Written Answers Nos 188-194
188. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which he may ensure directly or in consort with his EU colleagues that world oil price reductions are passed on by the oil companies to the consumer at filling stations which affects motoring costs and domestic heating costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40861/14]
View answerThe Irish oil industry is fully privatised, liberalised and deregulated and there is free entry to the market.
There is no price control in the oil sector and it is Government policy to encourage price competition and consumer choice. I have no statutory function in the setting of oil, petrol or diesel prices.
Previous surveys have shown that prices charged by Irish retailers for oil products relate to the refinery price rather than to the price of crude. The price paid at the pump by consumers is largely determined by taxation levels, the internationally traded price of crude oil and the consequent price at which refined product is traded in Europe, along with the level of competition in the retail market.
The European Commission maintains a Statistics and Market Observatory, which presents consumer prices and net prices (excluding duties and taxes) of petroleum products in EU Member States (known as the Oil Bulletin) on a weekly basis. The Oil Bulletin is designed to improve the transparency of oil prices and to strengthen the internal market. The relevant link is: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/observatory/oil/bulletin_en.htm.
As of 13 October 2014, the price of petrol in Ireland was €1.53 per litre including taxes and duties, while the price of diesel was €1.43 per litre including taxes and duties. The weighted EU average for the EU 28 for the same week was €1.54 per litre for petrol including taxes and duties and €1.39 for diesel including taxes and duties. While Ireland's diesel price last week was slightly higher than the EU average, our petrol prices were lower. Ireland was around mid point on the list of EU Member States.
189. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which provision is being made to bring broadband speed and quality up to best international standards in both urban and rural areas throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40862/14]
View answer194. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which broadband and/or mobile telephonic communication quality here compares with other European and global jurisdictions; whether specific measures are afoot to address any obvious deficiencies in this regard, whether through direct negotiation with the service providers or in conjunction with the regulator; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40867/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 189 and 194 together.
The provision of broadband services occurs within a fully liberalised market. The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately €2.5bn in network upgrades and at least 1.6m of the 2.3m addresses in Ireland are expected to have access to commercial high speed broadband services over the next number of years. Mobile service providers are now also rolling out 4G mobile services and upgrading 3G services.
The broadband speeds available in many urban areas in Ireland are as capable as the highest marketed speeds available in many comparable economies. Comparisons of broadband statistics concentrate on the headline or average broadband speeds marketed by the largest operators in each country. However these comparisons do not measure access to those high speeds within any country.
Under the National Broadband Plan, the Government aims to ensure that high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses in Ireland, through a combination of commercial investment and a State-led intervention.
Under EU State Aid Guidelines Member States cannot intervene where commercial investors have plans to roll out services. My Department is currently finalising a national map which will identify those areas that require a State intervention. As part of the mapping process, a stakeholder consultation was launched in June. 32 submissions have been received and non-commercially sensitive versions of these responses were published by my Department earlier today.
I expect to publish the map shortly. Those accessing this map will be able to identify their own house or premises and see whether it is in the proposed intervention footprint. Where a house or premises is not in the proposed intervention area it means it either currently, or will in the near future, have access to commercial high speed broadband services. The map will be subject to change as new information becomes available or commercial investments are announced in the future.
A further public consultation on a detailed intervention strategy will be launched in mid-2015. My Department is also working closely with the European Commission with a view to obtaining State Aid clearance for the programme.
A detailed procurement process will be undertaken in order to select a potential preferred bidder(s) towards the end of 2015.
This complex and ambitious project is a key priority for Government. It aims to conclusively address current connectivity challenges in Ireland. Our goal is to ensure that quality broadband services are available to all citizens regardless of where they are located.
190. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which An Post may rely on the continued support of Government in extending the scale of its services throughout the country in conjunction with other service providers where possible in respect of the provision of services likely to benefit from the counter services, delivery services and network of post office and sub-post offices throughout the country in both urban and rural settings; the degree to which new and suitable services have been identified in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40863/14]
View answerIt is Government policy that An Post remains a strong and viable company, in a position to provide a high quality, nationwide postal service and maintain a nationwide customer focused network of post offices in the community. I see a strong future for the network by using its existing strengths to remain a significant player in the provision of Government, financial and other services. 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. Any such developments in the network are, of course, a matter for the company in the first instance and would need to be subject to competition and public procurement requirements as appropriate.
A whole-of-government review of the scope for providing additional public services through local post offices is currently under way under the auspices of the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy. I recently informed the Committee that my Department is examining the responses received from other Departments and engaging in further discussions with relevant Departments, as necessary, with the aim of bringing a proposal on a proposed way forward to the Committee as soon as possible.
191. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the total number of post offices closed on an annual basis in each of the past ten years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40864/14]
View answerOperational matters for the post office network are a matter for the Board and management of An Post and not one in which I have a statutory function. Information provided by the company on the number of post offices closed on an annual basis over the last ten years is set out in the following table:
|
- |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Post Office Closures |
54 |
46 |
47 |
76 |
38 |
12 |
72 |
8 |
4 |
5 |
192. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which electricity generation in this jurisdiction falls within EU guidelines in respect of carbon reduction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40865/14]
View answer193. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which various alternative energy sources, including wind, biofuels, hydro or others, have been utilised in the context of meeting national grid requirements now and in the future; the extent to which clean energy sources continue to remain a dominant feature in future energy composition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40866/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 192 and 193 together.
While responsibility for climate change policy is primarily a matter for my colleague the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, my Department, which has responsibility for energy policy, has a critical role to play in delivering effective interventions required to achieve climate policy objectives.
Ireland is currently heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels to meet our energy needs, and it is acknowledged that fossil fuels will remain part of the energy mix for some time to come. However, progress is being made towards increasing the share of renewables energy in our total energy requirement, and in improving energy efficiency.
Since 1990 the share of high carbon content fuels in electricity generation, such as coal and oil, has been reducing with a corresponding rise in the relatively lower carbon natural gas, and zero carbon renewables. Imported electricity is also considered zero carbon from Ireland’s perspective under the Kyoto Protocol as emissions are counted in the jurisdiction in which they are emitted. The carbon intensity of Ireland’s electricity has dropped by 48% from 896 g CO2/kWh in 1990 to 469 g CO2/kWh in 2013.
The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a target of meeting 16% of total energy demand from renewable sources by 2020. To meet this obligation Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heat and 10% of transport from renewables. At the end of 2013, 7.8% of Ireland’s energy came from renewable sources. The total contribution from renewable generation to gross electricity consumption in 2013 was 20.8%.
Historically, hydro was the largest contributor to renewable electricity in Ireland. While the contribution from hydro has declined in percentage terms since 1990, electricity production from wind energy has increased to the point that it accounted for 81% of the renewable electricity generated in 2013. Electricity generated from biomass accounted for 9% of renewable electricity in 2013. Biomass consists of contributions from solid biomass, landfill gas, renewable portion of waste and other biogas. In 2013 wind, hydro and biomass generated electricity accounted for 16.5%, 2.6% and 1.7% respectively of Ireland’s gross electricity consumption.
Looking out to the period beyond 2020, it is clear that there is potential to increase the diversity of our renewable generation portfolio. To this end, the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP) identifies the sustainable economic opportunity for Ireland in the period to 2030 of realising the potential of our indigenous offshore wind, wave and tidal energy resources. The Strategic Environmental Assessment carried out for the OREDP found that 4,500 MW of offshore wind and 1,500 MW of wave and tidal generation could be sustainably developed in Irish waters.
