Results 7,821-7,840 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Ceapachán an Taoisigh agus Ainmniú Chomhaltaí an Rialtais - Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government (17 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I want to focus and concentrate in my contribution to the debate tonight on the role of the Green Party in this Government and what we intend doing in the next two years. I do so remembering, critically, two and a half years ago when we joined the Government and agreed a programme for Government, that the leader of the European Green Party, whose assessment would be well informed because we...

Ceapachán an Taoisigh agus Ainmniú Chomhaltaí an Rialtais - Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government (17 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: Yes, it will. We do not have an option.

Ceapachán an Taoisigh agus Ainmniú Chomhaltaí an Rialtais - Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government (17 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: We do not have an option in Irish law. The law we have written is one of the strongest climate laws in the world. We do not have an option. The Deputy will have heard the President of the European Commission, Dr. von der Leyen, speaking here only two or three weeks ago, saying this is the centre of the European strategy and a whole swathe of European law, which is steering us in that...

Ceapachán an Taoisigh agus Ainmniú Chomhaltaí an Rialtais - Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government (17 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I believe that the Irish business community, but, more importantly, the Irish people, want to and will do this. It takes time to turn this complete ship of State - all of it - around but we will do it. What is the best way? We learnt a great deal in Covid. We learnt that Government works best when it works in teams outside of the normal silos of Departments. We are busy establishing...

Ceapachán an Taoisigh agus Ainmniú Chomhaltaí an Rialtais - Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government (17 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: This week, we will start to see the consents being provided for the first phase of offshore projects. Next spring, subject to them going through an auction process that we are establishing now, they will go into the planning system. The planning constraint is the biggest. We have to expand An Bord Pleanála dramatically and speed up our whole planning process because it is killing us...

Taoiseach a Ainmniú - Nomination of Taoiseach (17 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: Today is an important day. For 100 years, we have operated as a democracy. It is important we follow the constitutional order today in electing a Taoiseach and a new Cabinet and Government. The metaphor I was using is that it is like half time. The captain's armband will be passed from one to the other but it will be a similar team and I am certain that on Monday morning Tánaiste...

Death of Private Seán Rooney: Expressions of Sympathy (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I recall an Oireachtas trip a number of years ago. A delegation went to Egypt. We happened to meet the secretary-general of the Arab League to discuss various important issues. Before we could say a word, he said that he wanted to say that they will never forget what Irish peacekeepers have done in Lebanon. He said that when militia came to attack a village, Irish soldiers held the line...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: From speaking to solar PV installers there are two real obstacles to the further massive expansion we need to see. The first is the workforce. The people installing it say there is not a shortage of demand but a shortage of skilled workers. These workers will come. I mentioned the apprenticeships the Minister, Deputy Harris, is delivering at scale. These will start to address this. This...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The Department is working on the matter Deputy O'Dowd has raised but I do not have the details with me. I will come back to him. To respond to Deputy Cowen, it was interesting to meet some solid fuel supply companies yesterday and hear them state they are interested in developing low carbon alternatives for use in solid fuel heating systems. They see this as a big opportunity to develop...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: In deference to Deputy Durkan, I might focus on Deputy Ó Cuív in the short few minutes I have because I spoke about agriculture in the first response. It is not only offshore wind. We also have to develop further onshore wind. Many State companies, such as Coillte and Bord na Móna, have considerable potential to do that if our planning system can free up and deliver some...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: As we are doing that, in the lifetime of this Government, we will set out the so-called "enduring regime", which is the really big project. In truth, the big power is to the west and north west, if one looks at where the resource is - where the really strong winds are - and where our largest sea area is. Critical to that is getting the environmental conditions right and, therefore, one...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The EV target is on track. On the sale of EVs, although I cannot remember the exact percentage, roughly one in five new cars is plug-in electric or plug-in hybrid. Everything I see with the car companies shows that they are all switching because of better cars, maintenance is lower, and running costs are lower. That target is the one that is most achievable. I cannot remember the exact...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: We need to look at how we can improve the transport system so that it works, not only on a climate basis but also that we are not all stuck in traffic. It is not only about switching one car for the other. It is about reducing the demand for travel by the likes of remote working and other mechanisms, and not everyone having to drive to Dublin or to move to the big city. For example, our...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: Solar PV panels are installed under a number of circumstances. For domestic installations, solar PV is installed on new homes, as one of the measures to achieve compliance with Part L of the building regulations. They are also installed on existing buildings through grant supports offered by Government, through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI. The microgeneration support...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The targets are based on science, in respect of what was agreed in Paris in 2015, as well on what has been further agreed on by science since. If we do not, as an example of a developed country, halve our emissions this decade and get to net zero by 2050, then we risk going over certain tipping points where climate change will become a runaway phenomenon. It is impossible to know exactly...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I accept Deputy O'Connor is making his arguments. I hope I was not lecturing the Deputy but when he asked whether the targets were feasible, from my perspective it is important for us all to understand that while these targets are extremely challenging, the question is whether it is feasible for us to let this go and to take this risk. I do not think it is. This, then, forces us to be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I believe they can be but it is not certain. Earlier, I read out some of the analysis of what has happened in recent years. The increase last year in our transport, agriculture and power generation emissions makes it harder. Every year we see emissions continuing to increase makes the scale of the change required on the other side of the equation all the greater. I believe, however, that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Data Centres (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: When this State enters a contract, it honours that contract. If contracts are breached, what can the Government be trusted to do in any other circumstances? Such breaches end up costing far more because people price in the risk associated with not being able to trust those who do not abide by contracts. It is therefore in our interests, as a State, to be honest and to abide by contracts we...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Data Centres (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: For certainty on this matter, I wrote to Gas Networks Ireland earlier in the year. It is not just about data centres. There is a whole range of areas in which Gas Networks Ireland must be told to stop expansion. These include the delivery of gas to new homes and new data centres because it will only cost us later as we will have to take that infrastructure out. We have made it clear to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (15 Dec 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The Climate Action Plan 2021 set out policies, measures and actions to support the achievement of Ireland's legally-binding emissions reduction targets for 2030 and 2050. The 2021 plan was a cross-departmental effort with inputs and commitments from a range of Departments and State agencies. It provided indicative ranges of emissions reductions required for each sector of the economy to...