Written Answers Nos. 164-75
164. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the process involved in becoming a recognised member of the panel of mediators to assist and advise borrowers in distress that she recently announced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45469/12]
View answerI recently announced a three-phased approach to establishing a comprehensive Mortgage Arrears Information and Advice Service to provide the necessary supports to assist people in mortgage distress. The approach differentiates between mortgage information and mortgage advice. The first two involve the enhancement of the website www.keepingyourhome.ie and the establishment of a Mortgage Arrears Information Helpline within the Citizens Information Board both of which focus on the provision of comprehensive mortgage arrears information in particular to people in arrears or pre-arrears.
The third element of the service is the provision of independent financial advice to mortgage holders who are being presented with long term mortgage resolution proposals by their lenders. This advice will be provided by a panel of accountants drawn from members of the main accountancy institutes in Ireland who have agreed to participate and support this independent service.
When a lender is proposing longer-term mortgage resolutions, the lender will advise the borrower to obtain independent financial advice on the proposed arrangement and that, if the borrower wishes to avail of this option, that the lender will pay €250 to an accountant of the borrower’s choosing for the provision of this advice. An operating protocol for the provision of this advice has been agreed between the main accountancy bodies and the lenders. The general scope of the advice will be limited to the borrower’s principal private residence.
The advisory framework has commenced with practising accountants because they already operate within a regulatory regime which includes qualitative oversight by their regulating bodies and in these circumstances it was possible to establish the advisory framework for people with mortgage distress within a relatively short timeframe. This framework will be reviewed in June 2013.
The accountancy bodies have notified their members about the new service. Accountants, with practising certificates who want to be involved, need to indicate to their relevant accounting bodies their wish to participate in the service. To date, some 2,700 accountants have confirmed to their accounting body that they wish to be part of the panel and their details are now listed on www.keepingyourhome.ie on a county by county basis.
166. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on estimated savings in Social Protection expenditure (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45485/12]
View answerThe Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2012 – 2014, published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in December 2011, provides for savings of €475 million in 2012 from a range of welfare measures announced in Budget 2012. The Report also provides for savings of €648 million in 2013 and €690 million in 2014 arising from these measures.
167. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the following case regarding a disability (details supplied). [45492/12]
View answerThis question is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Finance.
168. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal for illness benefit payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45499/12]
View answerPayment of illness benefit, to the person concerned, was disallowed by a Deciding Officer following an examination by a Medical Assessor of the Department who expressed the opinion that she was capable of work. An appeal was registered on the 9th October 2012 and the Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that, in accordance with statutory requirements, the Department was asked for the documentation in the case and the Deciding Officer’s comments on the grounds of the appeal. In that context, an examination by another Medical Assessor will be carried out. The person concerned will be notified when arrangements for the examination have been completed.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
169. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a review of new evidence that was sent to the social welfare appeals office by a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [45504/12]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, disallowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision. Under Social Welfare legislation, the decision of the Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by the Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts. Fresh evidence has been submitted and the Appeal Officer has decided to re-open the appeal by way of granting an oral hearing. The person concerned will be contacted when arrangements for the hearing have been arranged.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
170. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive a decision on their application for carer’s allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45534/12]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 30th January 2012. The application is with a deciding officer for a decision. Once processed the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
171. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a disability pension appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5. [45544/12]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 27th August 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the appeal in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
172. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will outline the proposed cost-cutting measures that will be taking place at Bord na Móna this year on account of the bad harvest; his views on any proposed pay reductions and time reductions across the workforce; the details of the dialogue he and or the management at Bord na Móna has had with staff and their representatives over proposed cost-cutting measures; the timelines involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45379/12]
View answerThis year’s poor peat harvest has created significant financial challenges for Bord na Móna and emphasises the importance of the company’s ongoing diversification and growth strategy away from its core peat business. The management of Bord na Móna is taking decisive steps to ensure a sustainable future for the company and to secure long-term employment by way of its diversification strategy, particularly in the area of renewable power generation. The specific steps being taken by the company to address the financial challenges in light of this year’s peat harvest are operational matters for the Board and management of Bord na Móna. I met with a number of deputies on the implications of the poor harvest recently and on October 18th I met with the Board and senior management. I am satisfied that the Board and management of the company are committed and focused on managing the challenges currently being faced as a consequence of the harvest results for 2012.
173. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide a detailed update in the phase II roll out of the exemplar network project; if he will provide details of associated jobs which have been created and the number of entities in the Dublin area that are participating in the scheme; the progress made in relation to phase III of the project and the preparations that are underway in cities and towns outside Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45382/12]
View answerIn 2009, with the publication of the Technology Actions to Support the Smart Economy report, my Department identified the possibility of significant economic potential from first mover use of new types of flexible networking technology in a research context. To this end it put in place the first phase of the Exemplar programme, a test bed facility based on one such new and advanced Irish technology - Optical Packet Switching and Transport (OPST) from Intune Networks. This facility has been available for the development and testing of next generation services and has been accessible though the HEAnet academic network in Ireland, and via this to academic networks and their users elsewhere in Europe. The Test-bed has 14 industry partners and 8 academic research partners and has led to the creation of 50 new jobs in Ireland.
Under phase II of the Exemplar programme, my Department is examining whether a research support platform, involving academic and industry researchers and including the OPST and other publicly funded research facilities, would stimulate increased cross-organisational research, formalise existing support mechanisms and provide a basis for better researcher-to-researcher networking in developing innovative ICT products and services. These might include Big Data services, analytics services and new cloud support services. My Department is also in discussions with HEAnet, in this context, with a view to using its extensive network to widen access to the test-bed. Phase 3 of the Exemplar Programme envisioned the development of a national smart communications infrastructure. The scale, scope, and breadth of this phase of the Exemplar programme will need to be set by private investors/funders.
174. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide up to date figures from EirGrid of the total installed wind capacity here; the maximum potential wind energy generation in the State; the annual rate of increase of both installed wind capacity in the State for the past ten years and the annual average consumption of renewable energy as a proportion of all energy consumed in the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45387/12]
View answerEirGrid have advised that as of October 2012 approx. 1,695MW of wind generation capacity is connected or energised. The maximum potential of wind generated electricity, based on an average yearly 31% capacity factor, if applied to the existing installed capacity could potentially produce 4.6 Terawatt hours over a year. This would translate into approximately 18% of electricity demand. At particular time intervals, wind has produced enough power to meet 50% of electricity demand, and has even reached a high of 38% of total daily electricity demand. 123 MW is the annual average added each year to the grid over the past 10 years.
Data from EirGrid on the installed capacity of wind for the last 10 years is as follows:
Installed Capacity at Year’s End
2003 - 203 MW
2004 - 371MW
2005 - 641MW
2006 - 693 MW
2007 - 958 MW
2008 - 1067 MW
2009 - 1396 MW
2010 - 1538 MW
2011 - 1629 MW
Figures from SEAI on the average annual average consumption of renewable energy as a proportion of all energy consumed (this includes electricity, heating and transport fuels) over the last ten years is set out below. Two tables are given. The first is all renewable energy as a percentage of total primary energy (TPER) SEAI has also separately provided renewable energy as a percentage of gross final consumption, in line with the definition used in the Renewable Directive.
|
- |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
Renewables % of TPER |
1.6% |
1.8% |
1.6% |
1.9% |
2.4% |
2.7% |
3.0% |
3.6% |
4.6% |
4.6% |
6.0% |
|
Hydro |
0.4% |
0.5% |
0.4% |
0.4% |
0.3% |
0.4% |
0.4% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.3% |
0.4% |
|
Wind |
0.2% |
0.2% |
0.3% |
0.4% |
0.6% |
0.9% |
1.0% |
1.3% |
1.7% |
1.6% |
2.7% |
|
Biomass |
0.9% |
0.8% |
0.8% |
0.9% |
1.1% |
1.1% |
1.1% |
1.1% |
1.3% |
1.4% |
1.5% |
|
Landfill Gas |
0.2% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.2% |
0.2% |
0.2% |
0.2% |
0.3% |
0.3% |
0.3% |
|
Biogas |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
|
Liquid Biofuels |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
0.3% |
0.5% |
0.6% |
0.7% |
|
Solar |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
|
Geothermal |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
|
- |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
Renewables % of Gross Final Consumption |
2.0% |
2.0% |
2.0% |
2.3% |
2.8% |
3.1% |
3.5% |
4.0% |
5.0% |
5.5% |
6.4% |
|
Hydro (normalised) |
0.6% |
0.6% |
0.6% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.6% |
|
Wind (normalised) |
0.2% |
0.3% |
0.3% |
0.5% |
0.7% |
1.1% |
1.3% |
1.5% |
2.0% |
2.2% |
2.9% |
|
Biomass |
1.1% |
1.1% |
1.0% |
1.1% |
1.4% |
1.4% |
1.3% |
1.3% |
1.5% |
1.6% |
1.7% |
|
Landfill Gas |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
|
Biogas |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
|
Liquid Biofuels |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.2% |
0.4% |
0.6% |
0.7% |
0.8% |
|
Solar |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
|
Geothermal |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.2% |
175. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide information on Ireland's strategic oil reserves plan; the estimated stock in days of category one, two and three reserves; the location of the reserves; the estimated cost into the future of maintain the reserves at an adequate level; if projections have been made to take into account a possible extreme spike in the price of crude oil; the details of the levy placed on fuel at the point of sale to fund the oil reserves and the expected increase or decrease of this levy in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45389/12]
View answerInformation on Ireland’s strategic oil reserves planning can be found in the Handbook on Oil Supply Disruption Contingency Measures published on my Department’s website www.dcenr.gov.ie. Ireland is fully compliant with its European Union (EU) obligation to hold 90 days supply of category one, category two and category three oil products for use in the event of an oil supply disruption.
Ireland is also fully compliant with its International Energy Agency (IEA) obligation to maintain 90 days of oil stocks. The National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA) was established to ensure that Ireland meets its EU and IEA oil stockholding obligations. In 2012, under IEA methodology, NORA is required to hold 75 days of Ireland’s 90 day stockholding requirements, the balance of which is held by industry.
NORA meets its stock-holding obligations by a combination of wholly-owned stocks and stock “tickets” (short term contracts to purchase oil in the event of an oil supply disruption).
Of the stocks currently held by NORA, approximately 66% are held as physical stocks on the island of Ireland, 33% are held as physical stocks abroad, and 2% are held as stock tickets.
All industry stocks are held as physical stocks within the State.
It is Government policy to increase the volume of strategic stocks held on the island of Ireland, subject to value for money considerations. In 2011, NORA commissioned two new storage facilities at Ringsend, in Dublin and Kilroot, in County Antrim. In addition, the refurbishment of an existing facility at Tarbert Power Station, County Kerry is at an advanced stage. This additional storage capacity will considerably enhance oil security on the Island of Ireland.
The costs of maintaining the strategic stocks held by NORA are outlined in the NORA annual financial statements, which are published on the website www.nora.ie. The costs vary from year to year depending on the obligation level set for NORA which in turn depends upon the level of oil consumption in the State. NORA receives no Exchequer funding and its operations are funded by a levy imposed on the disposal of oil products which is currently 2 cents per litre and by borrowings from commercial banks. The levy rate is reviewed from time to time and was increased from 1 cent per litre to the current rate of 2 cents per litre with effect from October, 2009. I have no plans to amend the current rate.
Ireland, through its membership of the IEA has access to the latter’s oil market analysis, and as such my Department does not undertake independent projections or forecasts of future oil prices. Volatility in global oil prices underscores the Government’s ongoing commitment to delivering national energy efficiency and renewable energy objectives which are aimed at moving the economy away from reliance on imported carbon intensive fossil fuels.
