Results 821-840 of 4,232 for speaker:Brian Leddin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: Those are the two principal asks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: Are there jurisdictions that are somewhat like Ireland, with higher unit costs and where the authorities may be addressing these to stimulate and grow e-heat? Is there special consideration in some countries, notwithstanding the higher unit costs, to support the sector?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: I thank Mr. Marren for that. Are supports generally related to the operational costs - the unit costs - of electricity or do they tend to relate to both the capital outlay and the operational costs? They tend to be both. One of the reasons is a substantial cost differential in the installation and integration of the equipment. Even when that investment is made, an operational support is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: The second part of my question relates to the flexible connections policy. Is it that ESB Networks simply is not there with respect to how it would enable connections and it is quite unwieldy for Mr. Marren and the members of Astatine to get connected? What do they propose? Is there a flexible connections policy in development? Are there particular elements to that we should know about?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: I want to jump in on that last point regarding the project in the Boston Scientific plant. Has an analysis been done of the emissions that have been displaced because of the investment in that system in the last two years? It is probably very obvious that there is a benefit from an emissions point of view, but a rigorous analysis of that, if Mr. Coffey has it, would be very helpful to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: Will Mr. Coffey talk about the motivation for that investment? Was the existing plant at the end of its life and did a decision have to be made about what kind of new plant would be constructed? Was there a desire to get ahead of the game here a little? I am interested in hearing comments about these aspects from a representative of a company that has gone down this route already because...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: That is very interesting. It is fantastic to hear that a large company like Mr. Coffey's has that kind of ambition and is realising it. It is not just an ambition because there has been investment and results are now being seen. Many of Mr. Coffey's peers across the industry will be watching this endeavour and this committee is also very interested in what has been achieved.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: There is a crossover, however, between district heating and the waste heat from industry. Even if it is not waste heat from industry, we could have an industrial set-up essentially, so that while it is residential it would be of the scale of some of the company's industrial members.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: I would argue that it is certainly not one or the other.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: I was just wondering if Mr. Marren had a view on district heating or if he saw that as part of his remit, as given the scale of projects they might get close to the industrial scale.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: I accept that. It is important to understand. The point is well made and clear that this is something the witnesses feel can be advanced quite quickly while district heating is a slower option. I agree that it is important not to conflate them. What the witnesses ask makes a lot of sense to me. It will be up to the Minister and the Department to dig into it and to look at how the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: Has eHeat Ireland done any analysis? I presume most of the members of eHeat Ireland have already identified that there is potential. Are there members who would go down this road but they see that grid reinforcement is required? It would be great to see it if there is any analysis. I am sure the Department would be interested in seeing it as well. If we are talking to the likes of EirGrid...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: I am sorry to cut across you. Does eHeat Ireland have regular engagement with EirGrid and ESB Networks?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: That is a very interesting point. It seems we are not talking about this enough. If we do chase the potential that is there, it offers huge benefits to the transmission system operator, especially if the heat demand of all of those industries that would be connected was flexible, as Mr. Marren suggests it might be in a lot of cases.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: Yes, they are certainly used to it and they are very good at it, but I think it would be even more helpful if there were more players in the system as that would give more flexibility. I have not thought about this too much in the past and it does not seem that there are enough conversations about it. However, it does seem that this is a big step in electrifying our economy. It seems to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: Do any other members have questions? No. I see Senator Boylan and Deputy Whitmore are online. If they want to come in, they can indicate. Do our guests want to make any other points?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: That was a very interesting session. We are going to have another one next week, focusing more on district heating, which we have touched on briefly today. We will look to doing a report that tries to capture some of the major points from these sessions. The idea is that if we agree a report as a cross-party committee, it will then go to Government with recommendations. I must say that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: Will Mr. Geraghty outline what other countries are doing? Who can we emulate in that regard? Are these approaches adopted across the European Union or are they specific to the Irish context?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonisation of the Heat Sector: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: Do the witnesses have a view on district heating? Do they see it as part of eHeat's remit? When they talk about the 2 megatonnes that might be displaced by supporting what eHeat is proposing, I do not think they are talking about the potential of district heating. Have they looked at that or is that issue more for the Irish District Energy Association, which we hope to have before the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Risk Management (13 Jun 2023)

Brian Leddin: 416. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the costs of the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of all arterial drainage schemes over the past five years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27759/23]