Results 861-880 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

ESB (Electronic Communications Networks) Bill 2013: From the Seanad (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I thank the House for facilitating the passage of the Bill. I acknowledge the level of consensus in the House supporting this initiative to use the existing ESB supply system, either by the ESB or by the ESB in collaboration with another company, to provide fibre optic cable to parts of Ireland that have endured a less than adequate service on occasion in recent years. I thank the House for...

Other Questions: Post Office Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: It is not the case that An Post has sat on its hands, so to speak, in this area. An Post has extended new business lines in recent years in a range of areas, including Garda fines, gun licences, insurance services, foreign exchange services, Postfone, extended banking services, TaxPay, the DHL retail partnership, real-time waste top-up, Dublin same-day delivery, Saorview and the secure meter...

Other Questions: Post Office Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Of course it is not true because the Government has no plans to close post offices. As I have stated, a total of 197 post offices were closed between 2006 and 2010 but I did not hear a squeak from some of the people who are now concerned about the fact that a total of 17 have closed since 2010.

Other Questions: Post Office Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: We should see this in perspective and acknowledge that there is a responsibility on the part of the people who manage the commercial offices. I agree with Deputy Durkan. At a time when the banks are resiling from interaction with average customers at the bank counter, there are possibilities for the post office given its network of retail outlets. An Post is and has been examining these...

Other Questions: Post Office Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: There are very good social reasons why we cannot consider this matter only through the prism of cost. I accept the argument in that regard. Like all clichés, however, that which Deputy Moynihan condemned earlier has a grain of truth. As Deputy Moynihan stated, An Post is a commercial State company with a remit to carry out its business profitably, etc. As such, it is not in receipt...

Other Questions: Post Office Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I am not sure I agree with Deputy Naughten that-----

Other Questions: Post Office Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Did I not read the formal reply?

Other Questions: Post Office Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: As Deputy Naughten does not wish me to read it, I will not do so. I am not sure I would agree with Deputy Naughten that An Post sees it as a cost rather than an asset. The collapse of mail volumes by 25% in the past five years owing to e-substitution and so on rather than the collapse of An Post's core business is what is driving the pressure on the postal network. The fear on the part of...

Other Questions: Post Office Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I did. It is part of the submission being made by my Department to the Cabinet sub-committee on social policy. I have gone outside the two examples provided at that time by Deputy Naughten. I am also looking at the possibility of returning the driving licence service to An Post. I also wonder whether if in small villages where Garda stations have been closed post offices might serve as a...

Other Questions: Broadcasting Legislation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Whatever changes I eventually settle on, I will put them into committee where we can tease through the type of issue Deputy Murphy raises. I do not know of any legal prohibition to provide for the circumstances the Deputy describes. One could easily see the case for the defence in this matter, namely, that the person being referred to took offence and sought an apology. As I understand it,...

Other Questions: Broadcasting Legislation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I have not been furnished with the precise date of the initiation of the contemplated legal action. While that is a matter between the person concerned and his solicitors, my understanding is that there was the narrowest possible window between the legal action being launched and the resignation of the individual in question. In fairness to him, he wrote his letter of resignation as soon as...

Other Questions: Broadcasting Legislation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: At the outset, I clarify that my responsibility is for broadcasting legislation. Defamation legislation is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Justice and Equality. The commitment I gave during the debate in the Seanad on 18 February 2014 was to amend section 39 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. That section requires every broadcaster to ensure that nothing is broadcast which might...

Other Questions: Wind Energy Generation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The answer to the substantive question is "No". The contemplated export project has nothing to do with excess capacity in the system. As that project has been planned, the requirement on the Government is to put in place the intergovernmental agreement that facilitates trade in green energy under the relevant EU directive. It is a private sector project and is entirely separate from the...

Other Questions: Wind Energy Generation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Do not cut me off in mid-flow. This could be a major scientific breakthrough. Deputy Colreavy knows that the wind can blow strongly in the west, yet it need not be blowing strongly here on the east coast. Similarly, there could be high winds in Scotland without there necessarily being wind in Ireland.

Other Questions: Wind Energy Generation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: We may well be able to set up a task force to get to the bottom of this matter.

Other Questions: Wind Energy Generation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Deputy Moynihan is correct. It is technically feasible, but the cost that comes with it is the issue. For example, one could run an AC cable and, upon reaching a particularly scenic area, nothing would prevent one from putting the cable underground, but it could not be for a long distance. Doing that would require a DC cable. Take something as simple as the Tyrone-Meath line. The...

Other Questions: Wind Energy Generation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 34 together. Electricity demand must be met by generating the exact amount of energy required at any point in time. The responsibility for maintaining this balance between demand and supply is managed in real time by EirGrid, the independent electricity transmission system operator. To deliver on this remit, EirGrid's operation of the electricity...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Electricity Transmission Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: EirGrid’s Grid25 plan to upgrade the national transmission system between now and 2025 is a major initiative which will put in place a safe, secure and affordable electricity system throughout the country. On 28 January last, in response to EirGrid’s recent public consultation process, I announced that I had appointed an independent panel of experts, chaired by Mrs. Justice...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Electricity Transmission Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: As Deputy Colreavy fairly said, there are a wide range of views on this. For a short piece of interconnector line, it must be the most examined and studied line in the history of transmission. If the expert panel under former Supreme Court Justice Catherine McGuinness agrees to look at it, the panel will, as a result, review the reports that are there, and that includes the Askon report. ...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: EU Directives (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I can give the Deputy an example. In the context of cross-border issues, the national energy regulator, which in Ireland's case is the Commission for Energy Regulation, is required to maintain the same level of confidentiality regarding any information received from another regulatory authority as that which applies to the original regulatory authority. The regulator is to be required to...