Results 1,921-1,940 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 776, 777, 816 and 818 together. The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published last Autumn, aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed broadband is available to all of our citizens and businesses. This will be achieved by providing: - a policy and regulatory framework that assists in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Telecommunications Services Provision (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The issue of the use and display of lo-call and other contact numbers in Government Departments is an operational matter for individual Departments themselves and my Department has no overall remit in this regard. My Department provides details on its website, in publications and correspondence on the means by which the Department may be contacted, for the information of all, so that they may...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Offshore Exploration (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 779 and 781 together. ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Ireland (Offshore) Limited is the operator of Frontier Exploration Licence 3/04, and also holds an interest in Frontier Exploration Licence 1/99. Both Frontier Exploration Licences are located in the Porcupine Basin off the Southwest coast. On 22 April 2013 ExxonMobil Exploration and Production...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Wind Energy Generation (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: In January of this year the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Mr. Ed Davey MP and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding on energy cooperation. That Memorandum sent a strong signal of our shared interest in developing the opportunity to export green electricity from Ireland to Britain and will result in completion of consideration of how Irish renewable energy resources,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electrical Contractors (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) is the independent statutory regulator and is tasked with regulating the activities of electrical contractors with respect to safety under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999, as amended by the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2006 (the 2006 Act).The legislative basis for the requirement to which the Deputy refers is contained in the Statutory...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Mobile Telephony Services Provision (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Issues relating to mobile phone charges are, in the first instance a matter for ComReg, the independent regulator for the telecommunications sector.I assume the Deputy's question refers to a publication from the EU Commission's Office in Dublin last month which claimed that Ireland's mobile phone charges were more expensive than charges in certain other Member States. Aggregate costs per...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadcasting Service Provision (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: At a European level, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive provides that Member States may designate sporting and cultural events of major importance to society as free-to-air. At national level, the Broadcasting Act 2009 sets out the statutory process for designating events as free-to-air in this jurisdiction. The recent decision of the Court of Justice, concerning an appeal by UEFA and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Better Energy Homes Scheme Expenditure (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The National Energy Efficiency Action Plan and the Programme for Government include a commitment to roll out a Better Energy Financing (also known as Pay-As-You-Save) retrofit scheme for domestic buildings. The Better Energy Financing (BEF) model proposes that the current suite of Exchequer-funded grants for energy efficiency measures would be replaced by a new financing scheme open to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Road Signage (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The mapping of the six counties of Northern Ireland is carried out by Land & Property Services Northern Ireland and this data is protected by Crown Copyright. Ordnance Survey of Ireland receives the data from Land & Property Services for inclusion in All Ireland Tourism and Leisure maps on their behalf. Ordnance Survey of Ireland has no control over road signage; this would be...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Telecommunications Regulation Issues (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I am not aware of any proposal from DG Competition of the kind suggested in the Deputy’s Question. I can confirm, however, that the European Commission published a proposal last week from Commissioner Kroes for a Single Telecoms Market. While this proposal has implications for the current EU regulatory framework in the telecommunications area, it does not envisage the establishment...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation Targets (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a binding target of 16% of our total energy requirements to come from renewable sources by 2020. In order to achieve this overall target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewable generation by 2020. To date wind energy has been the largest driver of growth in renewable electricity, contributing most towards the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Prices (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Responsibility for the regulation of the retail electricity market is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is an independent statutory body. Prices in the electricity retail market are fully deregulated. Customers can therefore avail of competitive offerings from electricity and gas suppliers. Prices are set by suppliers and are commercial and operational matters for...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 790, 797, 815 and 817 together. The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published last Autumn, aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses, including those in Counties Clare, Kildare and Wicklow. This will be achieved by providing: - a policy...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Advertising Expenditure (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: As with all areas of public expenditure, spending on media advertising is carefully controlled and limited to that necessary for the effective discharge of my Department’s functions. The principal reason for such expenditure is statutory notices that I am required to publish in the case of certain proposed authorisations, which require publication in a local newspaper circulating in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Ministerial Appointments (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: A total of 18 Commercial and Non-Commercial State bodies, including Regulators, are currently under the aegis of my Department. Ordnance Survey Ireland is part of a merger process with the Property Registration Office and the Valuation Office which will see it transfer in time to the Department of Justice and Equality. In addition, the Digital Hub Development Agency is being merged with...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Ministerial Appointments (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 793 and 794 together. There are currently 17 vacancies on State Boards under the aegis of my Department. Six of these vacancies are on the Board of the Digital Hub Development Agency and, in light of the proposed merger of that agency with Dublin City Council, it is not proposed to make further appointments at this time. The 17 vacancies are for ordinary...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Generation Issues (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 795 and 796 together. The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a binding target whereby 16% of our energy requirements should come from renewable sources by 2020. In order to meet our overall 16% requirement, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewable sources. In 2012, 5,254.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Public Broadcasting Charge Introduction (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The Programme for Government commits to examining the role and collection of the TV licence fee in light of existing and projected convergence of technologies and to transforming the TV licence into a household based Public Broadcasting Charge to be applied to all eligible households and applicable businesses, regardless of the device used to access content or services.In line with this...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Internet Safety Issues (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 799 and 826 together. The protection of children insofar as this issue is concerned is paramount and there are a number of initiatives already in place in this respect, notably through the Department of Education’s resources and support for parents and children as well as the various initiatives carried out by the Office for Internet Safety. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Public Broadcasting Charge Introduction (18 Sep 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The legislative provisions governing the Television Licence system in Ireland are set out in Part 9 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. The current system stipulates that, except for certain classes of social welfare recipients, if you own a television set in Ireland you are liable to pay a television licence. Revenue derived from the licence fee is used to fund public service broadcasting in the...