Results 6,301-6,320 of 10,843 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: What will be sold each year?

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: Regarding the target for the period from 2025 to 2030, I was trying to extrapolate out what would be expected. I have come to an average of around 169,000 cars per year for those years. Would that be correct?

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I understand the general points. I am trying to get to the specifics in terms of how many electric vehicles will actually be sold and the benefits involved. We must consider this matter in the context of average sales of electric vehicles of 169,000 over a period of time. To put that in context, car sales at the peak of the Celtic tiger were of the order of 180,000 per year. Our target is...

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I have not made up the figures around the targets for electric vehicle sales. These are the Government's established targets. In respect of those targets, is there a further breakdown of those targets for specific locations to deal with, for example, the urban-rural divide? What are the demographics involved in terms of income streams? Our guests will know that researchers from Trinity...

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: The idea is that someone who happens to be wealthy and lives across the road from a DART station will get a grant towards a brand new electric vehicle this year and in a couple of years' time will sell it to some poor cod down the country who has been paying carbon taxes to pay for the grant in the first place.

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: May I cut across Mr. Walsh for a moment? The Government did not give a grant to those people who were already in a position to purchase high-end televisions at that time.

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: We know what is in place at the moment. There is a grant available for those people who can afford the tens of thousands necessary to buy a brand new electric vehicle. The Government is giving those people a grant. Have our guests examined alternative ways of reaching the same objectives in a fairer way? Interest-free loans could be an example of that. Are there other measures that will...

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: What about the State fleet, including Garda cars, council vehicles and the vehicles used by all statutory bodies? How close are we to moving to electric vehicles in that regard? Do our guests see that improving in the coming years? Do our guests see a role for their organisation in that respect?

Public Accounts Committee: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: Does Mr. Meally know the current percentages involved?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: One area of the correspondence I am concerned about is the forecasted costs for completion of the projects under the national development plan. TII has indicated various reasons as to why it is difficult to give estimates but the cost ranges that have been provided are quite broad. That is being generous. Prices range from €250 million to 1 €billion, which is as broad as one...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: That is fair. I thank Mr. McCarthy for that.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: Can I come in on that point? The correspondence makes great play on the fact that each case is assessed on its own merits. It then refers to the scale of the RTÉ investigation, the significant period of time being reviewed and the number of workers involved, which is fair enough. It essentially says that the investigation will conclude in 2023, at some stage. If cases are to be...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: This committee and the Irish public generally are being insulted, quite frankly, by the Department and the board regarding this project. We are now being told that the project approval cost is €1.73 billion. The response from the Secretary General, however, indicates that several items are not included in this investment figure, including construction inflation, which we know,...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: It concerns correspondence. My understanding is that the committee had also written to the Secretary General of the Department asking for clarification as to when he ceased waiving the additional portion of his salary. It will be known and recalled that the waiving of that portion of his salary was announced by the Secretary General on his permanent appointment to the post. I would like...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I thank the Chair.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I propose that we keep it on the agenda for the next meeting. Deputy Munster has a particular interest in the issue.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I do not recall flagging it. I do not know what happened there. It might have been an error on my part with the email that was sent.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: Yes. I am okay with the approach the Chairman outlined.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I am sure the Chair is aware of the commentary and public discourse arising from last night's "RTÉ Investigates" programme about activities, for want of a better term, on local authorities. The Dáil's lack of ability to hold to account the substantial Exchequer expenditure that goes into our local authorities is something that arises regularly. This committee does not have a remit....

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: The local government auditor.