Results 6,341-6,360 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: Under the 2009 Effort Sharing Decision, which put in place binding annual emissions targets for each year between 2013 and 2020 for sectors outside the EU Emissions Trading System, Ireland must achieve reductions of 20% relative to 2005 levels of emissions. The actual trends show that under the influence of the economic crash Irish emissions were below target ceilings in the years 2013...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Change Adaptation Plans (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Local Authorities have been major players in the recent competition for support from the Climate Action Fund. Among the seven successful projects, two Local Authorities are the lead applicants and, in respect of another, 27 different Local Authorities are participating as project partners. Local Authorities have also been involved in a number of the 90 applicant projects which were not...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every home, school and business in Ireland - regardless of how remote or rural - has access to high speed broadband. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment across Ireland; and a State intervention in those areas, mostly rural areas, where commercial operators acting alone are unlikely to invest. Since December...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: North-South Interconnector (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Generation Capacity Statement 2018 covers both Northern Ireland and Ireland, and is produced jointly between the System Operator for Northern Ireland and EirGrid. This is in line with their regulatory requirements to publish forecast information about the power system including an assessment of the balance between supply and demand. The Generation Capacity Statement is updated on an...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The NBP aims to provide access to high speed broadband to all premises, including those in the areas referenced by the Deputy. My Department’s High Speed Broadband Map, available at , shows those areas of Ireland 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...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Staff Data (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: My Department currently has a total of 69 staff assigned to climate and energy policy functions, across eight separate divisions. This staff complement has significant experience in developing and implementing climate and energy policy at international, EU, national, regional and local levels. In addition to its own staff, the Department also has access to scientific and technical...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Efficiency (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I have met with the CEO and Chair of SEAI where we discussed a range of issues. I have not met with the Tipperary Energy Agency. The Deep Retrofit Pilot Programme is funded by my Department and operated by the SEAI. It is investigating how to create a scalable offering for the deep retrofit of Ireland’s homes, while building consumer demand and contractor capacity. Funding up to 50%...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The procurement process to appoint a bidder for the State intervention network is now at the final stage, with my Department concluding its assessment of the final tender submission received from the bidder on 18 September 2018. While details of the final tender submission are confidential to the procurement process, I understand from public statements by the bidder that Nokia has...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Illegal Dumping (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: In line with the commitments set out in A Resource Opportunity - Waste Management Policy in Ireland, published in 2012, and in the interest of encouraging further waste prevention and greater recycling, flat-rate fees for kerbside household waste collection were phased out over the period autumn 2017 to autumn 2018. My Department established a Household Waste Collection Price Monitoring Group...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I have not met with representatives of eir since my appointment. Ongoing monitoring and oversight of the deployment commitments by eir are regularly monitored by my Department. Under the Commitment Agreement eir is in the process of passing 300,000 predominantly rural homes with high speed broadband. According to data for Q3 2018 submitted by eir to my Department, the company has passed...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 105 together. The procurement process to appoint a bidder for the State intervention network is now at the final stage. My priority is to bring the procurement process to a fair and impartial conclusion as quickly as possible. My Department will conclude its assessment of the final tender submission received from the bidder on 18 September 2018 and I...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Change Adaptation Plans (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: Addressing climate change and our targets to 2030 and beyond is one of the key policy priorities for this Government. Since my appointment as Minister I have secured Government approval to prepare an All of Government Plan which will set out the actions which must be taken to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change. I will work with colleagues across Government to develop new...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every home, school and business in Ireland - regardless of how remote or rural - has access to high speed broadband. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment across Ireland; and a State intervention in those areas, mostly rural areas, where commercial operators acting alone are unlikely to invest. Since December...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Data (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 82, 91 and 98 together. The NBP aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location. This is being achieved via 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...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electric Vehicles (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 89 together. The National Policy Framework on Alternative Fuels Infrastructure for Transport in Ireland was published in May of last year. It set out the ambition that by 2030 all new cars and vans sold in Ireland will be zero-emissions capable. The National Development Plan, published in February of this year, raised this ambition such that no new...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Change Adaptation Plans (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 78, 84 and 94 together. On 28 November, I announced the seven successful projects from the first Call for Applications under the Climate Action Fund. The projects span a range of sectors including transport, district heating, public lighting and agriculture. In the transport sector, up to €15m of support is provided to Irish Rail to increase...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Bord na Móna (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I am acutely conscious of the impact of the recent redundancy announcement on Bord na Móna’s employees. The challenge during this decade of transition out of peat is to continue to support those communities and jobs associated with the peat business and to identify and develop new opportunities for employment, particularly in the Midlands. Bord na Móna is considering...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Change Adaptation Plans (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: Since my appointment as Minister I have secured Government approval to prepare an All of Government Plan which will set out the actions which must be taken to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change. I will work with colleagues across Government to develop new initiatives in electricity, transport, heat, agriculture and other relevant sectors. The new plan will have a strong...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Policy (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: Section 10A of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999, as amended, sets out the procedure under which I, as Minister, may give general policy directions to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. The legislation sets out details on the tasks and inter-alia restrictions, timelines and consultation requirements with the independent regulator and Oireachtas. Energy markets in Ireland operate...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Post Office Closures (18 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: An Post is a commercial State body with its own Board. Decisions relating to the post office network are an operational matter for An Post. In the face of serious declines in the volume of mail and post office business, An Post faced growing losses and has had to undertake a major restructuring of its business in order to continue to be able to provide their valuable services. In...