Results 1,621-1,640 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Expenditure (5 Nov 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: There is no partial year monetary effect on my Department's expenditure arising from Budget 2014. The full year reduction over the 2013 Estimate amounts to €14.566 million with €9.566 million current savings and €5 million capital savings identified. The following tables outline the current and capital expenditure Budget 2014 allocations. Current Area of Expenditure...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (5 Nov 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 633 to 636, inclusive, together. Insofar as the share capital of ESB is concerned, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform holds 85% capital stock in the company, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources holds 10% and the ESB's current and former employees hold 5% through the Employee Share Ownership Plan. The manner in which the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Transmission Network (5 Nov 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), the independent National Regulatory Authority for energy. The CER was assigned responsibility for the regulation of the Irish electricity sector following the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999 and subsequent legislation. The CER's responsibilities...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Transmission Network (5 Nov 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I have no function in this matter. Responsibility for the regulation of the electricity market is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) which is an independent regulator. The CER was assigned responsibility for the regulation of the Irish electricity sector following the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999 and subsequent legislation. Since April 2011 prices...

Other Questions: Telecommunications Services Provision (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Deputy Durkan is correct about the lack of uniformity of the service throughout the country. Unfortunately, that lack of uniformity is in every country with a rural population. We have the least densely populous rural demographics in the EU. That is not an excuse for creating a new digital divide in the country. We must do our utmost so that even where it is not commercial for the private...

Other Questions: Telecommunications Services Provision (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Considerable progress has been made in recent years in both the coverage of mobile telephone and broadband services across Ireland, with a multiplicity of commercial operators providing services over a diverse range of technology platforms. ComReg advises that voice coverage is at 99% of the country. The Government has also undertaken a number of initiatives to bring broadband to those...

Other Questions: Broadband Services Provision (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I thought we were due to finish at this stage.

Other Questions: Broadband Services Provision (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I am confused.

Other Questions: Broadband Services Provision (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I did not know that.

Other Questions: Broadband Services Provision (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: You are lucky we had not gone, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Other Questions: Biofuel Obligation Scheme Targets (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 148 together. The 2009 renewable energy directive sets all member states a binding target that 10% of the energy used in the transport sector must come from renewable sources by 2020. The directive also requires that all bio-fuels used to meet the 10% target must comply with certain sustainability criteria. Specifically, they must not be made from...

Other Questions: Biofuel Obligation Scheme Targets (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Either the Deputy is incorrect, or my advice and my direct knowledge is incorrect. This is the first I have heard about 27 Commissioners signing off on a 5% cap. I suggest it never happened. If it happened while I was president of the Council, nobody told me about it. Rather than agreeing to a 5% cap, some of the countries mentioned by the Deputy were quite opposed to the line I was...

Other Questions: Biofuel Obligation Scheme Targets (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: No, I am afraid that is not the case at all. The Deputy is misinformed. After I met representatives of non-governmental organisations during the Irish Presidency, I undertook to submit their arguments into the debate in Europe. I have to inform the Deputy that when I did so, the arguments in question received a very cold reception from some states. If I thought that a blocking minority...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Postcode System Establishment (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I welcome Deputy Colreavy's support for the implementation of a postcode. The fact we did not do so in previous decades means we now have the benefit of technology which was not there previously. This unique identifier will be at the leading edge in that regard. The precious local address will not be interfered with. There will be a new line at the bottom of the envelope, so whatever the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Postcode System Establishment (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The cost of the contract over ten years is €25 million. The two big elements of that are the cost of accessing the GeoDirectory data and the cost of upgrading departmental databases, so that they can exploit the new post code system. Some €8.27 million will be paid to the GeoDirectory. That is money which comes back to the State as the GeoDirectory is a State organisation...

Other Questions: Broadband Services Provision (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I launched the first phase of the Government's national digital strategy in July this year. The aim of the strategy is to significantly increase the levels of digital adoption in Ireland. It sets out key objectives across three different strands, namely, trading online and entrepreneurship; citizen engagement, and education and e-learning. My Department has worked closely with...

Other Questions: Broadband Services Provision (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with Deputy Moynihan that we ought not to allow a new divide to arise in the country - this time a digital divide - between parts of the rural population and urban Ireland in terms of the services available there. The basic training programme to which I referred is an attempt, in part, to address that but Deputy Moynihan raises the more fundamental question about the availability of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Electronic Payments (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with Deputy Moynihan. There is no point in us putting our finger in the dyke. The digital economy is here. The trend towards electronic funds transfer and electronic commerce transactions generally is well under way and if we are to stay competitive, we must ensure we can compete in this space. We have a unique rate of retail outlets in Ireland in terms of our population. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Electronic Payments (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I take on board what the Deputy is saying. The evidence would appear to be, for example, that where a post office has been refurbished and modernised and has the latest technology, it attracts new business. Deputy Moynihan will know that some of the older offices he has spoken about have been run down, and the trickle of business is limited enough. I know the kind of constituency the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Postcode System Establishment (24 Oct 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland is the only country in the EU and OECD that does not have a national postcode, and this Government is strongly committed to introducing a national postcode system. Such a system will be a vital part of the national infrastructure. On 8 October 2013, I obtained Government approval for the launch of a new national postcode system that will provide a unique seven character code to...