Results 701-720 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

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

Ossian Smyth: I believe there is already a solar scheme for the medically vulnerable. I do not have the details of the progress of that but it is already being deployed. There will be more solar schemes in the budget and the Deputy is welcome to make any suggestions. The budget has not yet been announced. The schemes will continue to be supported. The public sector is leading by example. I have been...

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

Ossian Smyth: National air quality monitoring stations are operated, maintained and monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, under the ambient air quality monitoring programme. My Department has provided funding for a significant upgrade to the network in recent years and the number of monitoring stations has increased from 29 in 2017 to 114 today. The expansion will be complete when the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: There are comprehensive and deep resources available on the SEAI website at the moment. There are now nine different information guides covering different sectors of what is required in order to set up a community energy scheme.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The Deputy can table that as another question and I will be very happy to answer that.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: It justifies a deeper answer than what I can give. There is clearly a commitment in the Department to help and foster community energy and switch from the competitive auction process towards a non-competitive, supported community energy support scheme. I invite the Deputy to promote any energy scheme in her area and to contact the Department for details.

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

Ossian Smyth: Annual Exchequer funding provided by my Department is allocated to various programmes and subheads in the Revised Estimates and approved by Dáil Éireann. For practical reasons, as set out in public financial procedures, there are two arrangements to vary the allocations between subheads. These are the passing of a technical Supplementary Estimate by Dáil Éireann or a...

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

Ossian Smyth: I consider that a very serious, misleading and ludicrous accusation. To say that money is being siphoned from one project to a pet project is ridiculous. Some 99.85% of the budget was spent according to how it was primarily allocated. Some 0.15% of the budget was moved between different subheads. This is a small movement of money which happens when, for administrative reasons, money...

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

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy. He referred to a sum of €150 million being transferred. The total amount of money transferred over three years was just over €5 million. I am not sure where the figure of €150 million is coming from. I wonder if he is looking at a different table. We are talking about-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: My primary priority is to ensure there is a sufficient pipeline of renewable energy projects to meet our 2030 commitments. As part of our sectoral emissions ceilings, we are to decarbonise our electricity sector by 75% by 2030. This will require a large quantity of onshore and offshore wind and solar power. We have published an auction programme calendar out to 2025, we have continuous...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Community energy projects are critical.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I do not want to see all of our electricity generation being supplied by large multinationals. I want to see community energy production. With that in mind, a community energy support scheme has been developed and is likely to be published in the coming months. It will ensure that people feel a sense of belonging and ownership as regards the electricity generated in their respective areas....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I am not giving a commitment on that, but I will revert to Deputy O'Rourke.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Through the first two RESS auctions, my Department provided pathways and supports for communities to participate in renewable energy projects via the application of a community projects category and the requirement of a mandatory community benefit fund for all RESS projects. Furthermore, a community enabling framework for renewable energy projects to provide a package of enabling supports,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The Department's assessment is that auctions are not the best option for renewable energy project support. For this reason, the Department is moving towards supporting community energy projects through a non-competitive renewable energy support scheme. This will take community projects out of the auction practice. If the Deputy wants more details about the results of the auctions beyond...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Electricity Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Temporary energy generation provides an extra 650 MW. It improves the buffer that is available in terms of a shortfall. The Deputy is asking me exactly what the headroom is. I think that really depends on how many plants suffer from unscheduled downtime. I am not sure it is an entirely predictable figure or something that I can give him.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Electricity Generation (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I will come back to the Deputy with a more detailed response after this session, then. In terms of Moneypoint, it is scheduled to be decommissioned. I am not aware of a suggestion which I think I saw in the media this morning that it would transfer to oil. Oil and coal are the most inefficient and most polluting forms of generating electricity that make the most emissions. Our move is to...