Written Answers Nos. 127-136
127. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the duration of the merchant agreement where payment by debit or credit card is accepted for services provided by his Department or bodies under the aegis of his Department to the public; when the term of the agreement will end; if the merchant agreement is awarded by way of tender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15732/14]
View answerMy Department has two arrangements in place for the provision of credit/debit card acquiring services. My Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service avails of a Framework Agreement put in place by the Local Government Management Agency, and open for use by all non-commercial contracting authorities in the public sector, for the supply of services by Elavon. The Framework Agreement commenced on 7 April 2011, was due to expire on 6 April 2014 and has been extended for a further year until 6 April 2015. I understand a procurement competition will be advertised later this year to ensure new arrangements are in place by 6 April 2015. Secondly, the National Archives of Ireland conducted a tender process in 2012 and awarded a one year contract, to Elavon, in December 2012. This contract expired on the 13th December 2013 and the National Archives of Ireland is currently reviewing the contract having regard to the Framework Agreement in place with its current service provider.
128. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his plans to mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of Michael Collins in October 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15817/14]
View answerAnnual commemorations to acknowledge the service and achievement of Michael Collins take place each August. Special commemorative initiatives marked the 90th anniversary (in 2012) of his death. While I expect that there will be community based initiatives to mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of General Collins, official commemoratives initiatives would look towards 100th and 150th anniversaries.
I would be very pleased to hear from groups in relation to any plans under development for 2015 and to consider how they might be assisted.
129. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the person and-or agency in Ireland responsible for the Creative Europe Programme 2014-20. [15825/14]
View answerThere are three Creative Europe desks in Ireland which provide details of the various elements of the Creative Europe Programme and also assist potential applicants with the application process. Details are available at the following websites:
- www.mediadeskireland.eu
- www.media-antenna.eu
- www.ccp.ie.
130. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta cén uair a chasfaidh an tAire Stáit ina Roinn le hionadaithe ó phobal Árann leis an easpa seirbhíse farantóireachta paisinéirí fordheonaithe go dtí an t-oileán a phlé; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [15836/14]
View answerBhí cruinniú ag oifigigh mo Roinne le hionadaithe Inis Mór maidir leis an ábhar seo. Táim féin ar fáil le bualadh le hionadaithe ón oileán chun an t-ábhar a phlé tuilleadh, má éilítear a leithéid de chruinniú.
131. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the actions he will take to stop erosion of the priority one habitat machair in Mannin, Ballyconneely, County Galway, where a considerable amount of the machair was destroyed during the storms of January and February 2014; if it is intended to carry out coastal protection works there to stop further erosion of this priority habitat; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15903/14]
View answerMy Department recognises that the storms in January and February of this year have resulted in considerable damage to lands and property, and changes along the coastline, including in areas that have been designated as NATURA 2000 sites. Coastal defence work is not part of my Department's remit but my Department contributed to the Guidance on Works and Development Consents for Repairing Infrastructure Damaged in Storms or other Emergency Events, issued after the storms by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, working with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, the OPW, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
It is important to recognise that coastlines undergo a constant cycle of erosion and accretion as part of natural processes. Shorelines absorb the energy entering the coastal zone by redistributing sediment. Material that is eroded from one section of the coast accumulates in another, such that the contours of the coastline are constantly in a state of change. Interference with these natural dynamic processes (by trying to slow down or stop them) can sometimes invite further instability and increased rates of damage to land and property in the area concerned. The construction of physical barriers such as sea defences can interrupt longshore drift, leading to beach starvation and increased rates of erosion in adjacent areas. Therefore, care must be taken to consider fully the effects of any response to erosional events. Erosion can also be exacerbated by human impacts and this also needs to be taken into account.
As the Deputy is aware, Machair is a priority habitat and is listed as a qualifying interest for the Slyne Head Peninsula Special Area of Conservation (site code: 2074).
Constant cycles of erosion and stabilisation are considered part of a naturally functioning dune/machair system. Erosion, in particular, plays an important role in the formation of machair, as the true machair plain is where wind erosion has eroded the original dune system down to a level just above the water table, where the wet consistency of the sand prevents further erosion.
My Department will continue to assist and provide advice in this matter as appropriate.
132. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the selection procedure under which Limerick was selected as the City of Culture 2014; if he requested his officials to come up with reasons before or after this Deputy asked this question on the record of Dáil Éireann (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15909/14]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my previous replies on this topic and particularly to my response to the Deputy's question in January, which comprehensively outlines the background for the selection of Limerick as the inaugural City of Culture 2014.
In that reply I detailed how I received a written presentation from the Limerick Reorganisation Implementation Group in May 2012. Following this I brought a Memorandum to Government which decided on 3 July 2012 on the designation of Limerick.
133. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to introduce a scheme whereby home owners can have a free electric vehicle charger installed at their home regardless of whether they have an electric vehicle, as is currently the case in the UK, and which may be provided for through EU funding (details supplied). [15761/14]
View answerI refer to the reply to Question No. 319 of 1st April 2014.
134. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will report on his meeting with the Irish Postmasters' Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15724/14]
View answerI met with the Irish Postmasters' Union on 24 March and we had a useful and wide-ranging discussion on their concerns in relation to the future of the post office network. Securing the future viability of the post office network in the longer term will entail the network continuing to modernise, as it is doing, to provide the services that its customers require. An Post has undertaken a programme of capital investment particularly in the computerisation of the post office network including the automation of all post offices. As a result, the post office network stands well positioned to become the front office provider of choice for Government and the financial services sector for both electronic transactions as well as the more traditional over the counter transactions. Any such developments would need to be subject to public procurement requirements as appropriate. I have committed to taking the issue of the provision of additional public sector business to the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy. I hope the Committee will make further progress on a whole-of-government approach to sustaining and developing the network consistent with European law. The professionalism of the postmasters and An Post has served the network well down through the years and I do not see any reason why this should not continue to be so in the years ahead.
135. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the duration of the merchant agreement where payment by debit or credit card is accepted for services provided by his Department or bodies under the aegis of his Department to the public; when the term of the agreement will end; if the merchant agreement is awarded by way of tender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15734/14]
View answerMy Department does not provide services to the public where payment is accepted by debit or credit card. However, the Geological Society of Ireland, a Division of my Department, operates a bookshop which accepts payment by cash, debit and credit card. The total gross turnover of the bookshop is in the region of €30,000 per annum. The credit/debit card facility is provided by Bank of Ireland who operate the Department's commercial bank accounts. The services provided and their associated costs are reviewed periodically.
136. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide an update on the progress of the national broadband plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15902/14]
View answerThe Government's National Broadband Plan, which I published in August 2012, aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses. This will be achieved by providing:
- a policy and regulatory framework that assists in accelerating and incentivising commercial investment, and
- a State-led investment for areas where it is not commercial for the market to invest.
Since the publication of the Plan, investments by the commercial sector are underway and in some instances have been accelerated in both fixed line and wireless high speed broadband services. In the fixed line segment of the market, eircom has announced plans to pass 1.4m addresses with its next generation broadband service, with speeds of up to 100Mbps, while UPC has increased its entry level and maximum speeds to 120Mbps and 200Mbps respectively. Mobile operators have also made announcements regarding network upgrades and are rolling out enhanced product offerings. In addition, the recent enactment of legislation to facilitate the ESB's entry into the telecommunications market, either alone or in partnership with another operator, will also help the roll-out of high speed broadband as well as facilitating greater competition in the Irish market.
Many of these developments have been facilitated through the implementation of measures in the National Broadband Plan, including the conclusion of ComReg's multiband spectrum auction, and the regulatory regime for fixed line Next Generation Access and service bundles. Both of these measures are designed to incentivise the rollout of services by operators.
In tandem with these developments, intensive work, including a comprehensive mapping exercise, continues in my Department in relation to the State-led investment to secure the countrywide introduction of next generation broadband access. In order to progress the State-led investment for areas where it is not commercial for the market to invest, a full procurement process must be designed and EU State Aids approval must be obtained.
Under the national mapping exercise, information has been sought from all undertakings authorised by ComReg in relation to current and planned broadband services, both basic and next generation access (NGA). Mapping data has been submitted to my Department by a total of 23 operators and the process of analysing the data and supporting information is continuing. The mapping data is being assessed on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the EU State Aid Guidelines. When all of the information has been analysed, a clear picture should emerge of coverage throughout all of the country. I expect that this process will be completed later this year, after which it is my intention to publish a map showing existing and planned NGA broadband coverage, along with the Government's proposals for a State-led intervention to roll out high speed broadband across the country. The procurement process for the approved intervention will be carried out in accordance with EU and Irish procurement rules and it is expected that it will be launched later in 2014.
Implementation of the National Broadband Plan will be complemented by measures in the National Digital Strategy which I launched in July last. The first phase of the National Digital Strategy targets specific segments of society, aiming to improve digital engagement of citizens and businesses to realise the economic and social benefits that digital technologies can bring.
Through the implementation of the National Broadband Plan, I am committed to ensuring that all parts of Ireland have access to high speed broadband, with a view to ensuring that all citizens and businesses can participate fully in, and maximise the benefits of, a digitally enabled economy and society.
