Results 18,741-18,760 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Legislative Measures (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Telecommunications service providers are regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), which operates independently of my Department.  The telecommunications regulatory framework, which ComReg implements, requires each telecommunications services provider to establish and operate a code of practice, including requirements for complaint handling and means of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Pollution (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: From 1 September 2020, I established 13 new Low Smoke Zones (LSZs). The effect of this latest important step is that all Irish towns with populations in excess of 10,000 are now LSZs within which the marketing, sale and distribution of bituminous coal is prohibited. This will have a positive impact in terms of reducing particulate matter and sulphur dioxide levels in the areas selected,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Quality (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I am aware of the findings of this report.  As part of the ongoing work to reduce overall levels of nitrogen dioxide (NOx)  in certain areas, my Department has been working on a number of measures. Firstly, implementation of the Climate Action Plan 2019 will help ameliorate transport-related NOx, and also Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compound (NMVOC),...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Climate Action Plan (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: The first call for  applications for Climate Action Fund support was launched in 2018 with applications being accepted between 17 September 2018 and 1 October 2018. The application form, available at this link - - sets out a range of information relevant to an application, including the types of projects eligible for support, the mandatory requirements, the terms and conditions, and the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Air Pollution (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: The Programme for Government commits to extending the "smoky" coal ban to new towns and, over the term of Government, move towards a full nationwide ban. As the full nationwide ban is not yet in place, it will remain legal to sell, market, distribute and burn bituminous coal in areas outside of Low Smoke Zones after 31 December 2020, and to import such coal from Northern Ireland or...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: EU Legislation (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: My Department launched the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy on 4 September 2020. The new plan contains a specific chapter on plastics and packaging waste, which outlines a number of measures to achieve optimum results in this area. The action plan confirms that we will work with packaging suppliers to ensure they play their part in reducing primary, secondary and tertiary...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Services (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: As the Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. However, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The Road Safety Authority (RSA) monitors compliance with and enforces driver hours' legislation and I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the RSA for attention. I have also forwarded...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Services (1 Oct 2020)

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 BusConnects. Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for their consideration...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Airport Policy (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 80 to 82, inclusive, together. With regard to the Deputy's question on the status of European proposals for a tax on aviation fuel the EU’s Green Deal outlines a number of policy reforms that will deliver on the ambition of making the EU climate neutral by 2050. As part of the Green Deal Package, the European Commission is proposing to revise the Energy...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Licences (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Licences for vehicles to be used as small public service vehicles (SPSVs) - including licences for taxi, hackney and limousine vehicles - are issued and renewed by the National Transport Authority (NTA), which is the independent regulator for the SPSV industry under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013.  I am not aware of changes by the NTA in...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Policy (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I note that the same question was asked of the Minister for Health in May, and he had no plans at the time. I am not aware of any change in that position. My Department also has no plans for use of dogs in the detection of Covid-19 in Airports and Ports. Under the plan for living with Covid-19, it is proposed that Ireland will broadly support consideration of the European Commission...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: As the Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. However, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The issue raised is an operational matter for Iarnród Éireann and I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the company for direct reply. I ask the Deputy to...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Licences (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: It is not my intention at this time to further extend the validity of driving licences. The existing extension of 7 months for licences that expired between March and August will ease the pressure on the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS), free up appointment slots and make it easier to find those slots at local centres. The extension brings Irish national law in line with EU...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Test (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: The Driver Theory Testing Service, in line with many other state agencies, has seen an increased demand for its services since resuming operations following its temporary closure due to the COVID emergency. In addition to this, the service saw its capacity reduced by 50% to comply with occupational and public health requirements. Inevitably, there is now a backlog of theory tests. The...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Correspondence (1 Oct 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Both the National Transport Authority (NTA) and my Department have been engaging directly with commercial bus operators to help inform policy decisions in relation to the public transport sector as we continue to deal with the impact of Covid-19.   From the Department's engagement with industry representatives and indeed from the NTA's regular...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electric Vehicles (30 Sep 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 38 together. The Government is fully committed to supporting an expansion and modernisation of the electric vehicle charging network which stays ahead of demand over the coming years. There are currently circa 650 standard public charge points and over 100 fast charge stations (the majority of which are operated by the ESB) in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (30 Sep 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Adelaide Street, Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin is located in the BLUE area on the NBP High Speed Broadband Map which is available on my Department's website at . BLUE areas were not included in the State intervention area covered by the National Broadband Plan as commercial operators were either providing high speed broadband or had indicated future plans to do so. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (30 Sep 2020)

Eamon Ryan: The National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led Intervention will be delivered by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) under a contract signed last November to roll out a high speed and future proofed broadband network within the Intervention Area which covers 1.1 million people living and working in the nearly 540,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with 695...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Expenditure (30 Sep 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 43 together. My Department is provided with a media monitoring service by Mediawatch Ltd., trading as Kantar. A collation of news coverage (both online and print) which is relevant to the Department’s remit and associated industries/stakeholders is received twice daily (morning and evening). In addition, two emails per day are received with...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Expenditure (30 Sep 2020)

Eamon Ryan: A detailed breakdown of expenditure by my Department on online media publications since May 2020 to date is set out in the table below.  Delivery of hard copy newspapers to my Department's HQ in Adelaide Road was cancelled in March of this year. Publication Type Amount Politico Pro – 1 Year Subscription Online ...