Results 1-20 of 74 for 5 million speaker:Ossian Smyth

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Emergency Measures) Domestic Accounts Bill 2024: Second Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Ossian Smyth: ...bills, following the success of the previous electricity costs emergency benefit schemes in 2022 and 2023. The electricity costs emergency benefit scheme IV, will see two payments of €125 made to approximately 2.2 million domestic electricity accounts between November and February. Following successes of the previous schemes, this scheme continues to use low electricity usage...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Emergency Measures) Domestic Accounts Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (10 Oct 2024)

Ossian Smyth: ...as is practical after receiving the request, this provides the flexibility required for dealing with requests. It is proposed to reject these amendments and in relation to the proposed section 6(5)(b), the Deputy proposes to provide an extended 60 day for a review decision to be referred to the CRU. The Bill has provided 28 days for this referral. The scheme will end on 31 August...

Electricity Costs (Emergency Measures) Domestic Accounts Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Oct 2024)

Ossian Smyth: ...", which is what the legislation states, after receipt of the request provides the flexibility required for dealing with requests. It is proposed to reject the amendments. Under section 6(5)(b) proposed by the amendment, the Deputy seeks to provide an extended 60-day period for a review decision to be referred to the CRU. The Bill has provided 28 days for this referral. The scheme...

Electricity Costs (Emergency Measures) Domestic Accounts Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Oct 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The impact of the sharp rise in energy costs experienced in 2022 is still being felt. Households are paying on average 59% more for their electricity, and 90% more for their gas, than they were pre-crisis. This is despite the multiple rounds of price reductions announced by suppliers since 2023. Households are still in need of support...

Seanad: Offshore Renewable Energy: Motion (9 Oct 2024)

Ossian Smyth: ...located locally. We expect that there will be hundreds of jobs in Waterford and Wexford as a result of this DMAP, which is something to be celebrated and welcomed.Senator Byrne asked whether the 5 GW target for 2030 is realistic; it is. The first 3 GW have already been contracted. We also have other targets, such as 8 GW of solar, which we are definitely going to reach. This is our...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Environmental Policy (27 Jun 2024)

Ossian Smyth: ...As a result of new national determinations on end of waste that have come from the EPA, we will save roughly half of our soil and clay construction waste, which will be recycled. That is roughly 5 million tonnes this year. I am looking to change the exemptions on land filling, which should also help. We are making progress in all of those areas. I turn to Deputy Durkan's question...

Seanad: Waste Management: Statements (22 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: ...hot water to heat homes in the area. At the moment, we have approximately 41% of our municipal waste being incinerated, approximately 16% being landfilled, approximately 26% being recycled and 15% being composted or anaerobically digested There is a mix of things there. Generally, there are EU targets on recycling. It is considered to be a better thing to do than incineration, which is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The Senator is right to say the amount of money IFFPG has is the total amount of levies paid in by producers. For the 5% that did not come back, those levies are still in the account. That money is unclaimed. It is unlikely we will reach 100% recycling. That is not the target IFFPG is operating to. When we look at other waste streams in society, we are not achieving 100% anywhere else....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Childcare Services (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: ...last summer estimated that 14,088 children were enrolled in early learning and childcare in Galway. This represents an 8% increase from 13,047 in the previous year. The data also indicated that 50% of services had waiting lists and 50% had at least one vacant place. This year's annual early years sector profile will commence in May and will provide an updated picture of the capacity in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Recycling Policy (7 Mar 2024)

Ossian Smyth: As regards the number of cans and bottles that have been brought back, it is 1.8 million plastic bottles and 2 million cans. That is double what it was a few days ago, which shows the rate of increase. The Deputy asked how it works for people who are already putting bottles and cans into the recycle bin in their kitchen and the objective of the whole plan. The problem is that although...

Capital Supply Service and Purpose Report Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members] (29 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: ...Waterford Walls project, the beautiful streets and the medieval buildings that we can only dream of having in Dublin city. It is fantastic. My Department has had the pleasure of contributing €5 million to the quantum research endeavours under way in the South East Technological University, SETU. I do not know if the Deputy is aware that Waterford is at the forefront of quantum...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Emergency Measures) Domestic Accounts Bill 2023: Second Stage (8 Nov 2023)

Ossian Smyth: ...two electricity costs emergency benefit schemes, in 2022 and 2023. The electricity costs emergency benefit scheme III will see three payments of €137.61, excluding VAT, made to approximately 2.2 million domestic electricity accounts between December and April. Following a review of the previous schemes, this scheme will introduce a low-electricity-usage threshold to ensure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: The Circular Economy: Discussion (4 Oct 2023)

Ossian Smyth: ...whether it could be involved in a centre of excellence. I have dealt with SETU in a very positive way. Its representatives came to me with a proposal for funding for quantum computing. It got €5 million from Europe and we matched that with another €5 million. SETU is now a centre of excellence for quantum computing and networking in Ireland. I was very impressed by the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (28 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy. He referred to a sum of €150 million being transferred. The total amount of money transferred over three years was just over €5 million. I am not sure where the figure of €150 million is coming from. I wonder if he is looking at a different table. We are talking about-----

Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023: Second Stage (21 Sep 2023)

Ossian Smyth: ...late. Although Deputy Bruton pointed out that €1.6 billion in energy credits were paid out over the last 18 months, that is in fact only a fraction of what was paid out. I calculate that approximately €5 billion was paid out to consumers over the last two years in electricity and energy supports. How will the money that is raised from this windfall levy be spent? It is...

Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Temporary Solidarity Contribution) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (5 Jul 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputies for these amendments. This Bill provides for a surcharge to be applied to overdue payments. The surcharges currently provided in this Bill are a 5% surcharge on returns not delivered between three and six months of the specified date, and a 10% surcharge on returns delivered within six months of the specified date. These surcharge percentages and timeframes are...

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Mar 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I do not want to misquote the Senator, but what we do in Ireland is important for the planet.It is not that I think this but that I know it. There are only 5 million of us in Ireland, but we have a much higher usage per capitathan the average use in the world. If every community of 5 million people globally took this attitude, if every city in China of 5 million people said "we are just 5...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (28 Feb 2023)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy. The community climate action programme will see more than €60 million from the climate action fund invested in supporting communities to run direct climate action projects and initiatives under strand 1 as well as capacity building under strand 2 of the programme. The 18 projects selected for funding under strand 2 of the programme are currently moving to...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Bord na Móna (23 Feb 2023)

Ossian Smyth: ...approximately two thirds of Ireland's carbon stock. The peatland rehabilitation measures set out in the Climate Action Plan 2023 provide for the rehabilitation of 33,000 ha of Bord na Móna peatlands by 2025 and will contribute significantly to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions for the land use sector. The commitment by the company to formally cease harvesting peat has...