Results 1,161-1,180 of 32,122 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: It is encouraging to see the substantial build up in retrofits under the warmer homes scheme, which may have been a bit suppressed in 2020 and 2021, compared to 2019 when there were more than 6,000 homes in the scheme. I presume the 6,000 new homes will be a much deeper retrofit . Does he attempt to distil from these programmes what the climate impact of them is? Presumably a lot of...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: No. I was referring to the take-up, whereby people opt for cheaper electricity at night. Many people have this capacity but the take-up is in single figures.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: I understand the companies cannot say a customer's usage is X and that they could save a lot of money by switching to a certain arrangement. The initiative has to come from the customer's side. The customers must decide to behave in a particular way and examine the potential savings now that they have smart meters. De facto, many people are not volunteering to take up this mechanism. It...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: I do not know where the restriction came up. I presume there is access to some sort of personal information, such as when one is coming in or when one is having a shower. If such information were available to someone who wanted to burgle one's home, he or she would have a pattern. I presume it is a matter of that sort of thing but I am wondering whether we are shooting ourselves in the...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: Somebody in the Minister of State's Department should talk to the Data Protection Commissioner and determine whether the intention of data protection is to have customers miss out on something that there is now a national effort to achieve.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: If the Minister of State is providing some information, perhaps he could give me an update on the dump in Belcamp in due course. On the circularity section, I do not think I need to tell the Minister of State the context and impact indicators being offered here are wholly inappropriate to meet the circular economy challenge I know he has set for himself. From his own Department or with the...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. He is right, and one of the CIRCULÉIRE projects he refers to is the recovery of injectables. Plastic injectables are being recovered in a successful project so there is no sector that is out of bounds. The key issue will be what targets the Department sets. Is the Department any closer to deciding if there will be a reuse target in...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: The Department could have a target to reduce material use or it could have a reuse or recycling target. It could also have one of the broader indicators of impact that are being developed. The French have brought in a repairability rating that has to be produced on labelling. It would be interesting to see the flavour of things like that. I know the Government cannot impose those targets...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: I suggest the Minister of State ask the EPA to suggest a framework to be adopted by the Government and that all Departments be required to follow such an EPA-recommended framework. It would be something like that; I do not want to try to make one up.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: In the area of energy efficiency we ask for reports on the extent to which the use of energy is being reduced and on energy efficiency. My suggestion would be similar. The EPA could suggest a framework that would be relatively easy to apply and people would then be required to report against that framework. We would then start to get some sort of benchmark of where we are and a steady...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: They already do that. It is already measured. Therefore, it is a question of introducing a new dimension and measuring green procurement. Material efficiency and energy efficiency would become criteria that would be reported by public bodies. I suggest something along those lines; I am not being prescriptive.

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Culture Policy (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: 99. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department has developed initiatives to support more opportunities for older people to develop cultural activities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8395/23]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: 297. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has reviewed the relationship between HAP rent limits and rents being quoted in postal districts across Dublin; and if the ceilings now need to be adjusted. [8281/23]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad (21 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: 338. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline the position of an Irish citizen (details supplied) detained in Iran; and the efforts being undertaken to secure their release. [8257/23]

Co-ordination of International Protection Services: Statements (16 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this debate. I believe migration is at the core of the Irish story. It is seen in the faces of our refugees so painfully depicted on the quays of our cities. I have seen in places like Toronto the bravery of people who took in ships wracked with disease from Ireland. By 1900, half of the people born in Ireland were living overseas so we...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: Is it intended to expand the penalties available to the courts in sentencing children convicted of serious offences? Is legislation planned in this regard because this would be important in underpinning safety in our communities?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Minister for coming in and for all his work in this area. We are moving on from setting targets to delivering on them. This is a more important phase than target-setting. I ask him to provide a rough picture of compliance with the plan across the sectors in 2022. I may be wrong but it seems that certain measures we thought would be relatively easy to get mobilised seem to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Discussion (16 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: On land use, the Minister has not set a definitive target and the measure of land use change seems to have dramatically increased. We are heading on an unchanged policy to, I think, 11 million tonnes of emissions from land use. Will there be a washback on to the other sectors if it proves that we cannot deliver? The EU has talked of us having a target of 3.7 million tonnes for 2030, which...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Cooperative Societies Bill 2022: Discussion (15 Feb 2023)

Richard Bruton: I welcome to our guests. Unfortunately, a number of Deputies could not make it today, including our Chairman, Deputy Maurice Quinlivan, and Deputies Matt Shanahan and David Stanton. Their apologies are noted. There are some basic requirements in relation to Covid-19. People are asked to take personal responsibility and to protect themselves and others. That is taken as read. Members...