Results 6,621-6,640 of 10,867 for speaker:Patrick O'Donovan

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Recruitment (17 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: 146. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the current position of bands 1, 2 and 3 that were formed in the Garda Síochána recruitment process; in view of the fact the candidates who have already been chosen for recruitment have come from band 1; when it is envisaged that the candidates in band 2 will be informed that they will progress to band 1; and if she will make a...

Topical Issue Debate: Primary School Literacy Programme (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: On a day when the country is talking about literacy through the exploits of Leopold Bloom, giving a child the ability to read independently is probably one of the greatest gifts one can give. It is better than a situation I experienced recently. A man in his fifties arrived at my constituency office. I gave him a form for a housing adaptation grant and he told me he could not fill it out...

Topical Issue Debate: Primary School Literacy Programme (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter and the Minister for Education and Skills for attending. Last Friday I attended a presentation of certificates in the Limerick Education Centre, with which the Minister will be very familiar. The certificates were for teachers who have recently obtained a qualification to deliver the Reading Recovery programme. As the Minister will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: I welcome the representatives. Having listened to the presentation and following on from Deputy Moynihan's questions, I cannot help but draw the conclusion that what is essentially being proposed to be constructed on a North-South basis is an energy one-way street that will predominantly benefit the economy of Northern Ireland in the short to medium term. This one-way energy street is being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: We will become a net exporter of electricity to Northern Ireland and our surplus will be exported as more and more power plants come on stream. It is clear from Mr. Blaney's answer to Deputy Moynihan's question that, as sure as there is a sun in the sky, consumers will not benefit from all this additional capacity in Ireland. Even with the lower cost of coal and oil, consumers have not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: What percentage reduction in electricity can domestic users expect to see within five years through the construction of this interconnector? Surely that has been worked out. If it is of such benefit to the Irish jurisdiction, what benefit can consumers expect to see within five years?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: To the consumer-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: By how much will the consumer's electricity bill be reduced as a result of this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: That is a very basic question from Mr. Blaney's point of view, as he is in a regulatory role, there to protect the consumer. The issue of the interconnector is going on since Job was a boy. Surely Mr. Blaney has a figure in a head as to how much the consumers in this State would be better off as a result of this thing being built.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: Do we have a figure?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: The beneficiaries of that will be the producers of electricity.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: The benefit will be €10 million-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: -----to 4 million people.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: So it is €5 each.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: Irish consumers south of the Border can expect to see their electricity bills reduced by €5. Is that per month or per year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: I do not know what it is at this stage.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: How can having the interconnector today, 16 June 2015, be a saving when there is an excess in supply; when oil and coal prices, on which we are predominantly dependent, are much more stable than they were; and we have a huge surplus of wind? How can the construction of an interconnector today be of any benefit to us given that we have a surplus of electricity today?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: From the point of view of the Commission for Energy Regulation, if this interconnector is built, Irish domestic and commercial consumers can expect to see a reduction in the cost of their electricity. That is its commitment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: So that is not its commitment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: North-South Interconnector: Discussion (16 Jun 2015)

Patrick O'Donovan: This is important because people are being asked to accept this carbuncle on the landscape across their area, which I understand will go underground at the receiving point in Northern Ireland. It will then feed out through Northern Ireland. They will be asked to take this. It is a one-way energy street. It is starting in County Meath, just north of Maynooth, and will move north. It is of...