Written Answers Nos. 117-134
117. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Taoiseach to provide details of all agencies and bodies under the aegis of his Department; if a dedicated Oireachtas email address is available for each; and if not, if he will direct that such a dedicated email address be established to facilitate more efficient communication. [46552/23]
View answerThe National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO) is the only body under the aegis of the Department. The following dedicated email address is available to Oireachtas members: Oireachtas@nesdo.ie
118. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Taoiseach if he will direct that an organisation (details supplied) be invited to become a participatory member of the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF); and if so, when an invitation might be forthcoming. [46575/23]
View answerMembership of the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) is made up of a labour delegation, led by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and an employer delegation led by Ibec, which also includes the Construction Industry Federation and Chambers Ireland.
The current membership reflects long standing and established arrangements for engagement between Government, employers and trade unions on labour market issues.
The current, balanced, make up of LEEF has proven very conducive to effective dialogue and engagement.
LEEF is a non-binding consultative group only. It is one of a very wide range of engagement mechanisms which allow stakeholders make their views known to Government. There are many other national and sectoral fora where a wide variety of business and employer organisations engage directly with Government Departments and Ministers.
There are no plans at present to expand the membership of LEEF.
119. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of grants given by Irish Aid in each of the years 2019 to 2022 to organisations (details supplied); if the money was used for the promotion of abortion or the delivery of abortion services in Africa or other developing regions; how this spending has been monitored and evaluated by Irish Aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46131/23]
View answerThe Government’s international development policy, A Better World, commits to strengthening interventions in health to reach the furthest behind first, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3, Good Health and Well-Being for All. Irish Aid's health programming includes a strong focus on improving health outcomes for pregnant women and new-born children in developing countries.
While we do not provide funding to the Clinton Foundation under our international development programme, Irish Aid works with, and provides funding to, the separate non-profit organisation, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). Over the period 2019 to 2022, Irish Aid provided €7,575,000 for programmes operated by CHAI in cooperation with the Governments of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. This funding was used to improve the treatment of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV, improve diagnosis of cervical and paediatric cancers, and pilot community health insurance. Our funding was not used for the provision of abortion-related services.
In this period, €1,109,232 was provided to the organisation Purposeful, to campaign against female genital mutilation and, to improve access to education for pregnant adolescents in Sierra Leone. Our funding was not used for the provision of abortion-related services.
In the same period, Irish Aid provided funding of €312,000 to the global health care provider, the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF). The IPPF is one of the leading providers of contraception in low income countries. IPPF provides education to young people on their rights and choices, and promotes gender equality. IPPF also works to ensure that reproductive health care can be accessed where necessary, including urgent care to women and girls experiencing complications following unsafe abortions. IPPF does not promote abortion as a family planning method. Approximately 2% of the services provided by the IPPF globally relate to safe and legal abortion.
All Irish Aid grants are governed by agreements that set out the reporting and oversight requirements, including the annual financial and narrative reporting. Grant recipients may be requested to provide additional reporting and be available for site visits. Impact evaluations are used by Irish Aid to inform future funding decisions.
120. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will intervene in the case of an Irish resident in Gaza and their Irish-born child (details supplied), and include them in any evacuation of Irish citizens. [46210/23]
View answerMy Department is aware of this case and is in contact with the family and providing extensive assistance.
121. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs when a decision will be made on an application for a foreign birth registration by a person (details supplied) who applied in August 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46297/23]
View answerForeign Birth Registration, by its nature, is a detailed and complex process, often involving official documentation relating to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. Such documents take considerable time to validate.
Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications are currently being processed within the normal turnaround time of 9 months from receipt of all required supporting documents. Applications that require further supporting documents will take longer to process.
With regard to the specific FBR application about which the Deputy has enquired, supporting documents were submitted on 25 August 2023. The application is presently at the preliminary registration and document scanning processing stage. In line with current turnaround time of 9 months, this application will fall due for processing in May 2024.
122. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has spoken formally with the United States Secretary of State in the past five months. [46479/23]
View answerSustained engagement with senior US interlocutors is a manifestation of Ireland's close relations with the United States, and remains a priority for the Government, with a steady rhythm of high level visits in both directions. So far this year, there have been over 20 visits to the US by Irish Ministers, in addition to visits to Ireland by senior figures in the US administration and Congress.
I last had a bilateral exchange with Secretary Blinken during President Biden's visit to Ireland in April, during which we discussed foreign policy matters of shared interest and concern. This followed a phone call I had with Secretary Blinken in January of this year, during which we discussed Northern Ireland and Russia's war in Ukraine, among other issues.
I have also had several other recent engagements with high-level US officials. In August, I had the opportunity to meet the US Secretary of the Navy in Dublin, as well as two Congressional Delegations led by Senator Chris Murphy and Representative Pat Fallon.
During the 78th United Nations General Assembly high-level week in September, I had a bilateral meeting with Samantha Power, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. Also during UN high-level week, the Taoiseach and I had the opportunity to briefly meet President Biden, and I also spoke to several members of the US Administration, including in relation to Northern Ireland.
I had meetings with Deputy Secretary of State Sherman and with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan during my last visit to Washington, DC in February.
I look forward to continuing high level political engagement with senior United States figures on critical issues for Ireland, in addition to the day-to-day engagement with the State Department and other US interlocutors by the team in Ireland's Embassy in Washington D.C. and our Consulates General across the US.
123. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of foreign birth registrations currently being processed within his Department. [46480/23]
View answerMy Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship.
Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. In 2015, prior to Brexit, 6,478 FBR applications were received, while in 2022, 27,748 applications were received.
Arising from Covid-19 restrictions, and the subsequent reassignment of FBR staff to assist in the provision of essential passport and consular services, the Foreign Birth Registration service was paused for a significant period across 2020 and 2021. During this time, processing was available for emergency FBR applications such as those submitted by stateless persons.
My Department has put in place a number of measures that have addressed the volume of FBR applications over the past year and has made significant progress in reducing the processing time for these citizenship applications. The processing time has reduced from over 2 years in 2022 to under 9 months in 2023. The Passport Service will continue to invest additional resources in the FBR unit with a view to further reducing the processing time by end of this year.
Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, is a detailed and complex process, often involving official documentation relating to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. Such documents take considerable time to validate. A significant proportion of FBR applications are incomplete on initial receipt and require additional supporting documents in order to allow the Passport Service to progress the application. The Passport Service contacts applicants to request required additional documents. Given the complexity of the applications, it can take some time for applicants to submit all of the required documents.
The number of applications for entry into the Foreign Births Register is 38,478. Of these, 28,827 are presently being processed by the Department. The remaining 9,651 have been partially processed and require further action by the applicants in order to finalise their application.
124. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to provide details of all agencies and bodies under the aegis of his Department; if a dedicated Oireachtas email address is available for each; if not, if he will direct that such a dedicated email address be established to facilitate more efficient communication; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46544/23]
View answerThe Department of Foreign Affairs does not have any agencies or bodies under its aegis.
I wish to assure the Deputy that officials of my Department continue to stand ready to assist with any and all queries that may be fielded to them by members of the Oireachtas and that the relevant contact details for submitting all such queries are available on the Departmental website www.dfa.ie.
125. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to provide a copy of annual accounts of the Climate Action Fund, as submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46615/23]
View answerI have attached the 2020 and 2021 Climate Action Fund financial statements. The financial statements for 2022 have been submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General and will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas once the audit is complete.
The 2022 income and expenditure for the Climate Action Fund is set out in the following table.
|
2022 Climate Action Fund Income and Expenditure Income |
- |
|
National Oil Reserves Agency Levy |
92,000,000 |
|
Offset of greenhouse gas emissions associated with all Government air travel |
102,638 |
|
Total Income |
92,102,638 |
|
Expenditure |
- |
|
Climate Action Fund Call 1 Payments |
2,257,589 |
|
Bord na Móna Bog Rehabilitation Scheme |
12,707,362 |
|
Community Climate Action Programme |
2,317,181 |
|
Total Expenditure |
17,282,132 |
126. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when a property (details supplied) can expect to be provided with high-speed broadband. [46074/23]
View answerIn December 2022, my Department published Ireland's Digital Connectivity Strategy which supports the ambition outlined in the National Digital Strategy and sets out a number of ambitious targets, including that:
• all Irish households and businesses will be covered by a Gigabit network no later than 2028
• all populated areas will be covered by 5G no later than 2030, and
• digital connectivity will be delivered to all schools and broadband connection points by 2023
These targets will be achieved through commercial operators investing in their networks, complemented by the State’s National Broadband Plan intervention. When taken together, all premises in the State will have access to high-speed broadband in every part of the country no matter how remote.
The National Broadband Plan intervention contract provides for the roll out of a high speed and future-proofed broadband network to primarily rural areas. The intervention area covers over 1.1 million people living and working in over 560,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with some 679 schools.
National Broadband Ireland (NBI) have advised that the premises referred to in the question is at a status of “Network Build in Progress” and an estimated date of connection of October 2024 – December 2024.
Commercial operators’ fibre roll-outs are progressing at pace. Open eir have already passed over 223,600 homes and businesses in Dublin with gigabit services, with plans to pass a further c.358,000 homes and businesses over the next 2 – 3 years, bringing their total fibre-based investment in the county to over €216m. Other commercial operators are also continuing to increase their network footprint right across Dublin, with SIRO recently passing over 70,400 premises for full fibre, and Virgin Media passing over 488,700 premises..
I am also advised by NBI that, as of 13 October 2023, 186,897 premises are passed across 26 counties and available for immediate connection. 56,892 premises are already connected to the NBP high-speed broadband network.
As of 30 September 3,457 premises in County Dublin are passed with a high-speed fibre broadband network and available for immediate connection with 867 premises now connected.
Commercial operators and NBI will continue work in County Dublin, and all counties, over the next three years to complete their fibre roll-outs and all efforts are being made to speed up the roll-out. My Department is working extremely hard with Local Authorities to ensure any barriers encountered by these operators are dealt with quickly through day to day engagement and through the work of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Task force.
Further details are available on specific areas within County Dublin and can be monitored via nbi.ie/reps. A county update can be selected to provide the overall number of premises in the Intervention Area, the overall NBP investment in the county, the number of premises passed and connected to date and the status of each of the Deployment Areas with the anticipated date for connection over the lifetime of the project. NBI has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries.
Recent ComReg data shows that Quarter 2, 2023 saw a 7.4% increase in fibre broadband subscriptions compared to the first 3 months of the year, and a 33.7% increase when compared to Quarter 2 of 2022. This demonstrates that take-up of fibre connectivity for homes and businesses is increasing massively as it is deployed to areas where it had previously been unavailable. The same ComReg data also indicates that c.40% of homes and business throughout the State now have access to gigabit services through either fibre (576,856) or cable (359,669) infrastructure.
127. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when a property (details supplied) can expect to be provided with high-speed broadband. [46075/23]
View answerIn December 2022, my Department published Ireland's Digital Connectivity Strategy which supports the ambition outlined in the National Digital Strategy and sets out a number of ambitious targets, including that:
• all Irish households and businesses will be covered by a Gigabit network no later than 2028
• all populated areas will be covered by 5G no later than 2030, and
• digital connectivity will be delivered to all schools and broadband connection points by 2023
These targets will be achieved through commercial operators investing in their networks, complemented by the State’s National Broadband Plan intervention. When taken together, all premises in the State will have access to high-speed broadband in every part of the country no matter how remote.
The National Broadband Plan intervention contract provides for the roll out of a high speed and future-proofed broadband network to primarily rural areas. The intervention area covers over 1.1 million people living and working in over 560,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with some 679 schools.
National Broadband Ireland (NBI) have advised that the premises referred to in the question is at a status of “Network Build in Progress” and an estimated date of connection of October 2024 – December 2024.
Commercial operators’ fibre roll-outs are progressing at pace. Open eir have already passed over 223,600 homes and businesses in Dublin with gigabit services, with plans to pass a further c.358,000 homes and businesses over the next 2 – 3 years, bringing their total fibre-based investment in the county to over €216m. Other commercial operators are also continuing to increase their network footprint right across Dublin, with SIRO recently passing over 70,400 premises for full fibre, and Virgin Media passing over 488,700 premises.
I am also advised by NBI that, as of 13 October 2023, 186,897 premises are passed across 26 counties and available for immediate connection. 56,892 premises are already connected to the NBP high-speed broadband network.
As of 30 September 3,457 premises in County Dublin are passed with a high-speed fibre broadband network and available for immediate connection with 867 premises now connected.
Commercial operators and NBI will continue work in County Dublin, and all counties, over the next three years to complete their fibre roll-outs and all efforts are bring made to speed up the roll-out. My Department is working extremely hard with Local Authorities to ensure any barriers encountered by these operators are dealt with quickly through day to day engagement and through the work of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Task force.
Further details are available on specific areas within County Dublin and can be monitored via nbi.ie/reps. A county update can be selected to provide the overall number of premises in the Intervention Area, the overall NBP investment in the county, the number of premises passed and connected to date and the status of each of the Deployment Areas with the anticipated date for connection over the lifetime of the project. NBI has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries. `
Recent ComReg data shows that Quarter 2, 2023 saw a 7.4% increase in fibre broadband subscriptions compared to the first 3 months of the year, and a 33.7% increase when compared to Quarter 2 of 2022. This demonstrates that take-up of fibre connectivity for homes and businesses is increasing massively as it is deployed to areas where it had previously been unavailable. The same ComReg data also indicates that c.40% of homes and business throughout the State now have access to gigabit services through either fibre (576,856) or cable (359,669) infrastructure.
128. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the winter moratorium on disconnections applies to dwellings without planning permission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46156/23]
View answerThe winter moratorium is put in place by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) each year and usually applies from mid-December to mid-January. On 29 September 2023, CRU announced this year's moratoriums on disconnections for all domestic electricity and gas customers for the coming winter period.
The moratorium for customers registered as being particularly vulnerable to winter disconnections will be in place to cover a six-month period from 1 October 2023 until 31 March 2024. Vulnerable customers registered as being critically dependent on electrically powered assistive devices cannot be disconnected for reasons of non-payment at any time and this protection remains in place. It is important that people who are in such situations contact their energy supplier to register with them as a vulnerable customer. Their energy supplier will then notify ESB Networks, which maintains a Vulnerable Customer Register.
The moratorium for domestic customers has also been extended again this year from its usual period and will now be in place from 1 December 2023 until 31 January 2024. This applies to all domestic bill-pay electricity and gas account holders.
CRU provides a dedicated email address for Oireachtas members, which enables them to raise questions on general energy regulatory matters to CRU at oireachtas@cru.ie for timely direct reply.
129. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the reason homes with solar panels in an area in County Kildare (details supplied) are being prevented from providing excess power to the grid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46181/23]
View answerThe Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), which is accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas and not to me as Minister, has responsibility for the operation of the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG), including the arrangements for eligibility criteria and remuneration methodology. As part of this, households must inform ESB Networks (ESBN) of their intention to install microgeneration via a declaration using the NC6 form. ESBN then notify the relevant supplier that there is a registered export capability at the customer’s meter point and provide the meter readings to the supply company.
It is important to note that aside from the purposes of the CEG, householders who install microgeneration equipment such as Solar PV, are required to notify ESBN of their intention to connect such renewable generating equipment in parallel with the LV electricity network, from a safety perspective alone.
Microgeneration equipment has the potential to give an electric shock or create a dangerous hazard for you or your neighbours and it is critical that ESBN’s Network Technicians are aware of onsite generation when carrying out repairs on the local network. Prior to the installation of the Solar PV system, the registered installer should have submitted the NC6 notification form to ESB Networks.
I understand from ESBN that based on the details provided, it is likely that these homes are already exporting excess electricity to the local electricity grid and this would be outside of the terms of their connection agreement with ESB Networks.
However, to support customers who have found themselves in this situation, ESBN have enabled retrospective applications via the Form NC6 – Microgeneration Notification, available at esbnetworks.ie.
In order to complete this, homeowners would need the original installer or another registered installer/electrician to complete the form and provide details of the installed generator. This would enable them to be registered for the appropriate export connection type and therefore also be eligible via their electricity supplier for export payments where applicable.
130. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when the supply of energy report will be published (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46192/23]
View answerThe Department has undertaken an extensive security of energy review of Ireland’s electricity, oil, and natural gas systems. The Review focused on the period to 2030, but in the context of ensuring a sustainable transition to a net zero energy system up to 2050.
Informed by the Government’s energy security policy objectives - to ensure energy is affordable, sustainable, and secure - the review considered the risks to oil, natural gas, and electricity supplies, and a range of mitigation measures, including the need for additional capacity of indigenous renewable energy but also energy imports, energy storage, fuel diversification, demand side response and renewable gases.
The completion of the review is a key priority and I plan to bring my energy security recommendations to Government for consideration shortly.
131. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will provide the total amount of gas supplied to data centres for 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46216/23]
View answerGas Networks Ireland has advised that there are very few data centres connected to the gas network, and, in order to meet commercial sensitivity obligations, Gas Networks Ireland is not in a position to disclose specific data pertaining to data centres. However, as outlined in the following table, which GNI has supplied to the Department, the volume of gas used in data centres is very small relative to the overall usage on the gas network.
|
Data centre demand as a percentage of total ROI gas demand |
|
|
2021 |
c. 0.31% |
|
2022 |
c. 0.28% |
|
2023 (YTD) |
c. 0.001% |
132. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the reason incandescent bulbs are banned in Ireland, given people with extreme light sensitivity/photosensitivity cannot use regular bulbs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46237/23]
View answerIreland’s approach to light bulbs derives from EU ecodesign regulations. My colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, has responsibility for the implementation of the Ecodesign Directive.
I understand that EU rules on ecodesign for lighting products can be found in EU Regulation for ecodesign requirements for light sources and separate control gears (EU) 2019/2020 (eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2019.315.01.0209.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2019:315:TOC), which repeals and replaces Regulation (EC) 244/2009 (eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1521113778203&uri=CELEX%3A32009R0244), Regulation (EC) 245/2009 (eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1521114161802&uri=CELEX%3A32009R0245) and Regulation (EU) 1194/2012 (eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32012R1194).
The rationale for the EU regulations is to replace incandescent bulbs and other inefficient lighting with more energy-efficient alternatives from an eco-design perspective, and to support the move towards a more resource efficient circular economy. The regulations save energy, limit CO2 emissions, and help consumers save money in lower electricity bills without the loss of functionality. Advancement in the LED technology has allowed for a wide range of bulbs with varying luminosity and control functions to be available within the Irish market.
In its Frequently Asked Questions on phasing out conventional incandescent bulbs available online(1), the Commission had a question and answer on the effect of the proposal on light sensitive people. In addition, the Commission has published a scientific committee opinion on the Health Effects of Artificial Light. This can be also be viewed online(2).
The scientific committee found that there are a number of individuals across Europe who suffer from a variety of disorders which renders them exceptionally sensitive to UV/blue light radiation. The prevalence of these conditions is extremely low (ranging from one case per 3,000,000 to 0.0004% and 0.02% of the general population). The prevalence of only polymorphic light eruption (ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/opinions_layman/en/energy-saving-lamps/glossary/pqrs/polymorphic-light-eruption.htm).ht represents a sizable portion (up to 20%) of the general population. However, due to the nature of the condition, the likelihood of patients with polymorphic light eruption to be affected by CFL is rather low. The number of all patients in Europe, who might be at risk from the increased levels of UV/blue light radiation generated by CFL, is estimated at around 250,000 individuals. Hypersensitive patients are constantly at risk of exposure to much higher levels of UV/blue light radiation from sources other than CFL. Therefore, those patients are usually closely monitored and provided advice by health care professionals. The committee notes that the use of double envelope energy saving bulbs or similar technology in the dwellings of such individuals would largely or entirely mitigate this increased risk.
[1] ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/MEMO_09_368)
[2] Health Effects of Artificial Light - European Commission (europa.eu) (ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/opinions_layman/artificial-light/en/index.htm#7)
133. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications whether the home energy upgrade grant can be paid for insulation on an extension, and not the whole house; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46331/23]
View answerMy Department funds a number of grant schemes, administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to support homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their properties.
Section 2.2 of the SEAI Better Energy Homes Scheme Application Guide provides advice for “Optimum and Partial Solutions” as follows:
The contractor must ensure that, in the case of insulation, an optimal whole-element solution is provided e.g. when dealing with walls that this comprises Internal insulation of all exposed walls or External insulation of all exposed walls or Cavity Insulation of all exposed walls, and in the case of roof/attics that this comprises insulation of the whole surface of the ceiling/roof-space as appropriate. Where only part-element coverage is achieved, this must be detailed in the Declaration of Works and the Contractor should inform their client that this may impact on their ability to draw down support from the Programme. Affordability may be a consideration in the identification of the most appropriate measure for the homeowner, for example the selection of blow cavity vs. external cladding.
Partial solutions are only acceptable in exceptional cases where it is not "physically or economically possible" to provide a whole-element solution. For example, it may not be physically possible to provide complete roof insulation coverage due to small inaccessible areas of the roof. Justification for these exceptional partial solutions must be given in the Declaration of Works.
It is important to emphasise the difference between affordability and economic viability. Where homeowners indicate that they cannot afford to do the whole element, this does not diminish the economic viability of the project and so this is not an acceptable reason to do a partial solution.”
The full document can be found on the SEAI website at: www.seai.ie/publications/Homeowner-Application-Guide.pdf
SEAI is available to provide homeowners with advice in relation to individual applications through their helpdesk directly by phone at: 1800 250 204, or by email at: info@betterenergyhomes.ie.
The SEAI has established a specific email address for queries from Oireachtas members so that such queries can be addressed promptly, in line with SEAI’s objective to deliver services to the highest standards. The email address is oireachtas@seai.ie.
134. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will agree to the temporary warehousing of royalties from 2022 on the activities of a company (details supplied) in an effort to assist the company and the return of workers to the operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46407/23]
View answerA request to defer royalties has been received from the company and is currently under consideration by my Department.
A subsequent decision on the request will made by me as Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, in line with the relevant mining lease.
