Results 681-700 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Environmental Policy (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Deputy Durkan. The core point is that Ireland is reducing its emissions at the same time as it is growing its economy. We are not the only country to do this. Britain went through approximately a decade when it was reducing emissions while at the same time growing its economy. I am not sure if that is still the case, but it is certainly possible. We should never assume that in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Data Centres (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Under the Climate Action Plan 2023, the Government has committed to a new demand-side strategy for electricity and gas being put in place. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, commenced work in this area by publishing a call for evidence and consultation paper in June 2023. The closing date has now passed. The CRU is currently analysing all responses received. In addition to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Data Centres (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: We had a data centre policy in 2018 which did not refer to security of supply, to the climate challenge or to emissions. The new data centre policy, as issued in 2022, does refer to such matters. It is important that any new data centres that are built are contributing to security of supply and helping us to meet our climate targets. That is not impossible to do. In order to build a data...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Data Centres (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy for her comments. I am glad to hear she acknowledges that we need data centres. I heard the same from Sinn Féin when Senator Boylan said that we absolutely need data centres. There is an understanding that we are not just going to shut down all of the data centres or prevent them from being here. The Deputy's question is on the quantity of data centres which we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Loss and damage is a key priority of Ireland's climate diplomacy. For the last year, Ireland has been working on the transitional committee for loss and damage to develop strong recommendations on the new funding arrangements. Ireland is committed to delivering a strong outcome on loss and damage at COP28, including the operationalisation of new funding arrangements for assisting vulnerable...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Ireland has been involved in previous loss and damage operations and will do the same again this time. We are considered to be a high-ambition country and one that puts social justice at the core of what it pushes for. There will be grants. We will be pushing for that angle. We will also try to ensure that the countries that need the money get it. We have to recognise that in order to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: It is a question of the extent to which we target the funding. Should we target the funding towards those who need it most or should we make it more universal, spreading it more thinly among a larger number of countries? Clearly, somebody has to draw a line at some point and decide which countries are developing countries and which are countries that require finance. Ireland's financing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Air Quality (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: We need to acknowledge that Ireland has a higher incidence of respiratory illness than other countries in Europe. The European Environment Agency has reported we have 1,300 premature deaths a year from breathing illnesses and we all know of people with COPD and relatives of ours who have had traumatic deaths as a result of air quality. It is hidden. We dealt with the visible air quality...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Air Quality (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I refer the Deputy to the report of the urban transport related air pollution working group to see what its analysis of transport-related emissions are. There is a particular problem around schools to do with idling and the fact there are young children with growing brains hanging around outside schools while a lot of vehicles pollute those areas. I will be meeting with the EPA shortly and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Production (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: My Department is currently finalising the energy security package which will address the energy security challenges facing Ireland. This package is focused on the period to 2030, but in the broader context of transitioning Ireland to net-zero emissions by 2050. The Government’s policy objectives are to ensure energy is affordable, sustainable and secure, as well as in line with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Production (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The Minister, Deputy Ryan, is not here because he is representing Ireland in Paris by chairing a meeting of the international energy agency on critical raw materials. This is a complex piece of work. It is a long-term strategy on how to protect Ireland's security of supply, not just of gas but also of electricity and oil. Therefore, a lot of work is required to get it right. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Production (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: All the correct procedures were followed. As the Deputy is aware, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is a prescribed body for making submissions on planning applications and it is natural on such a large planning application that the Department made a submission. The decision for An Bord Pleanála was straightforward and it followed the correct rules. I do...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: We are talking about 0.15% of the budget. We are not talking about €150 million. The total amount of money over three years is €5.5 million. It is being transferred for administrative reasons where it was not possible to complete all of the expenditure on one subhead of a project and, therefore, was moved to another subhead. I have seen the Deputy use this technique with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The month of May 2023 saw the highest number of solar PV applications since the launch of the scheme, with 2,862 new applications accepted. This was a 55% increase on the previous month and a 104% increase on May 2022. There has been sustained high demand on the scheme since then, with August 2023 having a 54% increase over August 2022. This follows the amendment to the Finance Bill 2023...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: One good thing about solar PV is that it is very quick to deploy. It only takes a couple of days to install it and it does not take a lot of experience or training to put up the panels. Obviously, you need a registered electrical contractor to connect it to your system but it is a rapidly deployable technology, which is why 30,000 homes have already received it. It is not just the 0%...