Results 301-320 of 1,981 for speaker:Conor Lenihan

Written Answers — Offshore Exploration: Offshore Exploration (20 Apr 2010)

Conor Lenihan: Licensing Option (No. 08/2) was granted to Providence Resources plc and Star Energy Oil and Gas Ltd over 959 square kilometres in the Kish Bank Basin for 3 years from 18 August 2008 to 17 August 2011. A Licensing Option gives the holder the first right, exercisable at any time during the period of the Option, to a Petroleum Exploration Licence over all or part of the area covered by the...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (31 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: The Sustainable Energy Act 2002 provided for the establishment of "Sustainable Energy Ireland – The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland". The renaming of Sustainable Energy Ireland as the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) in the context of recent launch of the Authority's new five year strategy for the period 2010-2015, fully respects for the first time the body's...

Written Answers — Energy Resources: Energy Resources (31 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: Lough Allen is situated in the North West Carboniferous Basin and has been subject to a number of petroleum exploration authorisations. Six exploration wells have been drilled in the area since 1963 and while some natural gas potential was identified, it was not deemed to be commercially viable. The area is currently unlicensed for petroleum exploration. In recent months, there has been...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: I thank the Senator for his positive support. I reassure Senator Walsh that there is no question of decommissioning and leaving facilities in situ if they are at variance with our environmental legislation. We have to deal with the safety plans as well. I take on board what he is saying with a certain degree of scepticism. I deal with fish farms under my own brief, and there is a problem...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: The core objective of these amendments, together with a number of further amendments that I will also be discussing today, is to provide the maximum level of clarity for everyone with an interest in the development of the new safety regulatory framework. The primary purpose of the Bill is to establish a national risk assessment safety framework based on international best practice, as...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: The Commission for Energy Regulation will be as open as any other State body in respect of the safety framework documents. Clearly, the safety plans are another matter. They are not published internationally, because they involve commercially sensitive operational information.

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: In so far as possible, of course we would like to reassure the public on the safety of these issues.

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: There was some debate on Committee Stage and Report Stage in the Dáil as to which bodies would be specified for the various consultation processes required by the Bill, such as the designation of petroleum activities, the establishment of the safety framework and the safety case guidelines. These amendments have two purposes. First, they clarify further which bodies should be consulted...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: No doubt mistakes were made on a number of fronts in respect of the Corrib pipeline. The public discussion on the safety frameworks will involve public consultation to the maximum extent. Local interest groups can also be represented at the oral hearing stages of An Bord Pleanála. The Commission for Energy Regulation will be present at those to fulfil the democratic mandate and answer the...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: The Commission for Energy Regulation is being conferred with a number of functions under this Bill. The intention of these amendments is to clarify that the core objective of these functions is to protect the public by fostering and encouraging safety where undertakings are carrying out designated petroleum activities.

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: The aim of these amendments is also to increase the clarity of the intention of the Bill in the context of the formal consultation process associated with the establishment of the petroleum framework. This amendment provides that codes of practice and technical standards used in setting the minimum safety benchmark to be achieved by developers will be specified in the safety framework. The...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: I am sure the Senator has.

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: I am certainly not going to characterise people involved in the Shell to Sea campaign as all being angels of some kind, as depicted by Senator Norris. I think I will leave my response at that.

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: The desire to provide for an appropriate level of public consultation in this Bill has been a common theme of the debate both here and in the Dáil. Having listened carefully to the views expressed by Members, I have proposed amending the Bill explicitly to require a formal public consultation process to be carried out by the commission when it is establishing the safety framework. While...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: I thank Members for their support.

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: This amendment also has its origins in the Dáil during the debate on Committee Stage with regard to the appropriate timeframe for the introduction of the new petroleum safety framework. Having listened to the views of Deputies, and in the interests of ensuring the framework will be introduced without undue delay, I am proposing to reduce the timeframe by which the Minister may give a...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: This amendment is in the interests of endeavouring to establish as clearly as possible what the Bill is to achieve. The purpose of the amendment is to set out clearly that while petroleum undertakings are to be subject to a number of obligations under this legislation, the principal duty of a petroleum undertaking would be to ensure that petroleum activities are carried out in a manner that...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: These amendments also arise out of the debate on the Bill during its passage through the Dáil. On Committee Stage, I introduced the amendments aimed at removing any ambiguity from the transitional nature of "established petroleum activity". Established petroleum activity is a petroleum activity being carried out by an undertaking at the time this Bill becomes law. The purpose of this...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: I thank Members for their support and their suggestion that tight timeframes be imposed on State bodies. State bodies include regulators, and that is why the Taoiseach met all the State's regulators in Farmleigh recently to discuss the need for better and speedier regulation. In addition, some regulators - I do not want to single out the Commission for Energy Regulation in this regard -...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (30 Mar 2010)

Conor Lenihan: ): I thank everybody for their constructive suggestions as the Bill made its way through both Houses.