Results 8,961-8,980 of 21,588 for speaker:Denis Naughten

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Energy Regulation (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senator O'Sullivan for their good wishes. Brexit is the most significant economic and social challenge for Ireland over the past 50 years. It will impact on our economy and society due to the close links between Ireland the United Kingdom. It has implications for everyone on this island, North and South. Many sectors of the Irish economy have high levels of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Energy Regulation (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: I thank Senator O'Sullivan. He is correct that the UK is going to look at this issue from its own perspective. We cannot blame it for that. We would do the same thing. However, the United Kingdom is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We have a single electricity market on the island of Ireland, North and South. Some 40% of all power generated on that grid comes...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Energy Regulation (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: -----but I am very positively disposed to seeing development taking place on both the northern and southern sides of the Shannon estuary.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Employment Rights (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: I thank Senator Nash for raising this important matter and to apologise on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, who cannot be here. It is now almost 18 months since the issue of the employment of non-EEA crew members in the Irish fishing fleet was highlighted in the media as an issue of concern. The Guardian, in particular, highlighted issues, with claims of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Employment Rights (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: I can give the Senator a copy of my prepared response, but this matter is close to my heart. As I am from an inland county, I am not just referring to fishermen but also to undocumented workers. The Senator is aware of my background in that regard. If he wants to drop details of his specific concerns into my private office, I will bring them directly to the attention of the Tánaiste...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Authority Boundaries Review (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government who cannot attend today. The reviews and revisions of local electoral areas have been carried out over the years in response to changing needs, including population changes. The most recent review was carried out in advance of the 2014 local elections. Before that, reviews were carried out in...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Authority Boundaries Review (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: The Senator is right about the municipal districts and I have seen it happen in my constituency of Roscommon. The Athlone Municipal District of Monksland runs from Shannonbridge in County Offaly to halfway down the country. There is no connection between the areas. The communities do not even know how to get from one end of the district to the other. The districts are all six-seaters in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Mitigation Plan (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: Work is well under way on the development of the first statutory National Mitigation Plan (NMP), required under Section 4 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, 2015. The primary objective of the first NMP is to track implementation of measures already under way, identify additional measures in the longer term to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and progress the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Warmer Homes Scheme Funding (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: The Better Energy Warmer Homes (BEWH) Scheme funds energy efficiency improvements in the homes of the elderly and vulnerable, making their homes more comfortable, healthier and more cost effective to run. In 2016, 6,839 homes were upgraded under the  scheme and the level of funding provided was just over €20m.    Across these three strands of the Better...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Waste Tyre Disposal (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: It is my intention to introduce new regulations early this year to address Ireland's waste tyres problem.　 These regulations will enable me to put in place a full compliance scheme for tyre operators, which will be financed by a visible Environmental Management Charge (vEMC). Similar compliance schemes have operated very successfully across other waste streams, including,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Postal Codes (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: Capita Business Support Services Ireland, trading as Eircode, was awarded a 10 year contract in December 2013 to develop, implement and maintain the National Postcode System "Eircode". At launch 2.2m Eircode notification letters were issues to addresses across the State. Since then in excess of 24,000 new addresses have been assigned Eircodes, of which c.26% have been non-unique rural...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Better Energy Homes Scheme (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: The Better Energy Homes scheme, which is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland on behalf of my Department, offers a financial incentive to homeowners who wish to improve the energy performance of their homes. Grants are provided towards the cost of a range of measures including attic insulation, wall insulation, heating systems upgrades, solar thermal panels and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Broadband Plan (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: My Department welcomes queries from public representatives and members of the public in relation to the National Broadband Plan (NBP) and has a dedicated inbox, broadband@dccae.gov.ie, for this purpose. Queries received in relation to the NBP are then responded to by members of my Department’s NBP team. There is also helpful information on the NBP available through my...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Incentives (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: The Energy White Paper published in December 2015, sets out a vision and framework to guide Irish energy policy and the actions that Government intends to take in the energy sector from now up to 2030, aimed at transforming Ireland's fossil-fuel based energy sector into a clean, low carbon system by 2050. Successive Governments have introduced a range of policy measures and schemes to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: I propose to take Questions Nos. 255 and 256 together. The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed broadband services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority.  This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment by the telecommunications...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Commissions of Inquiry (8 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: There are no ongoing investigations or Commissions of Inquiry in my Department.

Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (7 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: There are many countries across the world which do not come up to the mark on environmental matters. I have been criticised as Minister for the role I have taken on these issues. However, there is a determination within Europe, including in Ireland, to lead from the front on this, provide an example to countries across the globe and assist the least developed countries with both finance and...

Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (7 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, held its 21st Conference of the Parties, COP 21, in Paris in 2015.  The major outcome of COP 21 was the agreement by over 180 countries to restrict the impact of emissions on global warming and to limit the temperature rise to 2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with an ambition of 1.5° Celsius. The...

Other Questions: Media Mergers (7 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: It is the first merger to be scrutinised. The reason for that is the legislation is very new. I am the first Minister to do that. The State will not be subsidising any media outlet or newspaper in this country. However, there is a broader issue with regard to how we encourage quality journalism. It is an issue I have addressed in the past and with which I am actively engaged at the...

Other Questions: Media Mergers (7 Feb 2017)

Denis Naughten: A further merger has come before me. That is the BBC-ITV joint venture, BritBox. That was notified to the Department on the last day of January.