Results 6,501-6,520 of 21,588 for speaker:Denis Naughten

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Postal Services (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: As Minister, I am responsible for the postal sector, including the governance of An Post. I am acutely conscious of the value placed by communities in both urban and rural areas on services provided by post offices and I am concerned to ensure the future needs of those communities continue to be met. As part of its strategy for modernising the post office network, An Post has established a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Postal Services (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: I am not in the business of undermining An Post and the Dáil record of my years in the House will clearly show this. In fact, I am one of the six of the 266 Members of the Oireachtas who bothered to make a submission to the Kerr report when it was sought at the time. I made it crystal clear there will be no compulsory post office closures in this country. Viable post offices cannot...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Postal Services (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: I will make a number of points. I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Kelleher; one can count on one hand the number of post offices that have closed since I was appointed Minister; and 18 months ago, the chief executive of An Post came into my office to tell me that within 30 weeks the company would run out of cash and would not have money to pay salaries. We cannot have post offices unless...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: The Government's National Broadband Plan aims to ensure high speed broadband access of a minimum of 30 Megabits per second to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location through a State led intervention and commercial investment. In April 2017 I published an updated High Speed Broadband Map which is available at . This Map shows the areas targeted by commercial operators to provide...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Solar Energy Guidelines (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: The issuing of statutory guidelines for planning authorities under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government and I have no direct function in the matter. Given the significant level of interest in developing solar energy projects in Ireland, I wrote to my colleague the Minister...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Household Waste Collection Price Monitoring Group (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: The Price Monitoring Group is displaying the prices for each company that it monitors on its website at present and it has published the detailed data on the prices it is tracking on a monthly basis. The most recent analysis from April was published on 25 May 2018 and is available on my Department's website. Last summer, I established the Price Monitoring Group to monitor pricing...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Post Office Network (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 34, 37, 40 and 43 together. As Minister, I am responsible for the postal sector including the governance of An Post.  I am acutely conscious of the value placed by communities in both rural and urban areas on services provided by post offices and am concerned to ensure the needs of those communities continue to be met. As part of its...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: North-South Interconnector (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16, 22 and 47 together. The North South Interconnector, as proposed as an overhead line, has full planning permission in both Ireland and Northern Ireland. On 21 December 2016 An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission for the North-South Interconnector in Ireland. The decision concluded a lengthy planning process which included an Oral Hearing...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Policy (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 183 together. The Energy White Paper presents a long-term strategic vision that is intended to guide the direction of Irish energy policy from now until 2030. At its heart is a commitment to transform Ireland into a low carbon society and economy by 2050 and envisages a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the energy system by 80-95% relative to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: Ireland is currently one of the top performing countries in the EU in terms of recycling and recovery. The EPA Progress Report Towards EU Targets 2017showed that Ireland recycled  34% by weight of plastics in 2015, counting exclusively material that is recycled back into plastics. The EU target is 22.5% and Ireland is clearly well ahead of this target. A private member’s Waste...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 44 together. The Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location.  The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. Today, 7 out of 10 of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland have access to high...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: The Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location.  The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. Today, 7 out of 10 of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland have access to high speed broadband. By 2020, 9 out of 10 premises will have...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: The Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location.  The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. Today, almost 7 out of 10 of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland have access to high speed broadband. By 2020, 9 out of 10 premises will...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Household Waste Collection Price Monitoring Group (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 24 together. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is currently conducting a study on the operation of the household waste collection market which it will complete in 2018. I understand that the study will assess the nature and scale of consumer and operator issues in the household waste collection market and consider if the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Mobile Telephony Services (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: I recognise the frustration felt by Irish consumers where telecommunications networks are not always delivering the services people expect. Accordingly, I specifically included in the Programme for Government a commitment to a Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce. The Taskforce worked with key stakeholders to produce a report in December 2016, available on my Department’s...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Projects (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: I propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 27 together. I am committed to exploring opportunities for micro generation further, as I believe micro generation not only offers customers protection from rising energy costs, but also because micro generation could enhance broader social engagement with renewable energy projects across Ireland and enable the transition to a low carbon...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 45 together. The Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location.  The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. Today, 7 out of 10 of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland have access to high speed...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Implementation (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: The Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location.  The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. Today, 7 out of 10 of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland have access to high speed broadband. By 2020, 9 out of 10 premises will...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Speeds (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: The Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location.  The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. Today, 7 out of 10 of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland have access to high speed broadband. By 2020, 9 out of 10 premises will have access to a high speed...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (31 May 2018)

Denis Naughten: The EU Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy demand from renewable sources by 2020. This represented a 12.9% increase on Ireland's reference starting point of 3.1% in 2005, and is the third highest increase assigned to any of the 28 Member States of the European Union. Ireland is committed to...