Results 761-780 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The benefits to the Exchequer are significant, subject to agreement with the other partner. In fairness to Minister Ed Davey, he made the point when we signed the memorandum of understanding, that he was an enthusiastic supporter and I believe he is one, as am I. However, he said it was subject to the figures adding up, meaning that he will look after his country's interests and I will like...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: We have Poolbeg. It would be a bit problematic. I do not think one could afford a wind farm in Dublin. I do not think one could afford the purchase of the land, or find it. I know as much about the country-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: There are three projects contemplated off the east coast.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Yes. The Vice Chairman should keep his fingers crossed on that one. I understand the point he made and I understand rural Ireland as well. By definition, a wind farm is more likely to appear in provincial Ireland than it is in the heart of Cork city, Dublin city or Galway city.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: We have different personnel working on different aspects of this. The people working on planning are not the people dealing with the economics of it or dealing with the regulatory side of it. We have given the people dealing with the planning an injunction to address that issue. Do they come up with a one-size-fits-all? I have not made up my mind on that yet. There might be an argument...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: It is in the ownership of the community and it is contributing power to the grid. It seems to be quite an attractive proposition because one can see, even from the exchanges we have had today, that it is becoming more difficult than it was to build big infrastructure. I recognise that as much as any Deputy. I have been dealing with this so intensively, and people say to me they are very...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I take that point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I take that point. Believe me, the planning committee, or sub-committee, of the preparatory discussions, in which we have been engaged for some months with a view to the IGA, is seized of that issue. I am just saying that I have not made up my mind whether it should be a one-size-fits-all approach. Different issues arise in different parts of the country.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree. Miscanthus was a lesson. I know what happened there and that is why we have to be very careful. The bioenergy document will address this. I envisage this committee might want to talk to my Department about it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Deputy Penrose's Bill is subsumed into the public consultation which, along with the review of the planning guidelines, will determine the shape of any legislation introduced subsequently.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Deputy Stanley would be used to that from sitting beside Deputy Cowen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: As I wrongly assumed I would be finished by 4 p.m., a deputation is waiting to meet me. I hope the Green Paper will address the issues Deputy Stanley raised and I assure him that its recommendations will not be confined to wind. I am not bringing forward the Green Paper because there is confusion about policy. It is being prepared for two reasons. First, the White Paper on energy was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: As the Deputy said, we have traced this territory from the beginning of the meeting. He is right in that there have been very emotional public meetings - there is no disputing that. Without going back over what I have said several times, on the Deputy's specific question about health, the Deputy will be aware that as part of the decision I took in respect of the expert panel, the Minister...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Deputy Corcoran Kennedy will understand the reason I would not publish the cost-benefit analysis while we are involved in negotiations for reasons of commercial sensitivity. Obviously the Government would not wish to show its hand, except as it chose, with its prospective partner. However, when all this is over, I will be willing to examine this again. Two different sets of circumstances...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Indeed. Business people try to get first-mover advantage and make these decisions and so on. Unfortunately, I believe the Deputy is right. It has led to unnecessary concerns in some communities because the proposition that Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy's county will have wind turbines in every second field is not going to happen in her lifetime or mine. I agree that communities have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Which projects is Deputy Cowen referring to?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I know Deputy Cowen was not able to be here. I dealt with that in my formal remarks and I will give him a copy of them. To repeat, I had made a formal statement in the Seanad a couple of weeks ago - I cannot remember exactly how long ago - before the summit asserting my judgment that given the timeframe imposed on us by the availability, for example, of the supports system - for example,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I would like to think-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Electricity Generation: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (1 Apr 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: -----that on some matters we have a mutual interest, but there you are. Post-2020, it is hard to say. I do not see any definitive decisions until there is a new Commission in place. Look at yesterday's report from the United Nations on climate change. It is inevitable that renewables will continue to be an important aspect of the energy mix, but as regards clarity and definitive policy...