Results 1,301-1,320 of 7,126 for speaker:Alan Farrell

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

Alan Farrell: Good morning Chair, can you hear me okay?

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

Alan Farrell: I thank the Minister for coming before us. Many of the questions I was poised to ask have been covered. However, I want to pivot back to the national grid and energy generation, renewable electricity and the commitment to hit our target of 100% renewable electricity in the domestic market for 2030 and the constraints that are present in that ambition. Specifically, for offshore wind, the...

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

Alan Farrell: Are there concrete plans across Departments actually to invest that level of money in our port infrastructure? Who is responsible for it? Is it some sort of arrangement with a third party?

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

Alan Farrell: The Minister understands that the only port on the island that is currently capable of any level of support for the delivery of offshore wind is Belfast, and while that is not necessarily a bad thing for the all-Ireland economy, clearly, the State needs to put up money in order to deliver this, given it is a national ambition. The Minister says the plans are advanced and I very much look...

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

Alan Farrell: I have a final question in regard to offshore wind before I move on to forestry. I have a concern, having spoken to a number of potential providers of offshore about the sites they have been granted versus the ones that will be coming up in the future. I believe the competition for those sites may be problematic in terms of the ability of the firms to deliver, which impacts the viability of...

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

Alan Farrell: There are two final points that I want to make. One is in regard to forestry, in particular our targets versus the reality that we are facing, notwithstanding any improvements that have been made towards the latter end of 2022. The figures I have going back to 2016 show a dramatic reduction in afforestation targets. My understanding is that in 2021, we were at 25% of our target, and I do...

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

Alan Farrell: I completely agree with the Minister. We need to dramatically increase our ambition in regard to construction. I am conscious that my time is about to expire. Deputy O'Sullivan was talking about local authorities and their role in the roll-out of public charging points at the various levels. I refer the Minister to an article that I am sure he saw in The Irish Timeson 17 January which...

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

Alan Farrell: It was €5,000.

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

Alan Farrell: In terms of a takeaway or ambition to improve upon the public charging points scheme, it has been accepted now that there is an issue that the level of support from the SEAI is not sufficient for some local authorities. I acknowledge that the Minister mentioned Fingal-----

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

Alan Farrell: -----because to be fair, the council is doing excellent work but maybe is not drawing down funds from this particular source.

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

Alan Farrell: I am sorry, Chairman. This is my final point.

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

Alan Farrell: Is it possible for the Minister to provide a commitment that a review of that particular scheme will take place in terms of the uptake from local authorities?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Building Reform Regulations: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Feb 2023)

Alan Farrell: I was going to talk about embodied carbon and trying to save buildings from unnecessary demolition, but I think this issue has been covered by both previous speakers. The retention and repurposing of buildings is very important, but it leads into the other issue, which is the over-reliance in the Irish construction sector on concrete. I tabled a series of parliamentary questions in recent...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Building Reform Regulations: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Feb 2023)

Alan Farrell: And incentivisation. We must accept at this stage, and I appreciate this is the policy side of things, that we cannot be saying, "Ah, here you go; it'll be grand." The cheapest option will be gone with, but we need to start conditioning the sector to respond to the requirements set out in the climate action plan, right across every Department. Incentivisation has to be pretty stark in this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Building Reform Regulations: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Feb 2023)

Alan Farrell: I am sorry to cut across Mr. Armstrong, but this sounds like a body of work to be completed in terms of framing what is suitable for use in Irish construction versus what we are currently using. Are we reinventing the wheel? Can we not look at what the Scots are doing? They have a very similar climate. I ask this because many of the concerns about modern methods of construction,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Building Reform Regulations: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Feb 2023)

Alan Farrell: That does not tie in with the figures provided to me by the Department.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Building Reform Regulations: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Feb 2023)

Alan Farrell: In the last couple of weeks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Building Reform Regulations: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Feb 2023)

Alan Farrell: That is a bit better than reported.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Building Reform Regulations: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Feb 2023)

Alan Farrell: There are different views. I fully appreciate and I am not going to get into the technicalities of it but looking at the Nordics and the height restrictions we have, tight restrictions, in the use of timber frame and the likes of glulam or the various other means of producing a property, whether it is offsite construction, slot Lego blocks or whatever they are called. I have seen them....