. It was published by ESB Networks in April (copy attached) and sets out several actions to build resilience in the electricity network ahead of Winter 2025. ESB has reported strong progress to my...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Renewable Energy Generation (17 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Solar PV for the Medically Vulnerable Scheme is a targeted scheme for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels for customers/households who are registered on the life support category of the Priority Services Register. These homes have a dependence on electrically powered equipment, including medical equipment, life protecting devices and assistive technologies for example...