Results 1-20 of 46 for peat speaker:Leo Varadkar

Did you mean: pat speaker:267?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reports (7 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and, of course, it can be fuelled by biogas, which is a sustainable form of gas. Another company is turning the old peat-powered power station infrastructure in Shannonbridge to battery storage, so we can store excess wind energy when we have it and put it back into the grid. When it comes to beef, it is not necessarily about increasing production. We are seeing herd stabilisation...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: ...is why keeping Derrybrien online is not particularly useful in terms of the energy crunch we face. Lanesborough and Shannonbridge created a lot of employment in the midlands for a long time but peat, by its nature, did not produce an awful lot of energy.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Energy Prices (7 Apr 2022)

Leo Varadkar: My understanding of the operation of the PSO levy is that it is there to subsidise renewable energy and energy produced from peat. Given that the price of producing energy is now so high, it is no longer necessary. That is why it will be got rid of or become a negative levy towards the end of the year. I do not know how the timing of that works. I would have to talk to the Minister,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Energy Prices (29 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: ...the urgency of diversifying Ireland’s sources of energy supply to ensure energy security and competitiveness of enterprises operating in Ireland, which is heavily reliant on imported energy (oil, gas, coal, and peat). In particular, the dominance of gas is a risk to both the physical security of supply and in terms of exposure to price variation. The NCPC also emphasised that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: ...store wind power either in the form of a battery or as hydrogen. Some of the plants in the midlands that the Deputy mentioned will be transformed into battery storage hubs as they move away from peat to battery power. The solution to the problem with wind whereby it cannot be stored or dispatched is hydrogen. When the wind is blowing and we do not have a demand for energy, we can turn...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: ...were decisions by An Bord Pleanála and the courts. What the ESB wanted to do and what the Government wanted it to do was to convert those stations to biomass, such that they would use a mix of peat and biomass and then biomass into the future, which would be a dispatchable form of renewable energy but, unfortunately, for environmental reasons that was shot down by An Bord...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: ...will avoid blackouts and brownouts this winter, but nobody can guarantee it for certain because there are certain factors that are outside of our control. It is important to point out that the peat power stations in the midlands were not closed as a consequence of a Government decision, and nor were they closed at the behest of the Green Party. They were closed because of planning and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: ...good package to retire or become redundant but the payroll loss to the town or community can have a huge impact, so we need to see it in the round. Bord na Móna no longer has a licence to harvest peat. That has stopped and the Deputy knows why that is. That could impact on the horticulture industry and mushroom growers and we are looking for affordable alternatives for those...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (10 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: ...now that more people are at home. The difficulty is that this is not just because of smoky coal. A large and growing part of it is down to people burning other solid fuels, such as wood, turf and peat briquettes. In respect of their impact on air quality, those fuels are just as bad and arguably worse, but we have decided not to ban the sale or burning of wood, turf or peat briquettes...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: ...in the midlands. That is why the Government is committed to a just transition and why we have dedicated significant funding to the workers, companies and communities affected by the closure of the peat-fired stations and the end of peat harvesting by Bord na Móna. This will ensure significant job retention in Bord na Móna, as well as job creation efforts and new business...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: ...Deputy, with the agreement of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. The Deputy asked the very good question of whether I can give hope to the people in the regions who will be affected by the closure of the peat power stations. The answer is "Yes" and I can. This is the first big test of just transition for our country which, over the next couple of years, will get out of burning peat. It is the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Biotechnology Industry (3 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: ...in public transport. Deputies will be aware that in recent days I announced a €1 billion five-year investment in our railways. In many towns, smoky fuels are responsible for poor air quality. We know that smoky coal, peat and wood are equally bad when it comes to damaging air quality. This issue, on which I answered a question from Deputy Martin earlier, needs to be looked at in...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: ...committee on the environment. We acknowledge that poor air quality has a severe impact on people's health. We are keen to act on this issue, and things have changed since the 1990s. We now know that peat briquettes and wood are as bad for air quality as smoky coal. Switching from smoky coal to those other solid fuels does nothing for air quality. There is also a serious risk of a...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Action Plan (19 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In Enniscorthy, for example, the problem is largely due to peat and briquettes-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Action Plan (19 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: People who know Enniscorthy well will know that it has much more to do with peat and briquettes than with smoky coal.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Action Plan (19 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: If we were to ban smoky coal and people changed to peat or briquettes, it would make the air quality worse.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Action Plan (19 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----from coal to peat or briquettes will make the air quality worse.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Action Plan (19 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: ...not, and cannot be, just about individual action. It has to be Government led. Individual action cannot change our energy systems. Only governments can do that. We have announced we will take peat out of the system in 2023, much earlier than planned. Coal will come off the grid in 2025 and there is now major investment in renewables, rising from 30% now to 70% by the end of the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: If the Deputy would give me 30 seconds at least I will come to answer his question. In the past couple of weeks, a decision was taken to take peat off our electricity grid, many years earlier than originally intended. It is not an easy decision for the midlands and is a big test of the just transition. It was a difficult and right decision taken by Government and State agencies. A total...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (5 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Air quality in such areas is hugely related to the burning of peat and briquettes. In Dublin, it is largely due to diesel cars.