Results 161-180 of 2,753 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Environmental Schemes (28 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: As stated in my response to Parliamentary Question No. 158 of 13 February 2024, the tethered cap requirement is coming into effect across the EU on 3rd July 2024 and, from that date, only plastic beverage containers where the cap/lid remains firmly attached to the product during use can be placed on the market. The tethered cap requirement was introduced through the Single Use Plastics...

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senator. I am interested to hear her proposal because I did not know what it was grounded on when I looked at it. I will consider it more now. The Senator said she is worried there will be an expectation that profit should be the sole motive of Gas Networks Ireland and that would be brought about because the Minister for Finance is concerned with money. I did not foresee the...

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: To confirm, are we debating amendment No. 2 at the same time as No. 1?

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: On amendment No. 1, it is not the case that Gas Networks Ireland would be legally allowed to focus solely on profit. It is subject to the climate Act. It is a named body so it must achieve the objectives set out in that Act, including the reduction in emissions and so on. It cannot solely focus on money. Under the new EU gas package, there is a new directive to be implemented and, as a...

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I can say I am very unlikely to be able to get copies of letters of expectation for the Senator or to publish them. The code of practice for the governance of State bodies provides, in the case of commercial State bodies, for a shareholder letter of expectation that outlines the terms of the relationship with the parent Department. The shareholder letter of expectation contains commercially...

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I will request that information. I will see whether I can find out from the CRU or my Department how many data centres are seeking direct connection to the gas grid. It is a fair question. The approval I have from the Government for this legislation is simply for the integration of the current activities of Ervia into GNI. It does not provide for the board to engage in any new function or...

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: It is legally required to be consistent.

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I appreciate Senator Boylan's raising of this issue and acknowledge that her amendment is an attempt to do something constructive. Neither I nor the Government wants data centres connecting directly to the gas grid. Clearly, the gas grid is almost pure fossil fuel at the moment, with only very small amounts of biomethane on it and we do not want data centres connecting directly to it....

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: One of the main things I need to achieve with any legislation we pass is make sure it is legal and not challengeable. It is important that anything we do is non-discriminatory. If we tell Gas Networks Ireland that it cannot connect one customer but can connect another then the customer who was refused connection can legally challenge that. We have to decide what the connection policy for...

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Senator Boylan asked what the difference is between putting in a moratorium on electricity connections for data centres and on gas connections for data centres. There is probably no difference but we do not have a moratorium on data centres being connected. It has become much harder and possibly nobody else is connecting at the moment but there is no national policy of a moratorium on data...

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: It is much harder now to connect a data centre to the grid. I do not know if anybody has managed in the recent period of time to achieve a new data centre connection. There are a lot of new rules to do with asking data centres to be outside of Dublin and making sure they have sufficient backup and are entirely powered by renewable energy. In other words, rather than an outright moratorium,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Pension Provisions (14 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Senator Craughwell for bringing this important matter to the House. As the Senator will be aware, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, has overall policy responsibility in relation to public service occupational pension schemes payable to retired public servants. For all new entrants to the public service on or after 6 April 1995, the date of the introduction of full social insurance for...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Pension Provisions (14 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Retired members of An Garda and the Defence Forces are entitled not just to respect from the State but also to great gratitude for what they have done, and they should always be treated with dignity in dealings with the State after they have served. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, has acknowledged that there is a problem and that the interaction with the Department of Social Protection and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Road Projects (14 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Senator Ahearn. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding regarding the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Road Projects (14 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The Minister is very keen to reduce traffic in the centre of towns. He is also keen to look at ways, including putting in bypasses or any type of local projects that can help in that way. I take the Senator’s point that he wants Clonmel to be treated in the same way that Tipperary town and that he would like it to be prioritised compared with the rest of the scheme. I will bring...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Aviation Industry (14 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Senator Boylan for raising this matter, which I am taking ,on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers. The use of private jets during the climate emergency for leisure and luxury is clearly an obscenity. However, such use is mixed up in the general figures for aviation, as the Senator understands, in the context of everything that is not a commercial flight. It...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Aviation Industry (14 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Senator Boylan and I am glad that she agrees that we should be looking at emissions rather than passenger numbers and at emissions per capita. I will look to see whether I can get a good breakdown of general aviation so we are not mixing up private jets with medical flights, cargo and so on. Much of this debate emerged with a provocative and noisy campaign by Ryanair saying it would...

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (13 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I am pleased to address the House on the Second Stage of the Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023. As Deputies and Senators are aware, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications is the Minister with responsibility for gas policy and all legislation relating to gas and energy policy. The European natural gas directive, Directive 2009/73/EC on common rules of the internal markets in...

Seanad: Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (13 Feb 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Senators for their contributions. As Senators are aware, this Bill has been introduced to reorganise Ervia. Ervia was a holding company that owned Irish Water, and it also owned Gas Networks Ireland.Irish Water has been spun out and is now an independent company. We are now left with a structure where there is simply a company called Ervia that owns Gas Networks Ireland which...