Results 381-400 of 5,768 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The cost to the State of delivering the Metropolitan Area Networks or MANs Programme is in the region of €176 million. The Programme was eligible for co-funding of 40% to 50% under the European Regional Development Fund. Phase I of the MANs programme delivered optical fibre based networks to twenty eight towns and cities around the country. The total capital cost of Phase I of the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 16 together. The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published in August 2012, 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 County Donegal. This will be achieved by providing: - a policy and regulatory framework that...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Resources (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The overarching objective of the Government's energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. Ireland is currently heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels to meet our energy needs. While it is acknowledged that fossil fuels will remain part of the energy mix for some time to come, progress is being made towards increasing the share...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewable Energy Exports (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: In January of 2013 the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Mr. Edward Davey M.P. and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding on energy cooperation. That Memorandum sent a strong signal of our shared interest in exploring the opportunity to export green electricity from Ireland to Britain and resulted in consideration over the last fifteen months of how Irish renewable energy...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Mobile Telephony (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The regulation of retail charges for roaming services is implemented by way of EU Regulations which limit the maximum retail prices for retail roaming services within the European Union. The first such EU Regulation commenced in 2007. Two further EU Regulations were introduced in 2010 and 2012 to further reduce the maximum permitted retail roaming charges within the EU and to increase...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadcasting Legislation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 21, 33 and 36 together. There are a range of legislative proposals currently under consideration in my Department which will require amendment of the Broadcasting Act 2009. The Programme for Government commits to examining the role and collection of the TV Licence fee and to the introduction of a household based Public Service Broadcasting Charge, to be...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Speeds (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The broadband service contracted under National Broadband Scheme (NBS) is a basic, affordable, scalable product in keeping with EU State Aid clearance for the Scheme in September 2007. Under the terms of the contract which my Department has in place with Hutchison 3G Ireland Ltd (trading as “3”), the NBS broadband service has been available to all premises within the designated...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Regulation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Supervision of the Gate process is vested in the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). The Gate process has been designed by the CER specifically to meet Ireland’s national renewable target of 40% of electricity supplied from renewable sources by 2020. It is estimated that around 4,000 MW of renewable generation will be required to meet this target. At the end of 2013 there was over...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electric Vehicle Grants (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: In April 2011, I opened the Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme to incentivise and support, through grants of up to €5,000, the early deployment of electric vehicles in Ireland. These grants are in addition to the VRT reliefs of up to €5,000 which apply to electric vehicles. This support scheme will remain open for this year and I have no plans, at this stage, to introduce any new...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 27 together. Any consents and permissions required for the landing of this cable are a matter for the Company, the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and the Local Authority. I have no function in that regard. My Department has secured State Aid approval to bring the telecommunications ducts laid alongside the Galway-Mayo gas...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: EU Directives (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29 and 299 together. The requirement for technological neutrality within the EU telecommunications market is established by Article 8 of “Directive 2002/21/EC of 7 March 2002 on a Common Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications Networks and Services”. This provision reflects the growing convergence of technologies, products and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadcasting Sector Regulation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Broadcasting Act 2009 provides for the establishment of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) as the independent regulator responsible for the oversight of compliance in relation to broadcast content in the State. One of the objectives of the Authority, set out in Section 25(b) is to ensure “that the democratic values enshrined in the Constitution, especially those relating...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Transmission Network (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I refer to the reply to Priority Question No. 5 on today's order paper.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Prices (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: Currently, a number of supports are available for micro generation for domestic and commercial consumers. As regards domestic customers, Electric Ireland has been offering a micro generation feed in tariff since February 2009. To date no other electricity supplier has chosen to provide such a tariff, to either domestic or commercial customers, though they have been invited by the Commission...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: ComReg Investigations (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) is the statutory body responsible for the management of spectrum in Ireland. Comreg is independent in the exercise of its functions and is accountable directly to the Oireachtas in accordance with Section 34 of the Communications Regulation Act 2002. The investigation of any alleged unlicensed radio transmissions including any...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published in August 2012, aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses. This will be achieved by providing: - a policy and regulatory framework that assists in accelerating and incentivising commercial investment, and - a State-led...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Public Broadcasting Charge Introduction (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The Programme for Government commits 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. It also commits to reviewing new ways of TV licence collection, including the possibility of paying in instalments through another utility bill...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: The broadband service contracted under National Broadband Scheme (NBS) is a basic, affordable, scalable product in keeping with EU State Aid clearance for the Scheme in September 2007. Under the terms of the contract which my Department has in place with Hutchison 3G Ireland Ltd (trading as “3”), the NBS broadband service has been available to all premises within the designated...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Postcode Implementation (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: On the 8th October 2013, I announced that the Government had approved, subject to contract, the rollout of a new national postcode system that will provide a unique seven character code to every letter-box in the State in 2015.Capita Business Support Service Ireland Limited will operate the postcode under license for an initial ten year period extendable at the discretion of the Minister for...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (11 Mar 2014)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 296, 309, 310, 314, 315, 318 and 328 together. The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published in August 2012, 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 Offaly, Mayo, Laois and Westmeath. This will be achieved by...