Results 661-680 of 5,764 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (19 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 201 and 202 together. Ireland’s telecommunications market has been fully liberalised since 1999 in accordance with the requirements of binding EU Directives. The market has since developed into a well-regulated market, supporting a multiplicity of commercial operators, providing services over a diverse range of technology platforms. Details of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Bord Gáis Privatisation (19 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The members of the consortium which has recently been selected as the preferred bidder in the transaction process on the sale of Bord Gáís Energy, comprising Brookfield, Centrica and iCon, are international strategic investors that will bring significant industry experience and financial strength to support continued investment in the Bord Gáis Energy business and in the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Freedom of Information Requests (19 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The following table sets out the details requested by the Deputy: - - 2012 2013 (to date) 1 No. of FOI Requests received by this Department 70 35 - - - - 2 No. of FOI Requests for which Search and Retrieval fee was sought 4 4 - - - 3 Maximum fee sought by this Department in respect of a request received €2,095.00 €863.75 - - - - 4 Number of Requests not proceeded with...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Legislative Process RIA (19 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Since March 2011 there have been four Bills initiated by me and brought through the legislative process to completion.The first was the Access to Central Treasury Funds (Commission for Energy Regulation) Bill 2011. While no Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) was completed specifically for this Bill, a full RIA was undertaken with respect to the provisions of the related Petroleum (Exploration...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Bodies (19 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: My Departmental remit includes complex policy areas and oversight of State regulation and provision of key strategic services such as energy and public broadcasting. In this context, the number of Commercial State Bodies and Non-Commercial State Bodies, including Regulators, currently under the aegis of my Department, is 18. I have not established any new State bodies since taking office in...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Departmental Bodies (19 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: In total, there are 18 Commercial State Bodies and Non-Commercial State Bodies, including Regulators, currently under the aegis of my Department. Since I assumed office in March 2011 there are 4 Chairpersons who were on, and still remain on, the Board of State Bodies as their respective terms of office are not due to expire until a future date. In addition I reappointed 7 Chairpersons to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (18 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland’s telecommunications market has been fully liberalised since 1999 in accordance with the requirements of binding EU Directives. The market has since developed into a well-regulated market, supporting a multiplicity of commercial operators, providing services over a diverse range of technology platforms. Details of broadband services available in each County, including County...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Resources (18 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Grid25 represents an investment in the transmission system of €3.2 billion over approximately 15 to 20 years, and is central to ensuring Ireland develops a power system that meets our future energy needs in a sustainable manner.Grid25 will reduce our dependency on imported fossil fuels by putting the infrastructure in place to enable us use our own natural resources, help us create...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Prices (18 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Responsibility for the regulation of energy markets is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation(CER) which is an independent statutory body. In 2010 the CER made a decision to stop regulating electricity prices. I have no statutory function in the setting of energy prices, whether in the regulated or non-regulated market. A customer’s electricity bill is made up of a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Sale of State Assets (18 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Following intensive negotiations with the EU IMF Troika, agreement was reached that 50% of the proceeds from the proposed sale of State assets could be invested in job creation measures and the remaining 50% would be used as a backstop for securing funds for job creation before being used to retire debt. This will be the case with the proceeds from the sale of Bord Gáis Energy. The...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Regulation (18 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 to 146, inclusive, together. The process to sell the Bord Gáis Energy business initiated earlier this year attracted significant interest from a broad range of potential international bidders, reflecting the positive international sentiment towards Ireland. The sale is a very positive development in that it will mark the entry of international...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Energy Regulation (18 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Since 2002, the regulation of the gas market has been the responsibility of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is independent in the performance of its functions. I have no direct statutory function in relation to liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, including specific projects like the Shannon LNG project. The LNG facility would provide additional security of supply to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Ministerial Advisers Remuneration (18 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: My Department requested sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to appoint my Special Advisers, Mr Finbarr O' Malley and Mr Simon Nugent, at salary rates commensurate with their previous remuneration. Sanction was granted to appoint Mr. O’Malley at a salary rate of €83,337 per annum and Mr. Nugent at a salary rate of €97,200 per annum. Both...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: National Digital Strategy Implementation (17 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: As part of the Government's National Digital Strategy (NDS) which was published in July, my Department engaged Indecon to establish the precise contribution that digital is making to the Irish economy. That research showed that Irish consumers spent almost €4bn online in 2012. However, 70% of this online business is going out of Ireland. The research also showed that the amount of...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Prospecting Licences (17 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: No prospecting licences for minerals in this area have either been sought or granted under the Minerals Development Acts, 1940 to 1999. Under the statutes, a prospecting licence only entitles the holder to explore for mineral deposits and does not authorise mining of any minerals.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Mining Licences (17 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The exclusive right to work minerals, regardless of ownership, vests in the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources under the Minerals Development Acts 1940 to 1999, with a few specific exceptions. The Acts cover a wide range of minerals but exclude stone, sand, gravel and clay, peat, and petroleum/ natural gas. Mineral exploration (prospecting) and mining are regulated...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Salmon Hardship Scheme (17 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: I assume the Deputy is referring to the Salmon Hardship Scheme which was introduced following a decision to stop the commercial mixed stock salmon fishery in the sea. Under the scheme fishermen active in the fishery could opt to cease the activity and undertake not to seek a licence in the future. In excess of €25m was allocated to the scheme to facilitate payments to fishermen with a...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (17 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland's telecommunications market has been fully liberalised since 1999 in accordance with the requirements of binding EU Directives. The State can only intervene to ensure access to broadband services in areas where the competitive market fails to deliver such services, as in the case of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS). My Department entered into a contract in late 2008 with Hutchison...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Electricity Generation (17 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: The peak demand for electricity varies across the year, but is approximately 3,000 megawatts (MWs) in summer and 5,000 MWs in winter. 1,880 MWs of wind generation capacity is connected in Ireland and its output varies according to wind conditions. On 5 December this year, a new record high for wind generation output of 1,588 MW was reached, and in 2012, an average of 15.5% of power was...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services Provision (17 Dec 2013)

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland’s telecommunications market has been fully liberalised since 1999 in accordance with the requirements of binding EU Directives. The State can only intervene to ensure access to broadband services in areas where the competitive market fails to deliver such services, as in the case of the fibre Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) initiative. The Government’s National...