Results 7,161-7,180 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Forestry is complicated with regard to decarbonisation. In the first years after a forest is planted, it is actually a net source of emissions because the land has typically been drained, depending on the soil type, and it takes time for the wood to grow. It is more in the latter part of a forest’s life that we start to see the benefits in terms of decarbonisation. The Deputy is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: There is probably something wrong with the scheme. I cannot remember the grant level. Was it €5,000, €7,000 or some such figure?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: It was €5,000, which was probably too low. I am sorry; that is not good enough. If a local authority really wanted to do it, it could have done so. It was disappointing. We have amended it, however. My understanding is that Fingal is one of the leading, more ambitious and better councils, which the Deputy will be glad to hear. We should go with those who are willing to lead. One...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Yes, it is already happening.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: We have taken so many powers from local government that we must be careful. I do not know if that has been good or correct. We need strong local authorities. We cannot force them. I go back to what I said earlier. We are moving into a phase now where some really good projects will be coming forward all over the country. If a council is not able to make some of the hard decisions and do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: We are. The future for Irish heating is in heat pumps. A total of 85% of new houses have heat pumps, and this figure will rise. There is an incredible efficiency gain. It sounds obvious and simple. When an electric fan is used to push the outside air through the coil-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: -----it just works. It is an incredibly efficient system. It is incredibly cost-effective. In a country such as Ireland, where we have so much renewable wind power and we have the ability to switch it on and off in response to the wind, the prize is that we would have one of the most efficient, clean and economic systems going. Heat pumps are being used throughout the world. I was proud...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Where does bio liquefied petroleum gas come from?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I do not what the term "bio" means in that context. We must be careful in the context of making what we are doing very clear to the public. The last thing we want to do is confuse them, make false promises or find out we have a solution that will actually have knock-on effects. I am not opposed to any potential solution but we need to be rigorous and clear on what exactly that means.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the point the Deputy started with, that there is a particular cohort, those on the lowest incomes and in the poorest houses. They are the ones most at risk and the ones who we have to target most, but that is what we will do. There is significant funding. A total of 55% of the carbon tax is guaranteed towards this for people in social housing or on low incomes. There is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: That is the biggest challenge. There is no shortage of technology and the economic case is strong. The fear of change and the protection of existing interests are the biggest challenges, as are getting public support and buy-in. I believe the public are there with us but they are uncertain as to what it means and what it means for them. The first thing we should not do is put it all on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I was thinking earlier on that we have to deliver a lot by 2025. It is similar in offshore technology in the sense that the first auctions for phase 1 projects are already up and running. We will have to conclude those and then projects will go into planning this year. The next phase will be further projects on the east and south-east coast, where areas are approved in the process, but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: That is why MARA has to be up and running now. It is legislated for and interviews for its CEO were held last week. Whoever gets the job needs to hit the ground running.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I cannot remember the exact timeline for it but phase 2 will come out in the next week or two and then there is a series of steps. We have to deliver the hydrogen strategy this year. We also have to think about how we use the power. Of the 7 GW, we have designated that we want innovation for 2 GW. We have to develop further interconnection. The Greenlink interconnector to Wales and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: We have a similar ambition with regard to speed, but it will be done in phases, including the offshore renewable energy development plan, OREDP, and be connected to the hydrogen and interconnection strategy. For it to work, an all-of-government approach and all supports are needed. A whole series of things needs to happen in the next three years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: We will publish much more detailed phases and timelines in the next couple of weeks. That will help. I was at that conference yesterday. Last week I attended another event relating to the marine, which addressed floating wave and tidal energy as well as offshore wind. There are always packed rooms with real expertise. The number of people from Cork was fascinating. There was a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Cork will be the centre of it. The question is about getting it right. We will do what we did onshore. We said we would do a series of auctions onshore. We have rolled out each auction and will do another this year. That step-by-step approach works and gives the best certainty, rather than promising we will do everything at once, which is not feasible. First, we do not have the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The first thing I did in Government two and half years ago was to go to the then Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and say that I wanted to double our Department. We did it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Yes. Our Department has doubled in size. The big increase has been in energy, and the big increase within that has been in offshore energy. We have a massive new team of capable civil servants working on this. The Deputy is right, though. The biggest challenge now is probably in An Bord Pleanála and MARA in getting the resource. MARA is up and running with more than 20 staff...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Eamon Ryan: An Bord Pleanála has been more challenging, as we all know. I agree. I keep referring to a reality. I think we have 2,000 people in the Central Bank and 200 in An Bord Pleanála. We are fighting the last war – the financial crash. We need to be fighting the next war, which is decarbonising. For that, An Bord Pleanála needs to scale up. Everyone agrees on the...