Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 June 2016
597. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he is satisfied with the level of data that is collected on the issues which come under his Department's remit; the steps he will take to work with the Administration in Northern Ireland to collect data under his aegis on a North-South basis; and the budget he will put in place to undertake this work (details supplied). [14437/16]
View answerMy Department is pro-active with our respective counterparts in Northern Ireland in facilitating data collection and analysis as part of collaborative arrangements in sectorial areas. Examples which may be of interest to the Deputy include:
- the Single Electricity Market (SEM) which is the wholesale electricity market for the island of Ireland, regulated jointly by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and its counterpart in Belfast, the Utility Regulator (UR). The decision-making body which governs the market is the SEM Committee, consisting of the CER, the Utility Regulator as well as an independent member (who also has a deputy), with each entity having one vote. The SEM is operated by the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO), which facilitates the continuous operation and administration of the Single Electricity Market. Under legislation in Ireland and Northern Ireland, the operation of this market is subject to the regulation of the CER and UR. Market-related data is available in the public domain via the SEMO website: http://www.sem-o.com/Pages/default.aspx.
- Historic market data is available in the SEM Committee quarterly market monitoring reports available on the SEM Committee website. The most recent quarterly report is available at this link:https://www.semcommittee.com/sites/semcommittee.com/files/media-files/SEM-16-014%20MMU%20Quarterly%20Report%20Q4%202015.pdf.
- Cyber Security has become a significant issue and my Department has a formal information sharing arrangement with the UK Authorities, including Northern Ireland, which is maintained on an on-going basis.
- Co-operation on a North South basis is on-going within the inland fisheries area. In the context of research, assessment and data gathering, the Standing Scientific Committees for key fish species are comprised of scientists from across the island of Ireland. Proposals are under discussion with our colleagues in Northern Ireland in relation to further strengthening this collaboration.
In respect of Invasive species, IFI have had significant working relationships with the Invasive Species Ireland programme a cross border body set up by the national parks and wildlife service (NPWS) and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). In this regard a number of species alerts for a range of aquatic invasive species, including Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) were produced. These are available on the invasive species Ireland website http://invasivespeciesireland.com/species-alerts/freshwater-invasive-species/. More recently IFI have engaged in dialogue, and shared information with the Lough’s Agency in relation to the discovery of the Asian clam in the River Foyle.
The cost of data collection and analysis is managed within existing budgets.
My department will continue to explore the possibilities for further collaboration as opportunities arise.
