Results 1,381-1,400 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (12 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation (12 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The overarching objective of Ireland's energy policy is to ensure secure, sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. As a State we have ambitious targets for 16% of our energy from renewable sources by 2020 through meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewable sources, with 10% renewables in transport and 12% in heat. In 2013, 7.8% of Ireland’s overall...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (12 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Telecommunications Services Provision (12 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The management of the radio spectrum is a statutory function of the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) under the Communications Regulation Act, 2002 as amended. Licences issued by ComReg apply terms and conditions on Mobile Network Operators, such as quality of service and minimum population coverage obligations. As Minister for Communications, one of my key objectives is to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Production (12 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The overarching objective of the Government's energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. The Government’s strategy for the exploitation of the State’s natural hydrocarbon resources aims to maximise the level of exploration activity and increase the level of production activity, while ensuring a fair return to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation (12 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewable sources, with 10% for transport and 12% for heat. In 2013, 5.7% of heat demand was met by energy from renewable sources. There are a number of renewable heat technologies...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Generation (12 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The information sought by the Deputy is available in the public domain. The EirGrid Smart Grid Dashboard (publicly available on EirGrid’s smart grid dashboard website at ) sets out the System Generation fuel mix and net imports across the power system in the all-island wholesale electricity market (SEM). It shows the average fuel mix for the last 24 hours, the last week and the last...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Prices (12 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The fall in oil and gas prices on international markets, although referenced at recent meetings between energy ministers, has not been a specific topic of discussion. One of the main ways that competitiveness is addressed at a European level is through ensuring that the EU has well-functioning, liberalised energy markets. This is seen as the most effective means to deliver energy to consumers...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Post Office Network (12 Mar 2015)

Alex White: I propose to take Questions Nos. 291 and 294 together. It is Government policy that An Post remains a strong and viable company, in a position to provide a high quality postal service and maintain a nationwide network of customer focused post offices in the community. Under the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011, An Post is statutorily required, as the designated...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Legislative Programme (11 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The information requested by the Deputy relating to details of all Acts enacted since March 2011, and amendments tabled, are published and can be accessed on the website of the Oireachtas at.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Television Licence Fee Collection (11 Mar 2015)

Alex White: An Post is charged with the role of “issuing agent” in respect of the collection and administration of television licence fees in accordance with the provisions of section 145 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. An Post receives a portion of licence fee as commission in exchange for its activities as the Minister's issuing and collecting agent for TV licences. The amount paid to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Projects (11 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The overarching objective of the Government's energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. The deployment of biomass for renewable electricity support is primarily supported through the REFIT 3 scheme. The scheme includes a higher rate for the use of biomass in a combined heat and power facility (CHP) which is a generator that...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (11 Mar 2015)

Alex White: I propose to take Questions Nos. 151 and 152 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, to be achieved through 40% renewables in electricity, 12% in heat and 10% in transport. In 2013, 7.8% of Ireland’s overall energy requirement was met by renewable energy. ...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Nuclear Plants (11 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The 2014 Green Paper on Energy Policy covers a broad range of energy issues, including an exploration of all possible fuel options, for securing a balanced, sustainable and secure energy mix. It is in this context that the current discussions on Ireland's future energy policy and fuel mix are taking place. The use of nuclear fission for the generation of nuclear power is statutorily...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Transmission Network (10 Mar 2015)

Alex White: An Independent Expert Panel (IEP) was established in January 2014 to oversee the integrity of the process being undertaken by EirGrid to report on comprehensive, route-specific studies of overhead and underground options for both the Grid Link (GL) and Grid West (GW) projects. On 2 May 2014, the IEP finalised the Terms of Reference for the studies and published the Terms of Reference on 7...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Offshore Exploration (10 Mar 2015)

Alex White: Whilst there has been some welcome upturn in the level of interest in exploration off our coast in recent years, the hydrocarbon potential of the Irish Offshore is largely unproven and is likely to remain so until there is a significant and sustained increase in the number of exploration wells being drilled from the current levels of none to one well per year. The only commercial...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Broadband Plan Implementation (10 Mar 2015)

Alex White: A total of 29 responses were received in response to the mapping consultation which closed on 12 February 2015. This included 13 responses from telecommunications operators, 2 responses from equipment vendors, 7 responses from Local Authorities and representative bodies and 7 responses from individual citizens. There was a substantive response to the questions posed in the consultation...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Consumer Protection (10 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The regulation of retail charges for roaming services is implemented by way of EU Regulations which limit the maximum retail prices for retail roaming services within the European Union. The first such EU Regulation commenced in 2007. Two further EU Regulations were introduced in 2010 and 2012 to further reduce the maximum permitted retail roaming charges within the EU and to increase...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Policy (10 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The May 2014 Green Paper on Energy Policy covers a broad range of energy issues, including an exploration of all possible fuel options, for securing a balanced, sustainable and secure energy mix. It would not be appropriate to exclude any fuel option from such a broad policy consultation and engagement process. It is important to note that the use of nuclear fission for the generation of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Broadband Plan Implementation (10 Mar 2015)

Alex White: The National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately...