Vol. 790 No. 3
1. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his strategy to ensure a viable post office network, especially in rural Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4890/13]
An Post is a commercial State body with its own board and management. Accordingly, operational matters are a matter for the board and management. These are areas in which I have no statutory function. As shareholder, however, I do have a strong concern about the ongoing commercial position of the company and I regularly liaise with the company in this regard.
The reality is the core mail business of An Post has suffered a major fall which has impacted seriously on the company’s revenue flow. In response, it is proactively seeking to keep costs down and diversify its business. Control of costs must, in particular, be rigorously pursued by the company in light of the continuing drain on revenue arising from the core mail business decline.
None the less, it is my strong objective that An Post remains a strong and viable State company, providing high quality services on a nationwide basis through a network of economically viable post offices. This objective is shared on all sides of the House. I must stress, however, that the company requires to be in a sustainable and viable financial position to ensure this. An Post is a commercial State company and its strategy and decision making must be formulated in this context.
However, I firmly believe An Post has many strengths. It is a trusted brand and it also has the largest retail presence in the country. I have impressed on the company the need to exploit further its unique position in this regard. I have been supportive of its attempts to diversify its income streams and to win a wider range of commercial contracts offering higher margins.
I welcome the progress An Post has made towards diversification, including the announcement that following the decision of AIB to close several branches, an extended range of AIB services is available through post offices in the locality of the closures. This is beneficial not only to An Post as a commercial body but also to the local communities.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
Furthermore, in May last year I welcomed the arrangement between An Post One Direct and Aviva which saw 23 Aviva insurance branches become One Direct outlets. This not only secured some of the jobs that were at risk due to Aviva's restructuring but it further broadened An Post's portfolio of financial services offering to customers.
In the context of the public sector reform and service delivery agenda, I continue to engage with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and other Ministers in relation to consideration, as appropriate, of the post office network for transactional elements of the business of Departments and Government agencies. I have stressed to my Government colleagues that the network is ideally configured for over the counter transactions. I and my Department will maintain ongoing contact with the board and management of the company to work with them on our shared objectives in light of the challenging environment which they face.
I accept the independence of An Post but for generations there has been an ongoing debate about the survival and maintenance of rural post offices. It is tied in with other issues such as rural isolation. We may have ghost estates but we also have ghost villages. Communities are losing their post offices not just in rural areas but in urban areas as was seen in Blackpool in Cork city recently. Since I was elected, every communications Minister has said they want to provide a network of commercially viable post offices. In his reply, the Minister stated An Post should seek further contracts. However, we do not see any urgency in this regard. We have heard at public meetings and so forth that An Post should go into providing different services such as county council bills, but there never seems to be an urgency for it to go after these contracts. There must be a drive to ensure the post office network becomes a provider of other services.
There must be an urgency because many of the smaller post offices rely almost exclusively on social welfare business at this stage and they need to become more than simply a traditional post office. Perhaps in his negotiations the Minister could encourage An Post to have a sense of urgency.
I agree that as a result of the collapse of the core business of An Post there needs to be an urgency, as Deputy Moynihan puts it, in terms of acquiring new business and diversification and so on. In fairness to An Post, it has been going about its business quietly and in a commercial manner and it continues to do so. For example, there is an arrangement between An Post, One Direct and Aviva, which has seen 23 Aviva insurance branches become One Direct outlets for An Post. This is the type of venture that could be built on because An Post has a unique retail infrastructure.
Deputy Moynihan offered an exhortation to urgency but even if An Post was unsuccessful in all other cases, it has been chasing contracts and opportunities, including motor tax renewals, driving license renewals, HSE patient charges, household charge payments, second home payments, water charge payments, Courts Service fines, the registration and payment for septic tanks, Irish Rail ticket sales and electrical rural production. An Post chases all of this business and it wins more than its fair share. These are the types of contracts that represent the future of part of the business of An Post.
The Water Services Bill will come before the Houses of the Oireachtas next week and will be debated at length. We should show good faith and show that we are all serious about the provision and maintenance of the post offices. There is a fear in rural communities in particular and in urban communities that they are awaiting the retirement of the postmaster or postmistress. Something should be included in the legislation to the effect that the first port of call for the payment of bills that accrue from the Water Services Bill should be the post office. The same should apply to any other legislation coming through to ensure that An Post and the post office network is highlighted as the first port of call and the point of interaction between the citizen and the State.
I accept the importance of the network of An Post, not least in rural Ireland, and I accept that it is a trusted brand. It is also a commercial State company, though, and must compete commercially and it is focused on doing precisely that. The State contracts to which Deputy Moynihan refers are those which An Post ought to compete for and for which it should have at least a 50-50 prospect of success.
2. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the consultation process he will instigate with local residents who may have concerns regarding wind turbines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4877/13]
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is responsible for developing planning policy and legislation. Extensive public consultation rights are enshrined and protected under Irish planning law. These apply not only to wind energy developments but to all forms of development that require planning permission.
The Government Policy Statement on the Strategic Importance of Transmission and other Energy Infrastructure, published in July last year, recognises the need for and urgency of new energy infrastructure. It notes that the planning process provides the necessary framework for ensuring that all necessary standards are met and that consultation is built into the process. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government issued guidelines on wind energy development in 2006 and these are available on that Department's website.
When carrying out forward planning and development management functions, planning authorities are required to have regard to guidelines issued by the Department. The guidelines are also intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country in the identification of suitable locations for wind energy development and the treatment of planning applications for wind energy developments. This mapping of suitable locations is carried out through the development plan process, which makes extensive statutory provision for public consultation. In addition, the guidelines also provide advice on best practice with regard to public consultation in advance of the lodgement of a planning application for a wind energy development.
The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, in conjunction with my Department, is undertaking a technical update of the guidance on certain aspects of the wind energy development guidelines and the advertisement on the consultation was in the newspapers yesterday. The update is intended to ensure that the wind energy guidelines are supported by a robust and up-to-date evidence base on these issues and to support wind energy development in a manner that safeguards residential amenity, consistent with EU and national policy. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government issued a press notice in this regard yesterday.
I thank the Minister for the reply. I have spoken with people who live adjacent to turbines and I believe they cause many problems for the people concerned. By its nature, a memorandum of understanding is a high-level document and does not go into detail. People are keen to see an overall strategy in place and that detailed economic, social and job creation assessments are done with reference to the people living in the vicinity. I read an article in which someone was quoted as referring to 400 workers. There may indeed be 400 workers but it is possible that not one of those will come from the jobless list. We need some social dividend clause in whatever is eventually agreed.
Will we be doing more than simply an environmental impact assessment? Will we do an economic assessment, a social assessment and an assessment of the impact on people living in the vicinity? Will any of these assessments come to the Oireachtas committee before a final contract is signed?
The answer to all of the questions concerning what went into the examination being done about the development of wind energy is "Yes". Deputy Colreavy's concluding point specifically referred to the memorandum of understanding I signed last week with the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. I would be more than pleased to appear before the Oireachtas committee whenever the members wish to arrange it.
I have stayed away from the jobs potential, but it is significant. Some of the developers who are preparing projects and involved in the planning arrangements and the acquisition of land and so on have put figures on the jobs potential, but I am not keen to be dragged down that road nor do I wish to be dragged down the road of being partisan in terms of any particular developer. Anyway, there is significant potential for jobs not least in the construction area and that is potentially significant.
Deputy Colreavy made a point about the economics of wind energy. The answer cannot omit to take into account that as part of the thrust of the policy, which is to de-carbonise our energy systems, the build up of our renewable capacity is essential. If we are to meet our mandatory and ambitious targets for renewable energy, which aim for 40% generation by renewable energy sources by 2020, as agreed with EU member states, then we must build out our renewable capacity. We are fortunate to have particularly propitious wind resources. It is the exploitation of an indigenous resource that will create jobs on the island and create wealth and that is to be welcomed.
Everyone agrees with the Minister in that sense. While we want, of course, to reduce the impact by increasing the use of renewable energy, we must ensure we get the best possible deal when we export energy to another nation. It is in that context that the economic impact assessment comes in. The economic impact of taking people off the unemployment queues must also be taken into account. If that work is done with the greater involvement of the joint committee, decisions will be better informed. It is also the case that if there is proper public consultation, particularly with people living in the vicinity of any installations, better planning and construction decisions will be made.
I agree broadly with what the Deputy says. I have read some incredible nonsense since the memorandum of understanding was agreed. Some of the commentary has been trite and uninformed. Some of the commentary from outside the State has been very odd. In fact, the deal has the potential to be a win-win for Britain and Ireland. I am interested in what Ireland Inc. gets from the deal, whose potential in terms of jobs, exploitation of unique indigenous resources and wealth creation is significant.
I cannot understand the commentary that the terms favour Britain. There are no terms in the memorandum of understanding, which is facilitative of the significant projects that private developers have assembled. They cannot trade with the neighbouring island unless that trade is facilitated by an intergovernmental agreement. I do not know how people can purport to make the kinds of comment I have read on the economic terms when they are not there yet. It is simply untrue to state that we will have wind turbines at every crossroads in Ireland. That is not happening and will not happen. I regret greatly that these things are being misrepresented.
3. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the reason the commercial operation of EirGrid's east-west interconnector was delayed from September to 21 December 2012, when it operated at half capacity; the nature of the works that will shut it down during February and March; and if he will confirm that the project has been implemented as designed. [4876/13]
The commercial and technical operations of the east-west interconnector are an operational matter for EirGrid, which is a commercial State company. I have no role or function in that regard. EirGrid is the independent statutory body responsible for the development and maintenance of the national electricity transmission system. As with any major complex project using purpose-built technology, the east-west interconnector requires comprehensive testing. Tests during autumn 2012 highlighted certain issues relating to localised incidents of noise interference with telephone lines. I understand from EirGrid that the company and its contractor co-operated with telecommunications network providers to address the reported telephone noise interference. The commencement of commercial trading over the interconnector was deferred until such time as the localised issues were resolved. I emphasise that the issue relates to noise on some telephone lines in the vicinity of the interconnector and is not a health concern. Testing has confirmed that the interconnector is operating well within international standards on electric and magnetic fields.
EirGrid has confirmed that the interconnector has been running continuously since 1 December 2012 following testing in an interim mode during November 2012. Commercial trading and energy flows have been taking place since 21 December 2012 at a capacity of approximately 250 megawatts. The development of a permanent solution by the contractor to allow the interconnector to operate at full capacity in its intended mode is under way and is expected to be implemented shortly. An outage may be required to implement the permanent solution.
The east-west interconnector is a strategically vital energy project for the island of Ireland and is financially supported under the European Energy Programme for Recovery. The interconnector has enhanced the security of the national energy supply and will increase energy market competition and facilitate the progressive development of renewable energy.
In effect, the Minister is trying to say that any problems there might be are for the company, not for him. He then goes on to minimise the scale of the problems as they exist. Contrary to the assertions in the Minister's answer, the east-west interconnector was commercially inoperable for three months after its official launch. Since December, it has operated at approximately half its capacity. In one of many similar instances, it fluctuated last night for approximately nine hours. For a significant period of that nine hours, it was not operating at all.
The primary cause of these issues is magnetic field emissions from the interconnector, which are causing harmonic interactions with local telecommunications. I have still not got an answer to the question I am asking the Minister. EirGrid made a submission in its environmental report in which it claimed that high-voltage direct current convertors create harmonics which can cause disruptions in telecommunications systems. We know such disruptions have occurred. EirGrid stated that specially designed DC filters are used to reduce and prevent disturbances. I understand that a decision was made to omit these specially designed harmonic filters from the interconnector and that this is the cause of the problem. I ask the Minister to confirm that and to tell the House who made the decision to omit the filters and when they did so.
It is not the case that there may be outages. EirGrid has advertised that between February and March the operation will be shut down for six weeks for works. Can the Minister confirm that the works are to install the harmonic filters?
My understanding is that the system will be shut down for two to three weeks to enable whatever technical remedial works are necessary to allow the interconnector to function as intended. I can assure the Deputy that I was not trying to say anything. Whatever I wanted to say, I said. I am not trying to say anything and I am not trying to conceal anything. There is nothing unusual about a complex technical project such as this requiring occasional maintenance for as long as it is operational. The company responsible for entering into the contract with the companies that installed the system is engaged in discussions with them. It is a contractual matter for EirGrid. EirGrid has worked very well and co-operatively with Eircom on the localised interference with a small number of telephones. It is a purely technical issue. Whether it is a question of the installation of filters or something else, work has already been done to allow the interconnector to function at 250 megawatts. The remaining remedial work will be done during the two- to three-week closure I have referred to. After that, it will be a matter for EirGrid to rely on its contractual rights in raising the issues referred to by Deputy Clare Daly with the company or companies that actually did the installation work.
That was an absolutely shocking reply. We are discussing a situation in which the interconnector will be shut down for four to six weeks. It is wrong to claim that this is a question of a few technical matters. We are discussing the fact that a multi-million-euro project has been delayed for six months to date, yet the Minister expects us to believe it is a only a matter of the usual technical issues.
Works on the interconnector are not complete. Compensation and bonuses were supposed to be paid. Can the Minister confirm whether that has happened? Can he answer the question I asked? If EirGrid, for which the Minister is responsible, carried out the construction in the manner for which it sought permission and installed harmonic filters to minimise disruption, why do we have a disruption to telecommunications? Is this the subject of the works that are being carried out?
If the Minister does not know the answer, does he not think he might want to find out given the very valid health concerns raised by residents along the way?
I have some difficulty in understanding Deputy Daly's indignation about it being shut down for a period. She tried to shut it down altogether and organised and motivated people to go to the High Court to do precisely that.
They decided that themselves.
She opposed it from day one and now she professes to be indignant about necessary engineering works to be carried out for a period of between two to three weeks as I am advised.
Look at their website.
EirGrid contracted professional companies to do the job to the highest specification and will ensure that the project is completed to the highest specification. I have no doubt that this will be the case and I have every confidence in the technical and other competence of EirGrid to ensure that it is done to the highest specification.
4. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the measures he will take to reduce the number of disconnections of services by gas and electricity companies in homes around the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4891/13]
Responsibility for the regulation of the gas market, including disconnections, is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, which is an independent statutory regulator.
In line with the CER's code of practice on disconnection, electricity and gas suppliers must facilitate payment options or plans for domestic customers experiencing genuine hardship and, where appropriate, engage with a money adviser acting on behalf of the customer or a recognised charity. This must include offering the customer a prepayment meter. I understand that as of the end of 2012, over 105,000 pay-as-you-go gas and electricity meters have been installed. In addition, disconnections may not be initiated where a customer has entered into a payment plan with the supplier and is honouring that arrangement.
I welcome the fact that CER is working with energy suppliers to ensure that they take all reasonable steps to assist customers through this difficult period and that disconnections resulting from genuine inability to pay are minimised and only occur as a very last resort. Implementation of the measures set out in the Government's affordable energy strategy published last November is pivotal to protecting the interests of vulnerable customers and improving energy affordability.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
In addition, the Government will continue to support the delivery of energy efficiency measures to vulnerable households in 2013. The better energy warmer homes scheme has been allocated Exchequer funding of €20 million for 2013, which is expected to result in upgrades in over 10,000 homes.
The issues in front of us include the doubling of disconnections and the significant issue of fuel poverty. The energy regulator increased the prices even though it would have had evidence that disconnections were being doubled. We need to look at its modus operandi. Gas installation is another issue facing us. Due to the economic downturn, people are unable to employ certified fitters and gas installers and are instead employing people with very little competence in the area. We have had numerous discussions with the Commission for Energy Regulation which has not appreciated the urgency of the issue at hand. Cowboys are doing work on gas installation, there seems to be a breakdown between the body regulating gas installers and the commission and nobody seems to be taking a hands-on approach regarding shoddy work being done. We have seen the doubling of disconnections, and the decision by the energy regulator to award price increases must be questioned. I do not think there is a genuine acceptance of the fuel poverty and the number of people who are not using their energy sources because of fuel poverty.
It is important to record that the number of electricity disconnections is down. The problem is in the gas area. The latest figures I have suggest that the increase is 64% year on year. It is very difficult to get figures that strip out vacant houses and seasonal lets. There is also an apparent tendency in some summer months to switch off gas. None of these factors denies the Deputy's point about the fact that fuel poverty exists and that there are households under pressure. This is why even though the number of pay-as-you-go meters has climbed, I would like to see them rise further.
The protocol we have put in place requires that where a pay-as-you-go meter is installed or where a payment plan is entered into, there can be no disconnection. Perhaps it ought to be better promoted. Some people have not got the message. A resort to the protocol would mean that any of the companies cannot wantonly disconnect gas supply and I hope to see more meters.
Companies can take out advertisements in newspapers but the socioeconomic groups we are talking about by and large do not access the media. Every public representative has people coming into their offices who cannot pay their bills and are in negotiations with charity organisations to see if there is any help they can give them. However, this only carries the issue on for another month or six weeks and the underlaying issue is not addressed. Companies must step up to the mark and acknowledge that there is a serious problem with a certain group of people that they must tackle. Rather than sending out aggressive people looking for money, they should send people who will negotiate on the behalf of the company and outline the plans. Putting a protocol up on a website and national media does not really reach the targeted people.
There is a great deal of validity in what the Deputy says. There are people who are unaware of the existence of the protocol to which I refer. Communicating to them can be a challenge. Some of the work done by some of the charity organisations in this regard is very significant. These organisations include the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and State organisations like the money advice and budgeting service. I would like to take this and every opportunity to advise people to enter into a payment plan with the supplying company or install a pay-as-you-go meter to avoid circumstances where there is disconnection, even for 24 hours.
5. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the reason Bord Gáis is being allowed to place a high pressure gas main at minimum level depth along main residential areas in Dublin city; and his views on the cost implications and disruption for other utilities. [4905/13]
The matters raised by the Deputy are operational matters for Bord Gáis Éireann, BGE. The company operates in accordance with the safety framework established by the CER, which has statutory responsibility for gas safety. In addition, in accordance with section 39A of the Gas Act 1976, as amended, the CER has responsibility for the assessment of applications to construct transmission pipelines. I have no function in these operational matters. BGE owns and operates the national transmission and distribution gas network. BGE and the CER have advised that all transmission pipelines, including those in residential areas, are designed, constructed, tested, operated and maintained in accordance with Irish Standard 328:2003, the code of practice for gas transmission pipelines and pipeline installations.
I understand that pipelines in suburban and urban areas are constructed using high grade steel pipe and are laid with a minimum depth of cover of 1.2 m throughout. In some circumstances and over short sections, where existing major services are located and cannot be moved, it may not be possible to meet this depth of cover. In these cases, additional pipeline protection measures, such as concrete impact protection, are put in place in accordance with Irish Standard 328:2003. Once commissioned, a scheduled routine maintenance and inspection programme is applied to all pipelines. Urban streets often contain numerous different utilities in close proximity to each other, including gas, electricity, telecommunications, drainage and water. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2006 place the responsibility for identification and avoidance of existing infrastructure on the party carrying out the works. BGE, in carrying out pipeline projects, always seeks to minimise the impact of the construction works on the existing infrastructure along the route.
I understand the Deputy is referring to the Santry to East Wall gas pipeline. In regard to that pipeline, the consent of the CER to BGE’s undertaking of these works was informed by the advice of consultants engaged by the CER.
I know from our own civil works over years that best practice for a gas main in built up areas is 2 m. Dublin City Council would have expected it to be laid at a depth of 2 m. Laying it at a depth of 1 m is detrimental to anyone coming afterwards to install infrastructure for water, drainage, telecommunications or electricity. We are looking for trouble by putting this pipe at a depth of 1 m. The city council is well aware of that but when the contractor for Bord Gáis was asked why best practice was not being followed, the response was that there was insufficient money and "It's the economy, stupid". The guidelines are not strict enough because everybody knows that where a spaghetti junction of services already exists, the new pipe has to be laid at a depth of 2 m so as to go under the existing infrastructure. Rather than observing the industry's best practice, the work is being determined by costs. This is going to put the safety of those who live near the pipe in danger. It is all very well to speak about putting the pipe in place and covering it with whatever safety structures one likes, but it is nonsense to put a pipe of this size and pressure so close to the surface.
I am somewhat puzzled by Deputy Wallace's comments. I am told by my technical people that the Deputy has experience of this area but the clear advice is that the project is being done to standard. I cited the relevant standard and the code of practice for gas transmission pipelines and pipeline installation. The standard requires infrastructure to be laid at a depth of 1.2 m and, where there are other utilities, additional reinforcing measures must also be installed. This is the first time I have heard the phrase "It's the economy, stupid" in this regard. As much of the work was completed during the boom, I cannot see how the economy would have been an issue. I am not aware that Dublin City Council has challenged what I have said. I would be happy to ask Bord Gáis to meet the Deputy to discuss the matter. It is not a matter of opinion. If a standard has been established and is being complied with, that is the professional assessment. Deputy Wallace may have a different assessment. Let us hope it is never tested because neither of us want an accident to occur. The advice I have received suggests that the work is done to the highest standard.
This pipe is not being installed during the boom time. An engineering company is currently working on it with three different crews.
Is the Deputy referring to a particular area?
They are working on Swords Road, Malahide Road and Griffith Avenue. The specifications to which the Minister refers are fine in virgin ground but where existing services are in place, best practice demands that new infrastructure should go underneath them at a depth of 2 m. I ask the Minister to find out from Dublin City Council whether it is best practice to put the pipe at 1 m beneath existing services.
I will do precisely that and will communicate the reply to the Deputy.
