Results 1-20 of 866 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Ossian Smyth

Dentistry Services: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (22 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I wish to make a clarification. A number of speakers stated that the recruitment embargo affected the recruitment of dentists. It does not affect the recruitment of dentists.

Dentistry Services: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (22 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputies across the House for their contributions to this debate. As the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, has noted, an additional €15 million in core funding since 2019 and 2020 and a further additional €17 million in once-off funding has been supporting the ongoing work to reduce waiting lists and to address access to services through policy implementation. I...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Energy Policy (22 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: These are all reasonable points. The general problem is that Deputy O’Rourke is talking about unease and suspicion from experience he has had anecdotally from people coming to him. Of course, we all make our decisions based on constituents coming to us with issues, but we need more than that to be sure there is a widespread problem or to be sure of what kind of approach we need to...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Energy Policy (22 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this important issue which provides an opportunity to have a debate on heat pumps. The National Heat Study considered potential decarbonisation options for a wide range of dwelling and business types. It found that heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation pathway for domestic heating systems. Heat pumps are now the dominant heating technology for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I am not sure I have the answer to the question at hand. My apologies.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I would like to give the Deputy a proper answer.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I do not think I do.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I will correspond with the Deputy and I am happy to give him a full answer. Does Deputy Ó Murchú want to make a point on the general issue?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: We spent most of our time talking about the climate action plan, the ways to reduce emissions and prevent the worst effects of climate change from happening, and the adaptation plans are what is done when it does happen, and when flooding occurs, how we build the infrastructure to prevent it from happening. There are many questions in this House on flooding. They are answered by the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I agree with everything the Deputy is saying but it is very important these questions are put not just to the Minister for the environment, Deputy Ryan. He is not alone in being responsible for dealing with all of these problems. That is why there are sectoral plans that are allocated to each of the relevant Ministers. For example, there is an agriculture, forestry and seafood plan for the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Ireland's digital connectivity strategy, published by my Department, sets ambitious targets, which include providing a gigabit network to all households and businesses in Ireland by 2028 and access to 5G in all populated areas by 2030, which is high speed and future-proofed. National Broadband Ireland, NBI, is rolling out a broadband network through its contract with the Minister. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The nature of the plan is 100% coverage. The country has been divided into 227 areas. The contractor only gets paid when it connects 100% of premises within that area. In other words, it has to pass fibre past every farm, business and home to get its payment. This is not a scheme that leaves people out. It completes by the end of 2026 and at that point 100% of the premises in the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: There are crews working in every county in Ireland. The plan was devised in such a way that, rather than go from one county or province to the next, the whole county would be worked on at the same time. It is not a case that one county or community is being left out. Naturally, with a seven-year plan, there are people who will be passed in year 7 and they will not be as happy as the people...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Through the first two renewable electricity support scheme, RESS, auctions, my Department has provided pathways and supports for communities to participate in renewable energy projects through the application of a community projects category. Ten community projects were successful in the RESS 2 auction. Of these, eight signed implementation agreements to deliver under the RESS 2 terms and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I start by acknowledging that community energy is really important. It creates a sense of ownership and belonging and the mechanisms that might work in the commercial sector have not worked in the community. The mechanism of auction has not proved appropriate in the community sector. It is because of this that a new scheme is being launched. There was extensive engagement with communities...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I will ask the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to provide that information to the Deputy directly.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I do not imagine it is. I do not know if there is any legal impediment to releasing it. All the Deputy has asked for is the nature of the products - whether they are solar or wind, who the projects are, and what the status is of the eight projects proceeding. I will ask the Minister to provide the Deputy with more details on that. I do not have details of those particular eight projects,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Policy (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The statutory 2018 national adaptation framework, NAF, sets out Ireland's climate adaptation policy. Following my Department's review of the framework I approved the development of a new NAF, and the draft was completed in December 2023. It incorporates key sectoral and stakeholder input, including from the Climate Change Advisory Council. A statutory public consultation was undertaken...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cybersecurity Policy (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: It is not just a matter for the Garda. As our lives go online, criminals go online. We spend more of our time there so it is natural that more crime happens online. That is why the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau is a growing division of the Garda - as so many crimes are reported. During the pandemic, there was a huge increase in the amount of scam texts and calls with people trying to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (14 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Ireland's digital connectivity strategy, published by my Department, sets ambitious targets, which include providing a gigabit network to all households and businesses in Ireland by 2028 and access to 5G in all populated areas by 2030. Through the national broadband plan, all sectors will be provided with the connectivity needed to fully exploit digital opportunities, leading to more...