Results 781-800 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Seanad: National Parks (23 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator Currie for this matter. I am answering on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan. He cannot be here today. The Phoenix Park is an historic landscape of international importance. It is one of the...

Seanad: National Parks (23 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: It is difficult to install toilets in the Phoenix Park, not just because one needs wastewater facilities, but also because one needs freshwater facilities. I take Senator Currie's point on the requirement for composting, or the possibility of using composting toilets, and I will bring that to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan. Senator Currie can tell me if she thinks there is a way...

Seanad: National Parks (23 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Okay. I will bring that to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, and also the Senator's question about the draft parking strategy consultation, which includes a question on a proposal which has already been ruled out, which is the large expansion of the Lord's Walk car parking area to over 1,000 spaces. This is an item which has been previously ruled out as a possibility.

Seanad: National Parks (23 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I will bring that to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan and draw it to his attention, and I thank Senator Currie for raising it in the House today.

Seanad: National Parks: Special Educational Needs (23 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The Minister for Justice believes it would not be appropriate for me to provide details on, or make reference to, the specific project to which the Senator refers. The IIP was established more than a decade ago, during a time of unprecedented economic difficulty, to stimulate investment in Ireland that would be of strategic and public benefit to the State.However, it is important that we...

Seanad: National Parks: Special Educational Needs (23 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I hear Senator O'Loughlin's sincere passion for this project and I understand she wants to get a good resolution for it. I feel the same when representing anybody. The Senator indicated that the project was already approved. I am told by the Department that projects that have already been approved are not affected. I presume this refers to an additional requirement for money, which has...

Seanad: National Parks: Special Educational Needs (23 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I will take the Senator's request back to the Department of Justice. I think she understands that not every request for funding is automatically approved. There has to be an appraisal process. As a result of the announcement of the wind-down of the funding programme, there has been a large increase in the volume of inquiries and submitted requests. Those requests that have been received...

Seanad: National Parks: Broadcasting Sector (23 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: While the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, unfortunately cannot be present due to a prior commitment, she has asked me to thank the House for the invitation to update it on the progress of the technical working group on TV licence reform and enhancement. A healthy independent media sector is vital for our society in general, our...

Seanad: National Parks: Broadcasting Sector (23 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The goal of the report is to find a sustainable and fair funding model that responds to the changing technological landscape. We have moved away from the time when there was a black-and-white TV licence and a colour TV licence, to people watching TV on their laptops or hearing it on their phones. We need a sustainable model if we are to have public sector broadcasting. A detailed analysis...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Energy Prices (17 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I also welcome all the guests to the Seanad for this debate. I thank Senator Boylan for raising this issue. I wish to report on further measures the Government is taking to enable consumers to become more involved in and aware of their own energy usage. At an EU level, the REPowerEU programme calls for much more citizen engagement with the clean energy transition to empower citizens to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Energy Prices (17 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The Senator is asking not how many people are working in demand-side reduction but how many people are working on reducing demand.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Energy Prices (17 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I will clarify with her afterwards exactly what figures she wants, which I am happy to do. I am also happy to give her or any Senator the updates or documents they want in this regard. Reducing demand, of course, involves smart meters and industry. We have changed the rules on data centres and how they can connect. It is very difficult to get a grid connection at this stage for a data...

Support for Household Energy Bills: Motion [Private Members] (3 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "acknowledges the Government's response to the significant increases in energy prices for households and businesses due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine; notes that: — the European Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 provides for a cap on market revenues in the electricity...

Support for Household Energy Bills: Motion [Private Members] (3 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Thank you.

Support for Household Energy Bills: Motion [Private Members] (3 May 2023)

Ossian Smyth: No.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (27 Apr 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Our national strategy is for everybody in Ireland to have gigabit Internet by 2028. On the current timelines, everybody in rural Ireland will have it by 2026. Our rural deployment is going well. I am responsible for broadband across the whole of Ireland and not just the intervention area. I need to make sure we are not leaving black-spot islands in our urban areas. Just because you are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (27 Apr 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Recently we completed research into the benefits of broadband in rural Ireland. Analysys Mason completed it for us to check we are meeting our cost-benefit. The cost-benefit of the project has greatly improved since it was first evaluated. It clearly was, in retrospect, the right thing to do. It has the following effect, in simple terms. A rural village would previously have hoped for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Illegal Dumping (27 Apr 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Deputy Gould makes the point that although local authorities have the right to collect the waste themselves if they want to do so, and that it is their choice, he is saying they do not have the funding. Local authorities set their own local property taxes and commercial rates levels. If they want to raise funding to run their own waste collection services, they can do. They also have the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Illegal Dumping (27 Apr 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The council lost a huge quantity of money on waste collection and does not want to go back there.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Illegal Dumping (27 Apr 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I was in Cork city last year meeting Cork City Council and the waste collectors, the people who collect the waste themselves, so that I could get a good input, in particular on dumping. I was not aware that there was a problem with anti-dumping initiatives being focused on wealthier areas. I will look into it. That is not the point of it. We are introducing CCTV very shortly to catch...