Results 17,441-17,460 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Licences (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: The regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry, including SPSV licensing, is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013. Accordingly, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply to you. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within 10 working days.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Electric Vehicles (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: As the Deputy may be aware, electric scooters are a type of powered personal transporter (PPT). PPTs are classed as mechanically propelled vehicles, the use of which requires a valid licence, tax and appropriate insurance in accordance with Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1961. As PPTs do not fall under any existing vehicle category, it is not currently possible to tax and insure them and...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid-19 Pandemic (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Statistics on passengers arriving into Ireland through State Airports by country of departure are compiled on a weekly basis. Statistics on the countries of departure and number of passengers arriving into the State Airports from overseas destinations from the 26ThOctober – 6thDecember 2020 inclusive are set out in the tables below. Transfer passengers are not included in the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Search and Rescue Service Provision (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Aerossurance Ltd were appointed by my Department, following an open procurement process, as an aviation consultancy for the Irish Coast Guard (IRCG). Their services include the provision of advice in connection with the Search and Rescue helicopter contract and related matters including future projects, contractual compliance and assistance in tender assessment. In that context and in...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: My thanks to you, Chairman, and the members of the select committee for facilitating the urgent discussion on these two important international agreements that I signed with Denmark and Estonia last week. Ireland committed to achieving our 2009 renewable energy directive target of meeting 16% of energy demand from renewable sources by the end of 2020. While good progress has been made to...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Deputy that this agreement is unfortunate and we must ensure it does not happen again, as best we can. I refer to investing in our own country and ensuring that we meet our targets. The Deputy is also absolutely right that the marine planning and development management Bill is critical legislation in that regard, because we have potential in offshore wind to deliver. I...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Deputy Bruton's work in those 18 months was of huge importance. We had an Oireachtas joint committee which worked collectively before. This was backed up by an approach from the then Minister, Deputy Bruton, which put much of the thinking into the 2019 climate action plan that he devised. His previous experience with the jobs action plan and in different Departments also went into it. As...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: It is not finalised yet but one of the areas I expect us to signify with respect to the need to invest in our ports would be an example of the projects we might indicate in the national development plan as a signal to the market that we are going in this direction.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I do not know if my officials are allowed in, but I will invite them to speak if that is possible because they were involved in the negotiations. My understanding is that there were not many countries where there were potential bidders and there was a limited volume available so that may have been a factor. I will ask Mr. Confrey to come in on that.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: The reason for that, as I understand it, is that we are not yet at the end of the year and we will not know our final year figure until next year. There may need to be a balancing of a much smaller volume, of the order of €4 million or €5 million. It could be more or less: it is hard to know until we get the statistical analysis as to what the final outcome is this year. That...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: The retrofitting of 50,000 houses is probably going to be one of the most complex targets because we are talking about 50,000 families and 50,000 different types of house. Sometimes it is easier to do one big project than 50,000 individual ones. They are not small projects. We are talking about deep retrofitting. The cost is not insignificant at between €30,000 and €50,000 a...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I have assurances from the Danish and Estonian ambassadors - I have no reason to doubt them - that this money will be going into specific projects, including renewable electricity generation projects that will contribute to the decarbonisation we need as a matter of emergency. I have faith in that because I have faith in our European system. It is something we committed to under the...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I do not see the State having any restrictions in respect of CETA which will constrain the policy decisions we need to make.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I do not see where that would come from and how it would be successful.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: It has been in operation for three years. The former Minister, Deputy Bruton, has left now, but he might have been able to comment on whether CETA impinged on his portfolio or came across his desk when he was in office in respect of being a restriction on any investment or policy decisions. I have not seen it mentioned once in any consideration of any energy policy decisions so far. If I...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I thank Deputy O'Rourke, and he is right that this is a fine. It is a structure, as I said, which has been designed to be a deterrent and a way of enforcing the targets so that people have something to fear and avoid. That is the reason we would aim for it. The Deputy is right. With those added complications the fine does not just go into a bunker, so to speak. It is deployed in a way...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I might ask my official, Eamonn Confrey, to answer the first question.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Renewable Energy Directive: Motions (15 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: With regard to the renewable energy sources, RES, auctions, the RES auction just completed this year sets us on the path to meeting the 2030 target. This is the first important thing to recognise. The large number of solar projects that bid in was also significant. The role of the auctions has impacted the development of a variety of things including the critical constraints around grid,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Environmental Schemes (10 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Deputy Calleary is absolutely right about the need for this to be something from the bottom up that is community led. I could not agree with him more and Ballina would be a fine town to lead that. There are very few towns in Europe that have salmon jumping upriver in the town centre in the dramatic way that can be seen in Ballina, which is such a beautiful town. I will give the Deputy a...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Environmental Schemes (10 Dec 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I thank the Deputy for raising this topic. The programme for Government sets out our ambition to more than halve our carbon emissions over the course of the decade. The action we take in the coming years will be critical in order to address the climate crisis which renders our current economic model redundant and threatens our safe future on this planet. In order to deliver on our expanded...