Results 14,501-14,520 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electricity Generation (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: As part of a Micro-generation Working Group, established under action 30 of the Climate Action Plan, there has been extensive engagement between my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on a proposed revision to the exemptions for solar installations under the Planning Regulations. The proposed revised exemptions could reduce the barriers to micro and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Offshore Exploration (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: No petroleum authorisations for prospecting or extraction have been granted in the past year.Information on all current petroleum authorisations is updated and published on a quarterly basis on gov.ie (). The most recent such report was published in respect of the three month period ending 30 June 2021. In addition, Section 57 of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960 requires...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: EU Directives (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Articles 4 and 6 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 ('the recast Renewable Energy Directive') have been transposed into Irish law through the European Union (Renewable Energy) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 365 of 2020). The European Commission has been notified of the transposition of the Articles. My Department is working intensively with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to finalise regulations...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Funding (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is the principal government support vehicle to deliver on Ireland’s 70% renewable electricity target by 2030 and it includes provisions for community participation and benefit. All projects successful in a RESS auction must establish a Community Benefit Fund and the contribution for each project is set at €2 per Megawatt-hour. For...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Environmental Policy (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, establishes a legally binding framework with clear targets and commitments set in law, and provides that the necessary structures and processes are embedded on a statutory basis to ensure Ireland achieves its national, EU and international climate goals and obligations in the near and long term. The Act enacts a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Environmental Policy (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Programme for Government recognises that we all have a part to play to achieve our climate goals. We need to ensure that citizens and communities are informed, engaged, and able to contribute to delivering on climate action. In May of this year, my Department held a series of climate conversations, including a broad public consultation where we heard from 4,000 people, communities and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Forestry Sector (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Forestry plays an important role in climate change mitigation by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, substituting materials made from non-renewable fossil fuels, and storing carbon in long lived timber products. Ireland has increased the area under forest to 11% today, and these forests are already making a significant contribution to our national climate targets. Afforestation...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Quality (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme, operated by the Environmental Protection Agency, has undergone significant investment and expansion in recent years, with the number of monitoring stations increasing from 30 in 2017 to 95 today. All monitoring stations collect air quality data for a range of pollutants in order to provide information to the public, and for...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Quality (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Overall air quality in Ireland is good, with significant reductions in the levels of most pollutants recorded over the past three decades. Building on the progress that has been made to date, our ambition is to ensure that even greater improvements are realised in the years to come. The national Clean Air Strategy, currently being finalised by my Department, will commit us to further...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: International Bodies (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 135 to 137, inclusive, together. The Energy Charter Treaty is a multilateral agreement that provides a framework for trade and investment in the energy area. It was signed in 1994 by nearly 50 countries, including all EU member states, and most countries from eastern Europe, central Asia, and Japan. The key provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Horticulture Sector (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: My officials met with representatives of the horticulture and mushroom sector on Friday, 23 July. This meeting mainly focused on the serious difficulties facing professional growers due to lack of supply of horticultural grade peat, and the need for any proposed solutions to be fully compliant with the requirements of the EU Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive. I...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Natural Gas Grid (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Irish gas network is primarily supplied by two entry points, the ‘Corrib’ entry point in County Mayo and via two interconnectors from a single source at the ‘Moffat’ entry point in Scotland.  Gas Networks Ireland's Summer Outlook 2021, which is published on its website, sets out that Corrib is expected to supply circa 31% of daily summer demand in 2021,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Data Centres (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Government Statement on the role of data centres in Ireland's Enterprise Strategy (2018) recognises that a plan-led approach is needed to develop a range of measures to promote regional options for data centre investment thus minimising the need for additional grid infrastructure. My Department is engaged on this issue with the Department Enterprise, Trade and Employment in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Data Centres (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Government Statement on the role of data centres in Ireland's Enterprise Strategy (2018) recognises that a plan-led approach is needed to develop a range of measures to promote regional options for data centre investment thus minimising the need for additional grid infrastructure. My Department is engaged on this issue with the Department Enterprise, Trade and Employmen in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electricity Generation (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Programme for Government commits to expanding and incentivising micro-generation, including solar-PV, to help citizens, farms and businesses generate renewable electricity for their own use and to sell any excess electricity back to the grid. Under the Climate Action Plan, a Micro-Generation working group, chaired by my Department, is developing an enabling framework for micro-generation...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Conservation (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Programme for Government and the Climate Action Plan set ambitious targets to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2/cost optimal and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings over the next 10 years.Some €221.5 million in capital funding has been provided this year for SEAI residential and community retrofit programmes. This represents an 82% increase on...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: North-South Interconnector (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The North-South interconnector is critical to improving the efficient operation of the all-island single electricity market and increasing security of electricity supply in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It will also help Ireland to move towards our 70% renewable electricity target by 2030. A resilient and well-connected energy infrastructure is vital for Ireland's economic well-being and the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Expenditure (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 160 together. The projections sought by the Deputy, for the estimated cost in 2022 of subsidies for fossil fuels and peat production, are not compiled by my Department. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has compiled and published a historical statistical series outlining direct (Exchequer and non-Exchequer) and indirect (tax expenditures)...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: As Minister for Transport I have responsibility for overall policy and securing exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (27 Jul 2021)

Eamon Ryan: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including the provision of light rail. The issue of a Luas extension to Bray was considered as part of the NTA's Transport Strategy for the...