Results 941-960 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Natural Gas Grid (5 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) is the statutory independent body charged with the assessment and licensing of prospective operators seeking to develop and operate a gas distribution system within the State. In 2006, the CER approved a new network connections policy which enabled assessment of the feasibility of connecting certain towns to the gas network. In order for any town to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Irish Language Issues (5 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Expenditure from the administrative subheads of my Department’s Vote relating to the provision of services through Irish in each of the past three years is detailed in the table below: Year Amount (€) 2011 5,514.33 2012 12,400.75 2013 23,189.19 These amounts relate to translation services only and relate to, inter alia, the translation of legislation, directives and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Television Reception (5 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: In accordance with the Broadcasting Act 2009, RTÉ, through its subsidiary company 2RN, is responsible for the roll-out, coverage and operation of the SAORVIEW digital terrestrial television (DTT) network and I, as Minister, have no function in this matter. Specifically, the Act requires RTÉ to provide digital coverage to the same extent as provided over the previous analogue...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Bodies (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Sustainable Authority of Ireland (SEAI), was established under the Sustainable Energy Act 2002 and appointments to its Board are made in accordance with that Act. As a State body, SEAI must comply with the revised Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies published by the Department of Finance in 2009. On an annual basis, the Board reviews its compliance with the Code. Arising...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Transmission Network (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: On 28 January last, in response to EirGrid’s recent public consultation process, I announced that I had appointed an Independent Panel of Experts, to be chaired by Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness, to decide the terms of reference for, and to oversee the integrity of a process to be undertaken by EirGrid to report on, comprehensive, route-specific studies of overhead and underground...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Transmission Network (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The €240m Grid West project, which is part of EirGrid’s Grid25 plan to upgrade the national transmission system between now and 2025, is a new high-capacity power line linking the Bellacorick area in County Mayo to a strong point on the transmission grid at Flagford in County Roscommon. Grid West is needed to connect the electricity generated by the region’s huge...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Wind Energy Generation (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: A full cost benefit analysis is on-going to determine if it is mutually beneficial for Ireland and the United Kingdom to enter an Inter-Governmental Agreement to facilitate trade in renewable energy. The amount of energy that might be procured by the UK and the mechanisms for sharing the resultant economic benefits, including an appropriate return to the Exchequer, are among the matters under...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 221 and 222 together. The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. In order to meet this target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heating and 10% of transport power from renewable sources, with the transport target also...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Usage (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Energy in Ireland Report for 2012, published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and available on its website, shows a total heat demand in 2012 in the domestic, public, commercial and industrial sectors of 4,267 kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). Of this, 2,017 ktoe was in the residential sector, 1,464 ktoe was in industry, 430 ktoe was in the commercial services sector and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Resources (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 224, 225 and 228 together. The large hydro resources available in Ireland have been largely exploited and, together with all smaller developments, now comprise a total installed capacity of around 213 MW. This figure excludes Turlough Hill which is a pumped storage system. A resource study titled "The Small-Scale Hydro-electric Potential of Ireland" was...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Fisheries Protection (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The development of hydro generation requires planning permission from the relevant planning authority in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Acts, having due regard to other relevant legal frameworks and guidelines. The principal legislation governing the protection of fish in the development of hydro generation is set out in Part 8, Chapter 5 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan Implementation (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 227 and 229 together. The potential of the offshore renewable energy sector to be a source of sustainable employment and growth in the green economy has been consistently identified by Government and by the European Commission in its recent Communication on 'Blue Energy'. Currently, there are no tidal electricity generation facilities connected to the Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. In order to meet this target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewable sources. While it is acknowledged that fossil fuels will remain part of the energy mix for some time to come, progress is being made towards...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Charges (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The broadband service contracted under National Broadband Scheme (NBS) is a basic, affordable, scalable product in keeping with EU State Aid clearance for the Scheme. Under the terms of the contract which my Department has in place with "3", the NBS service provider, the NBS mobile wireless service currently offers minimum download and upload speeds of 2.3Mbps and 1.4Mbps respectively,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Postcode Implementation (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Government approved the appointment of Capita Business Support Services Ireland Limited as the company which will develop, roll-out and operate the National Postcode System following the conclusion of the public procurement process in 2013. As part of the process of developing and launching postcodes, Capita will undertake a public information campaign aimed at the general public and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Postal Services (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: While I have overall responsibility for the postal sector, the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011 charges the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), as the postal regulator, with the promotion of the development of the postal sector and particularly the availability of the universal postal service, the promotion of the interests of users and the facilitation of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Post Office Network (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I refer to the reply to Question No.143 of 26th February 2014. The position is unchanged.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Post Office Network (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The importance of maintaining a network of post offices around the country is recognised in the Programme for Government. It is Government policy that An Post remains a strong and viable company, in a position to provide a high quality, nationwide postal service and maintain a nationwide customer focussed network of post offices in the community. That said, the Deputy should be aware that...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Broadband Plan Implementation (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Government's National Broadband Plan, which I published in August 2012, aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses including those in County Mayo. This will be achieved by providing: - a policy and regulatory framework that assists in accelerating and incentivising commercial investment;...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Postcode Implementation (4 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: My Department received correspondence from the EU Commission during 2012 in relation to the procurement process for the National Postcode System. The case was fully examined by the EU Commission which informed the Department in November 2013 that the matter had been closed by it as no breaches of the procurement framework were found. The correspondence was still open when the award of the...