Results 13,221-13,240 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I will refer the other question to the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and ask her to report directly to Deputy Tully with a detailed response to the question.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: It is coming soon, within a number of weeks. It is critical because we want a lot of the money that we have saved, unwillingly in many ways, over the course of the pandemic to go into this. The provisions in the national retrofitting plan include a one-stop shop where people can get good advice, low-cost loans to assist those who have built up a deposit to bring down the cost of works, and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Irish Water is best placed to decide on the allocation of funding and the timelines for its projects. I am very glad we have stopped pumping raw sewage into Cork Harbour, which was a huge problem. That had to be the first priority in the city. It was an immediate scandal that had to be addressed. Beyond that, sewage treatment is a real issue. Irish Water got significant additional...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The filing of annual returns has continued throughout the period of Covid-19. To date this year more than 215,000 annual returns have been filed. While a small number of practitioners are experiencing difficulties relating to annual returns for their clients, there does not appear to be a widespread issue of filing problems. The CRO has approximately 48,500 annual returns at various stages...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I absolutely accept, particularly for younger people, who have borne the brunt of the Covid-19 restrictions, that their ability to get a licence, get mobile and then get a job is critical. I will follow up on this and engage directly with the Road Safety Authority on it. We put a huge amount of additional testers in place to clear the backlog. I hear what the Deputy is saying on this. I...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: We will support them. As I said earlier, the best mechanism for this is the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, because that gives a direct subsidy or support to employers to make sure they can continue paying their staff. I hope, more than anything else, these are temporary measures. Our vaccination rates show that we have thrown the book at it, and with further boosters coming, we will...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: A major development last week was the publication of Shaping our Electricity Future by EirGrid. A detailed two-year public consultation process leading into that came back with something that a lot of politicians here would absolutely understand, which is that microgeneration has to be the centre of the electricity future, shaping our new climate and energy future. The plan has been...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Deputy is right that there has been a huge spike in oil and gas prices. We see that at the petrol pump and in the gas bills people are getting. However, it is expected that it will not be permanent. It is impossible to know exactly what the price of oil or gas will do but the leading experts say it is due to a variety of immediate issues which may lead to prices coming down as they...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The national broadband plan is one such facilitation. The Deputy is right that it has been delayed compared to what was originally expected because of Covid. There was a particular issue around issuing planning licences within local authorities. Both of those issues have been largely addressed. We still face significant issues in getting access to ducting and ducting that is not as high...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Deputy was looking for practical examples and these are real things that are in operation. Some 274,000 houses have been surveyed and build works are starting on 125,000. It is not fast enough and we all want to accelerate but we recognise that this is a particular moment in time. We are doing everything we can with Eir and National Broadband Ireland to try to help deliver that.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Difficulties there will be but there is no lack of commitment.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Deputy Griffin is right. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, has proven itself a good delivery agency. It delivers on budget and on time with good engineering expertise. That is why we have commissioned it to have specific responsibility for the roll-out of our national cycling network. The National Transport Authority, NTA, and city councils will have a key role in urban areas but in...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I would be happy to. If the Deputy could forward the details on to me I will be happy to pass them on to the Minister for Education. I do not see how twins being divided could possibly make sense. We will look at the details.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Poolbeg is a critical development for our constituency and the city and is a model of high-quality urban living. The transport strategy for the greater Dublin area, which was published last week, is in the consultation phase, so the timing of any particular project is open to variation. The first obligation on us is to build the BusConnects, DART+ and metro projects, all of which must start...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I have two points on that. First, the key recourse for those workers is the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, which was designed for exactly these circumstances when businesses are not able to operate as normal. Businesses are able to make sure that they can continue to pay the workers through that scheme. On the Deputy's earlier point about antigen testing and the Oireachtas, we...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Deputy that we should shift towards a health-centred, rather than criminal justice-centred, approach to the drugs problem we have in this country. I also agree that a citizens’ assembly would be good vehicle to consider some of the complicated issues around that. The real question, from the experience of previous citizens’ assemblies, is the question to be put...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: My understanding is 500,000 antigen tests have been distributed across a range different sectors, which have been targeted because those sectors are at the greatest risk, including the likes of nursing homes-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Agreed. We have been involved in opposition initially and then in government. I do not think I have ever heard throughout this whole process someone argue that the economics of us addressing Covid-19 is the biggest constraint. There has been no lack of willingness to provide funding either for the health system, or for the economic and social supports that need to put in place. Some tens...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Regarding the exact mechanisms of delivering antigen tests, the main concern has been a health issue, because of the risks that would come with false negatives, and a range of other issues with regard to that. I think they are being overcome. The exact mechanism for delivery and the exact cost is something that the Minister for Health has to decide upon-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2021)

Eamon Ryan: He has to decide what some of that money could be used in other elements-----