Results 841-860 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Okay, that is fine.

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I do not want to misquote the Senator, but what we do in Ireland is important for the planet.It is not that I think this but that I know it. There are only 5 million of us in Ireland, but we have a much higher usage per capitathan the average use in the world. If every community of 5 million people globally took this attitude, if every city in China of 5 million people said "we are just 5...

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Let us get to the amendment. The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 and the provisions therein are important and provide for public bodies to act in a manner consistent with the latest climate action plan and relevant plans and strategies "in so far as is practicable". The Government has introduced a number of measures. For example, we cut VAT on electricity and gas. That...

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Fair enough.

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I would never want to misrepresent someone or speak in a deprecatory way.

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The Senator is absolutely right.

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: He specified the context.We need more dispatchable generation. It is not just for large energy users. As the Senator stated, it is also because the basis of climate action is the electrification of transport and heating systems and that means we need more dispatchable generation. That does not just involve emergency generators; it also involves batteries and interconnection with other...

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: As this is an EPA Bill, it does not concern issues of demand prioritisation. Such issues apply to EirGrid, in consultation with CRU. EirGrid has a prioritisation mechanism. I have heard its chief executive speak about it at meetings of the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action. I believe EirGrid is updating that into a more detailed programme, which it will finalise this year....

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The principle at the moment is that households are the number one priority. After that, the objective is to source additional power from any smart sources that we can while managing the shortfall with voluntary demand-side measures. After that, it is about maintaining close co-operation with the UK and doing things like load shedding. Involuntary or mandatory curtailment is a last resort.

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The Senator misunderstood me and I am certain it is my fault for not being clear enough. The first priority in demand management is to protect households, rather than to turn off their electricity. I am sorry if I was not clear when I said that.The Senator mentioned concerns about the CRU and what it is doing. Unless I am misunderstanding, the CRU is accountable to the committee, rather...

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The legislation on the CRU makes it accountable to the Committee on Environment and Climate Action, rather than the Minister.

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The Senator can come back to me afterwards.

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: This amendment asks for four reports providing data on energy demands and so on. This is great. I love to see informed debate. I would like to read this information myself. I look at those reports and think I would like to read them. It is a great idea. It does not fit within an EPA (amendment) Bill. It is fine to discuss it. In the previous debate, we said political accountability is...

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: In relation to the requested reports on demand-side reduction and energy use, I am happy to provide the Senators with any information I legally can that is relevant and useful. If any Senator contacts me I will be happy to work on that. We do not feel that it fits in with an EPA piece of legislation. On prioritisation of electricity supply, the State has a range of mitigations before cuts...

Protection of Cash as Legal Tender: Motion [Private Members] (8 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this important and interesting proposal on the protection of cash in the financial system. I listened to the contributions which were interesting. The Deputies were thinking about people being excluded from the financial system and people who do not have access to cash and where the only option is to make an electronic payment and for one reason or...

Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (7 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: It is working fine.

Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (7 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: We will know if it is broken.

Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (7 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: Is he your favourite?

Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (7 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: He is going to.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Construction Industry (2 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: The latest version of the national development plan, NDP, capital investment tracker provides updates on over 270 projects and 140 programmes, including almost 100 projects costing in excess of €50 million. Driving productivity and increasing innovation in construction sector capacity is imperative to the Government to deliver on the projects outlined in the NDP. The construction...