Written Answers Nos. 260-268
260. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his Department uses any system software for the auto deletion of e-mail messages; if so, his Department's guidelines on the use of such a system; and the length of time e-mails are stored before they are auto deleted. [25176/15]
View answerIn accordance with the terms of the Public Service Agreement on the use of shared services my Department currently has the management of its email function outsourced to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has email filtering in place, which deletes incoming emails that are categorised as being viruses, malware or spam. In cases where there is a doubt over the provenance of an email, the email is quarantined and the intended recipient is notified. They can then request the email administrator to release the email if it is not deemed to be a threat.
Otherwise the Department does not have any processes in place that carry out auto-deletion of emails from our email servers. All email data are backed up in accordance with our backup policy and can be restored to particular points in time if required.
261. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding the post office network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25205/15]
View answerThe six point action plan by the Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) aligns with this Government’s consistent message that a strong, modern and commercially viable post office network, that is responsive to changing consumer choices, is essential for urban and rural communities alike.
I established the Post Office Network Business Development Group earlier this year, on which the IPU is represented. The terms of reference for the group are to examine the potential from existing and new Government and commercial business that could be transacted through the post office network; identify the new business opportunities for the network, taking account of international experience; engage as necessary with the public sector, commercial bodies and other interested parties in pursuit of the aforementioned objectives; and prepare an interim and final report for the Minister in accordance with an agreed timetable.
The work of the group will be of strategic importance to the future of the post office network and I look forward to it concluding its deliberations later this year. In the meantime, I published the initial report of the group for consultation on 16 June, the results of which will contribute to the final report in due course. The consultation runs until 28 July 2015 and details are available through the following link on my Department’s website:http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/Communications/Postal/Post+Office+Network+Business+Development+Group.htm.
It is in everyone's interest that we have a sustainable post office network, one which meets the needs of the consumer first and foremost. Our collective challenge will be to ensure the future services offered by An Post and the postmasters place the company on a sound financial footing.
262. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources considering the expected demand for biomass, if he has examined the co-firing of Bord na Móna stations with same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25207/15]
View answerElectricity from biomass, including co-firing with peat, is already supported through the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (REFIT) schemes. Furthermore, the Draft Bioenergy Plan, published in October last year and which is available on my Department’s website, recommended the continuation of REFIT 3 and that the scheme would be kept under review to ensure the most cost effective way to support co-firing of biomass with peat.
263. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if the Government has plans to provide a gas pipeline connection to County Kerry, in view of the fact that counties Kerry and Donegal are the only two counties in the State without a gas connection. [25242/15]
View answerThe development and expansion of the natural gas network is in the first instance a commercial matter for Gas Networks Ireland (GNI), formerly Gaslink, which is mandated under Section 8 of the Gas Act 1976, as amended, to develop and maintain a national system for the supply of natural gas that is both economical and efficient.
The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), is statutorily responsible for all aspects of the assessment and licensing of prospective operators who wish to develop and/or operate a gas distribution system within the State under the Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002. I have no statutory function in relation to the connection of towns to the gas pipeline network.
In 2006, the CER approved a Gas Connections Policy which enabled assessment of the feasibility of connecting new towns to the gas network. In order for any town to be connected to the gas network, certain economic criteria need to be satisfied.
The policy provides that the construction and operating costs of connecting a town, or group of towns, to the network are recovered through the consumption of gas and the associated network charges. The distance of a town from the gas network is the major factor determining the costs of building a gas pipeline. The anticipated industrial or commercial gas usage in the town largely determines the revenue from gas network charges which must balance the connection costs. Uneconomic gas pipeline projects would unfairly increase energy costs for all gas consumers.
Gaslink completed three comprehensive studies to assess nearly 80 towns for connections to the gas network with the result that more than twenty new towns have been connected in recent years.
Under its New Towns Analysis Phase 3 report, published in 2010, the County Kerry towns of Listowel, Killarney and Tralee were assessed, as was the County Donegal towns of Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Donegal, Lifford and Letterkenny. However, the Gaslink review found that these towns did not qualify for connection on economic grounds.
As the successor to Gaslink, GNI will continue to review the towns which did not qualify for connection in 2010 as well as other towns. The key factor which would qualify a town or group of towns in any future review would be a significant increase in demand for natural gas, usually as a result of the addition of a new large industrial or commercial facility.
The CER recently hosted a consultation on a submission received by it from GNI proposing revisions to the existing gas connections policy, as mentioned above. As the consultation period has ended, a decision is expected shortly.
264. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if eel fishing licences will be reissued by his Department following a ban on eel fishing, which was introduced in 2009; his plans to compensate those who held eel fishing licences in the past; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25363/15]
View answerI refer to the reply to Question No. 226 of 11 June.
In addition, while I recognise fully the difficulty facing eel fishermen, there is no property right attaching to public eel licences and currently there are no plans to introduce a hardship scheme as outlined by the Deputy.
265. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the total number of premises targeted for delivery of high speed fibre Internet broadband for companies (details supplied); if his Department has held discussions on the estimated number of premises to be targeted for delivery of this broadband; if so, the number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25418/15]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.
Last November I published a national high speed coverage map for 2016. The map identifies every townland on a county-by-county basis and can be accessed at www.broadband.gov.ie. The areas marked BLUE represent those areas that will have access to commercial high speed broadband services by end 2016. The AMBER area shows the target areas for the State intervention and includes some 750,000 addresses.
Investment decisions by telecommunications networks providers, including the specific location of particular investments, are commercial decisions for the companies concerned and I have no role in the timing or location of these investments.
Eircom recently announced an investment that may cover a further 300,000 addresses with fibre-to-the-premises high speed broadband.
The new ESB/Vodafone Joint Venture company SIRO, which was formally launched on 14 May 2015, plans to deliver fibre-to-the-home services to 500,000 homes and businesses in 50 towns across Ireland. The company has not formally announced any further roll-out plans to-date.
Details of investment roll-out programmes are publicly available on the websites of both companies.
New private planned high speed broadband investments, such as those recently announced by eircom and SIRO, may be added to the national high-speed coverage map, once it is established that these plans are definitive and meet the relevant criteria to deliver high speed broadband service to end users. Until the necessary analysis is completed, it would not be appropriate to comment any further.
It is envisaged that the map will be updated on an ongoing basis from now until the award of a contract or contracts relating to the State intervention.
Ultimately the aim of the National Broadband Plan is to ensure that all premises will have access to high speed broadband, whether through commercial investment or a State funded intervention.
A monthly update on commercial rollout of high speed broadband and on the development of the State intervention programme is available on www.broadband.gov.ie.
268. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he is aware of plans by those involved in the delivery of the national postcode contract to launch an alternative code simultaneously to address key functionality that the contracted code does not provide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25437/15]
View answerThe Postcode Contractor, Capita, who have been awarded the contract to develop and implement the postcodes project, propose to launch eircodes within the next few weeks. My Department have been advised by Capita that they have no plans to launch an alternative code along the lines outlined in the Question.
