Results 1,521-1,540 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Just Transition (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: The Deputy is right in saying that County Clare is not included. In conjunction with European Commission, it was decided that it would involve counties Offaly, Laois, Longford, Westmeath and Roscommon as well as five additional municipal districts: Ballinasloe in County Galway; Athy and Clane-Maynooth in County Kildare; and Carrick-on-Suir and Thurles in County Tipperary. That is because...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Just Transition (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I take the Deputy's point about Kilrush. There are other towns across the country where we have particular difficulties. I believe this green energy revolution will benefit such towns. It will not always be the big projects. The Moneypoint development for offshore wind is a really large-scale project and it will take some time. However, there are immediate opportunities. Earlier in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: We have the Department of Transport, an arm of central government, saying that it will close one road and open another. It needs local leadership. A second example of where we have a real issue is that a number of county councils in response to public concerns have basically frozen out the potential development of renewable power in their various development plans. Our ability to meet our...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Postal Services (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I thank Deputy Stanton. An Post is a commercial State body with a mandate to act commercially. It has statutory responsibility for the State's postal service and the post office network. The Government is committed to a sustainable An Post and post office network, as a key component of the economic and social infrastructure throughout Ireland. In line with this commitment, my Department...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Postal Services (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: Coincidentally, I was only talking to one of my team earlier and we were raising a similar issue. My understanding is that the delivery of publicity post or direct mail cannot or does not operate within electoral boundaries in many instances. We were asking ourselves the question as to why that is the case because when it comes to An Coimisiún Toghcháin communications, it can. I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Postal Services (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: We have to work very closely with the company to help them towards a prosperous future.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Postal Services (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: First, direct mail is a very good, profitable and important business for An Post and a very good marketing mechanism. Therefore, I agree with the Deputy. That should be an area in which we hopefully will see further expansion. Regarding the route networks, I do not think they go back to the stagecoach but I remember when we were establishing the Eircode system that this network is based...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Postal Services (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: -----An Post's parcel business is very successful. It is very active, very competitive and one of the largest, if not the largest, players in that market. The company is expanding that business quite successfully and quite rapidly. The challenge for the company is how it can manage that at scale as well as other diverse income streams to cope with the natural decline in its former core...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: In March 2023, I published statutory guidelines to assist local authorities in preparing their local authority climate action plans. Those guidelines include a requirement for ongoing monitoring and progress reporting. Each local authority must provide reporting arrangements which demonstrate accountability for the delivery of actions at various levels, including: reporting within the local...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I was very pleased that every one of the 31 local authorities and their councillors approved their local climate action plans in the timeframe we requested, namely by March. We have to be up front and honest that the level of engagement varies between counties but there was a very real effort to make sure that happened. I agree with the Deputy. We need to go forward and really focus on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Action Plan (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: It needs both. We in central government must be centrally involved. But I might give a couple of examples where it also requires local authority leadership. Take the whole transport area, to return to a question from Deputy Gannon. I was making the case that to meet our climate targets we will have to reduce the volume of traffic and that requires demand-management measures which can only...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Infrastructure (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: It should always be efficiency first. That is the first fuel, first saving, first and most important priority. I agree with the Deputy's basic point. We have not delivered at the scale and speed that I would like in the context of community-owned generation of renewable power. One of the advantages of renewable power is that it should allow for a more distributed, broadly owned energy...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Infrastructure (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Deputy. I will look at the model. I am very open to looking at different models. We should continue to evolve this because there is real benefit in terms of wider community ownership and engagement. The International Energy Agency, IEA, country review, which was noted by the Government this week, recognised that there are a many community benefits and gain from our...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Action Plan (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: The heavy lifting has to be done in the renewable sector. I refer to the debate I had earlier with Deputy O'Rourke regarding the delivery of the likes of offshore wind and the solar revolution that is taking place. If we can meet our targets in this area, with some 22 GW of power from renewables by the end of this decade, that would bridge half of the gap. That is the most significant...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Action Plan (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: The EPA is in a difficult position. For some of the policy measures we are planning, as I said, it needed to see back-up, financial commitment or other Government measures so that they would be seen as deliverable. Anaerobic digestion is one example of an area that was not easy to model or expect to deliver, but we will deliver it. It is one of the ways people can actually diversify...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Infrastructure (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: A thriving community renewable energy sector is a key pillar of the Government's climate action and renewable energy strategy. The first two RESS auctions provided pathways and supports for communities to participate in renewable energy projects. Seven community projects were successful in the RESS 1 auction, of which three are now energised. These community projects have been enabled by...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Generation (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: Over a relatively short period of time, this Government has completely reimagined and implemented a new policy, legislative and regulatory system to deliver on our commitment to offshore renewable energy. Our plan-led approach to delivering our offshore wind targets includes a number of overlapping phases. Over 3 GW of capacity has been procured in our first offshore wind auction from phase...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Generation (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I have been at a series of international meetings recently on the issue: in Bilbao, the European offshore wind energy conference; in Bruges, where we had a meeting of the north-west energy ministers on the subject; and in Dublin last week with our Scottish colleagues. In all three locations, I sensed broad consensus from industry, regulators and international experts that Ireland is now well...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Generation (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: We will. We want to see our ports developing as one of the benefits from offshore wind. I expect the likes of Shannon Foynes Port to be centrally involved in the development of that first project on the west coast. I expect the Port of Cork to develop and deliver the project it has planning permission for, which is the development of a 200 m berth of 11 m or so depth, an extension of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Action Plan (27 Jun 2024)

Eamon Ryan: The roadmap for achieving a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is outlined and developed in successive annual climate action plans which set out detailed strategies for delivery across multiple sectors. Our ambitious 2030 target is underpinned by legally binding carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings established under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development...