Thursday, 18 May 2017

Written Answers Nos 263-275

GLAS Data

Questions (263)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

263. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons in receipt of GLAS 1 and GLAS 2 who have received 85% of their total 2016 payment by county in tabular form; the number of persons who have passed all payment approval checks and are awaiting their 2016 payments; the number of GLAS recipients who have yet to receive payment by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23809/17]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The information requested by the deputy is set out in the following table.

		GLAS 1			GLAS 2
County	Number Sent for Payment	Number with PPV Pass	Unpaid	Number Sent for Payment	Number with PPV Pass	Unpaid
Carlow	259	1	19	120	0	8
Cavan	865	1	44	419	0	13
Clare	1,525	0	92	673	0	18
Cork	2,004	2	163	951	2	61
Donegal	1,844	2	107	959	4	48
Dublin	56	0	7	15	0	2
Galway	2,840	1	258	1,217	3	94
Kerry	1,682	2	95	838	3	36
Kildare	226	0	24	75	0	7
Kilkenny	405	1	27	196	0	16
Laois	345	0	26	186	0	11
Leitrim	961	0	63	404	0	16
Limerick	995	0	60	290	1	11
Longford	483	0	34	337	0	12
Louth	130	0	18	76	0	4
Mayo	2,362	0	204	1,207	4	122
Meath	392	0	35	186	0	18
Monaghan	542	0	36	138	0	8
Offaly	452	1	23	260	2	18
Roscommon	1,446	0	89	532	1	21
Sligo	899	0	49	354	0	15
Tipperary	1,047	5	87	483	0	30
Waterford	320	3	41	116	0	16
Westmeath	603	3	46	253	0	11
Wexford	665	0	110	242	0	28
Wicklow	296	0	36	146	0	9
	23,644	22	1,793	10,673	20	653

Agri-Environment Options Scheme Data

Questions (264)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

264. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons who applied for AEOS who have received their total 2016 payment by county in tabular form; the number of persons who have passed all payment approval checks and are awaiting their 2016 payments; the number of AEOS recipients who have yet to receive payment by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23810/17]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System must take place before payments are made. As 2016 is the final year for AEOS 2 participants re-checks on payments made for all scheme years must be completed before final payment can be processed. This process is on-going and payments are made as cases are finalised.

Draft TT

County	Totals	Paid	Awaiting Payment
Carlow	49	43	6
Cavan	244	208	36
Clare	556	484	72
Cork	428	366	62
Donegal	1360	1,190	170
Dublin	9	9	0
Galway	1245	1,081	164
Kerry	568	490	78
Kildare	39	32	7
Kilkenny	109	93	16
Laois	80	59	21
Leitrim	430	381	49
Limerick	224	183	41
Longford	89	74	15
Louth	41	32	9
Mayo	1399	1,262	137
Meath	83	74	9
Monaghan	151	115	36
Offaly	110	96	14
Roscommon	478	428	50
Sligo	335	298	37
Tipperary	245	189	56
Waterford	82	71	11
Westmeath	122	92	30
Wexford	84	57	27
Wicklow	80	67	13
Totals	8640	7,474	1166

GLAS Payments

Questions (265)

Timmy Dooley

Question:

265. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will receive a GLAS payment for 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23821/17]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The person named approved into GLAS 1 with a contract commencement date of 1 October 2015 and has been paid in full in respect of the 2015 scheme year.

During the 2016 prepayment checking process an issue presented on the computerised crosscheck of Department databases.  Department officials are actively working on the issue with a view to further processing the 2016 payment.

Mobile Telephony Services

Questions (266)

Timmy Dooley

Question:

266. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the position regarding the implementation of the 40 actions identified by the mobile phone and broadband task force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23608/17]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

I am critically aware of the frustration currently being experienced across Ireland where telecommunications networks are not always delivering the services people expect. Recognising this frustration, I specifically included in the Programme for Government a commitment to a Mobile Phone and Broadband Task force. In July 2016, I established the Task Force together with Minister Humphreys to identify immediate solutions to broadband and mobile phone coverage deficits and investigate how better services could be provided to consumers prior to the full build and roll-out of the network planned under the NBP State intervention. The report of the Task Force was published in December and is available on my Department's website.

In producing this report, the Task Force worked with Departments, local authorities, ComReg, State agencies, the telecoms industry and other key stakeholders. The report contains 40 actions that will alleviate some of the telecommunications deficits across Ireland and the implementation programme on mobile phone and broadband access identifies 19 of these actions as areas where immediate and direct action by Departments and State agencies can ensure accelerated benefits to consumers.

Implementation of the actions identified by the Taskforce will allow the business opportunities and benefits that the growth in the digital economy is bringing to be felt across the entire country. It will also assist in the creation of a digital infrastructure that can support this growth, and that can provide nationwide coverage with sufficient capacity to ensure that data can flow at the volume, speed and reliability required to meet the demands of modern life. Implementation of these actions will also assist local authorities in preparing for the roll-out of the new NBP network once contracts are in place.

In order to maintain momentum created by the Task Force, I, together with Minister Humphreys, have established an Implementation Group. This group is driving and monitoring the implementation of the actions, bringing together all key stakeholders identified in the Task Force report with responsibility for delivery. This group will be formally reporting every 90 days on progress made on all actions to both myself and Minister Humphreys.

The first meeting of the Implementation Group took place on 8 March, and was followed by a series of bilateral meetings with action holders.  These discussions have formed the basis of the first quarterly progress report, which I, together with Minister Humphreys, expect to publish shortly. This report will show that considerable progress has been made, particularly in relation to the implementation of actions identified for Q1 2017.

The Implementation Group is also tasked with comprehensively reviewing progress made after twelve months, and producing an annual report summarising progress across all actions. The Group is also mandated to recommend further actions that would result in an improved service for consumers.

The benefits that the implementation of the actions in the Task Force report will bring will be felt across Ireland.

Energy Policy Review

Questions (267)

Timmy Dooley

Question:

267. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the position regarding the Moneypoint working group; the number of times that this group has met since its establishment; and the date by which the group will publish its findings. [23611/17]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

The Energy White Paper, 'Ireland's Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future 2015-2030', published in December 2015, notes that Moneypoint, Ireland’s only coal burning power station, contributes to diversifying Ireland’s fuel mix and the provision of competitively priced electricity. The station is owned by the ESB and the White Paper recognises that key decisions on its future will have to be taken before 2020 as the station will reach the end of its operating life in its current configuration in 2025. In addition, the White Paper recognises that increasing ‘cost of carbon’ charges on Green House Gas emissions will drive up the cost of carbon-intensive energy sources and lead firms and consumers to adopt low carbon fuels and energy efficient technologies. It is anticipated therefore that the phasing out of higher carbon fuels will be achieved by a combination of sustainable policy measures and consumer reaction to the higher price of carbon intensive fuels.

The May 2016 Programme for a Partnership Government includes a commitment to establish a National Dialogue on Climate Change, with one of its tasks to identify the most suitable replacement low-carbon generation technology for Moneypoint. This builds on the commitment in the Energy White Paper to establish a National Energy Forum to maximise and maintain consensus on the broad policy measures set out in the White Paper required to ensure the transition to a low-carbon energy future. 

The future of Moneypoint is multifaceted and requires consideration of issues such as security of supply, system stability, competitiveness and sustainability. The working group set up in my Department is an internal group of officials working together to examine the key considerations in relation to the future of Moneypoint, including the overall fuel mix in the energy sector, analysis undertaken to date in relation to Moneypoint, and appropriate further research if considered necessary. The group consists of senior energy officials and meets as part of existing meeting structures.  

The objective of this working group is to gather the information and research necessary in order to inform policy decisions that relate to the future of Moneypoint. 

Key decisions on the future of Moneypoint will be taken before 2020. These decisions are likely to include policy decisions which will be made by me as Minister and commercial decisions which will be made by the ESB as owners and operators of Moneypoint.

Cyber Security Policy

Questions (268)

Jim O'Callaghan

Question:

268. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his Department has had contact with the US authorities regarding a National Security Agency information technology hacking breach and its link to recent malware information technology attacks across the globe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23817/17]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

The major cyber attack that occurred globally in recent days is unprecedented in terms of scale and speed of onset. Whereas ransomware attacks via malicious e-mail attachment have become commonplace, this newly discovered malware type, generally referred to as WannaCry2 possesses the ability to spread very rapidly from machine to machine without any user intervention. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) monitored the situation on Friday and over the weekend, and engaged with national and international stakeholders, coordinating the national response and informing Government of developments. The NCSC also issued a series of Advisory notices to Government Departments and Agencies over the weekend as this issue developed and more became known about the malware. The impact of this on Ireland was limited, but further variants are expected to be developed and there is a high risk that further incidents of this type will arise again in the future. The NCSC is conducting a review of the response to recent events, and I will bring any recommendations arising to Government in due course. The NCSC remains in close contact with international counterparts, including the authorities in the United States and with public and private sector entities in Ireland, particularly with regard to ensuring that the impact of any future variants of this malware are mitigated.

Cyber Security Policy

Questions (269)

Niall Collins

Question:

269. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the strategy documents and information notes used in awareness campaigns to make SMEs safe from cyber attacks published by his Department since 2011. [23826/17]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

The major cyber attack that occurred globally in recent days is unprecedented in terms of scale and speed of onset. Whereas ransomware attacks via malicious e-mail attachment have become commonplace, this newly discovered malware type, generally referred to as WannaCry2 possesses the ability to spread very rapidly from machine to machine without any user intervention. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) monitored the situation on Friday and over the weekend, and engaged with national and international stakeholders, coordinating the national response and informing Government of developments. The NCSC also issued a series of Advisory notices to Government Departments and Agencies over the weekend as this issue developed and more became known about the malware. The impact of this on Ireland was limited, but further variants are expected to developed and there is a high risk that further incidents of this type will arise again in the future. The NCSC is conducting a review of the response to recent events, and will bring any recommendations arising to Government in due course. The focus of the NCSC in the period since 2015, as set out in the National Cyber Security Strategy, has been to roll out a functional incident response capability, to improve the security of Government ICT and to prepare for the transposition of the Network and Information Security Directive. All of these deliverables are well underway but significant challenges persist. The NCSC has also developed a website MakeITsecure.ie to providing support to individuals and to small businesses around IT security. This site will be redeveloped in the coming months, but only once existing critical tasks are further advanced. The responsibility for the safety and security of IT systems rests with the owners of those systems, at all times. The NCSC has a set of specific roles with regard to the security of Government and certain key infrastructure IT systems, but even in those cases, operational responsibility for security rests with the organisations that own and operate those systems. While the NCSC will continue to evolve it's information provision offering to businesses and private individuals, it will not be acting as an incident response team for anyone other than Government institutions.

Better Energy Homes Scheme Data

Questions (270)

Timmy Dooley

Question:

270. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the median and average grant amounts under the better energy homes scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23612/17]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

The Better Energy Homes Scheme is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf of my Department.  The scheme provides grant aid to private homeowners who wish to improve the energy performance of their home. Fixed grants are provided towards the cost of a range of measures including attic insulation, wall insulation, heating systems upgrades, solar thermal panels and accompanying Building Energy Rating (BER). Over the course of 2016, a total of €17,028,842 was paid out to 15,265 grant recipients who undertook 36,099 individual energy efficiency measures. This resulted in an average grant payment of €1,115 in 2016. Since the grants available under the scheme were set to support approximately 30% of the total cost of each measure, this suggests that the average participant in the Better Energy Homes Scheme invested slightly over €3,700 in 2016.

The median grant amount paid out in 2016 was €750. The most popular individual efficiency measure (excluding the mandatory BER) was attic insulation, which carries a grant of €300. 5,279 households received grant support for attic insulation.

Interdepartmental Working Groups

Questions (271)

Timmy Dooley

Question:

271. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of times the interdepartmental low emissions task force has met since its formation. [23613/17]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

My Department and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, with the support of the Department of An Taoiseach, have convened an interdepartmental Low Emissions Vehicle (LEV) Task Force to consider the range of measures and options available to Government for the purpose of accelerating the deployment of low carbon technologies in line with the Programme for Government commitment.

The role of the Task Force is to examine and make recommendations on a range of potential stimulus, to examine options such as grants, tax incentives, tolls and parking.  Other issues such as infrastructure, legislation and public leadership are also part of the work programme.

The LEV Task Force has begun its work and has divided its work into three work streams which have been assigned as follows:

- Working Group 1 - Market Growth Stimuli and Visibility (WG1);

- Working Group 2 - Infrastructure, Energy Regulation and Pricing (WG2); and

- Working Group 3 - Planning Legislation, Building Regulations and Public Leadership (WG3).

In addition, the work programme of the Task Force has been divided into two phases. The first will focus solely on electric vehicles and the second phase will focus on all other alternative fuels.

The Task Force was convened in December 2016 and since then, WG1 had met on two occasions and WG2 has met once.

The Task Force will also provide an opportunity for stakeholders and members of the public to contribute to the issues considered. Progress being made by the Task Force will be available on the website of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Local Authority Staff

Questions (272)

Niamh Smyth

Question:

272. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the name and contact details for the broadband officers within Cavan and Monaghan County Councils; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23633/17]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

One of the many key actions from the Mobile and Broadband Taskforce report to help streamline the roll-out of high speed broadband is the appointment of Broadband Officers. Funding is being provided to all local authorities to assign an officer with responsibility for broadband, acting as a single point of contact for engagement with telecommunications operators building out infrastructure.

The Broadband Officers are now in place in 29 of the 31 local authority areas. The two remaining local authorities (South Dublin County Council and Wicklow County Council) are currently in the process of recruiting Broadband Officers. Cavan County Council Broadband Officer is Mr Kieran Hever, email [e-mail] and telephone [phone]. Monaghan County Council Broadband Officer is John McArdle, email [e-mail] and telephone [phone].

I have set out in the following table a list of Broadband Officers and contact details.

Local Authority	Broadband Officer	Email	Telephone
Cavan County	Kieran Hever	[e-mail]	[phone]
Donegal County	Daragh McDonough	[e-mail]	[phone]
Galway City	Alfie Jones	[e-mail]	[phone]
Galway County	Brian Barrett	[e-mail]	[phone]
Laois County	Antoinette Brennan	[e-mail]	[phone]
Leitrim County	Shane Tiernan	[e-mail]	[phone]
Longford County	Christine Collins	[e-mail]	[phone]
Louth County	Paul Mulligan	[e-mail]	1890 202 303
Mayo County	Stephen Carolan	[e-mail]	[phone]
Monaghan County	John McArdle	[e-mail]	(047)30500
Offaly County	Ray Bell	[e-mail]	[phone]
Roscommon County	Annemarie Johnson	[e-mail]	[phone]
Sligo County	Nigel Carter	[e-mail]	[phone]
Westmeath County	Gerry McCormack	[e-mail]	[phone]
Carlow County	Eoin Lyng	[e-mail]	[phone]
Clare County	Urban McMahon	[e-mail]	[phone]
Cork City	Fergus Gleeson	[e-mail]	[phone]
Cork County	Dan O Sullivan	[e-mail]	[phone]
Dublin City Council	Jamie Cudden	[e-mail]	[phone]
Dun Laoghaire County	Fergal Kelly	[e-mail]	[phone]
Fingal County	David Storey	[e-mail]	[phone]
Kerry	Diarmuid Reilly	[e-mail]	[phone]
Kildare County	Evelyn Wright	[e-mail]	[phone]
Kilkenny County	Steven Coverdale	[e-mail]	[phone]
Limerick County	Mihai Bilauca	[e-mail]	[phone]
Meath County	Fergus O’Rourke	[e-mail]	[phone]
South Dublin County	Pending		[phone]
Tipperary County	Simon Howe	[e-mail]	[phone]
Waterford County	Jack Doyle	[e-mail]	[phone]
Wexford County	Carolyne Godkin	[e-mail]	[phone]
Wicklow County	Pending		[phone]

Litter Pollution

Questions (273, 282)

Niamh Smyth

Question:

273. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to deal with the issue of dog fouling in counties Cavan and Monaghan and throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23640/17]

John Curran

Question:

282. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the amount each local authority in Dublin will receive further to his recent announcement to increase funding from the environment fund to combat the prevalence of dog fouling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23885/17]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

I propose to take Questions Nos. 273 and 282 together.

Although in 2016, dog fouling constituted just 1.22 per cent of all litter nationally, it is an issue of particular concern to me given its potential impacts on human health, particularly for children.

The Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2009 provide the statutory framework to enable local authorities to combat littering. It is an offence under section 22 of the Acts not to clean up after your dog. I believe that there are sufficient penalties in place, when enforced, to deal with the issue of dog fouling under the Litter Pollution Acts, but ultimately it is the responsibility of each individual to ensure that they play their part in preserving the environment for others through the responsible disposal of their litter, including in relation to dog fouling.

Each local authority must determine the most appropriate course of action to tackle litter pollution locally, including the most appropriate public awareness, enforcement and clean-up actions in relation to litter and dog fouling, taking account of its own particular circumstances and priorities. Authorised local authority officers and Gardaí may issue a notice or on-the-spot fine to an individual believed of committing a prescribed offence under the Acts.

As part of the targeted direct response to deal with litter, my Department operates an Anti-Litter and Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme (ALAGS). Under this Scheme, local authorities can apply for funding for projects aimed at raising awareness of litter issues, including that of dog fouling. Local authorities are asked to focus their activities under the scheme on young people and in particular on schools and community groups with an emphasis on encouraging long term behavioural change. It is open to local authorities to utilise some of this funding to improve the situation specifically in relation to dog fouling. 

Compared to 2016, I have increased funding for the ALAGS scheme in 2017 by 28% and allocated a total of €885,000 to local authorities this year. I will announce individual local authority allocations very shortly. 

Household Benefits Scheme

Questions (274)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

274. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will reinstate the telephone allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23641/17]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

As Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, I have no function in relation to this matter. Responsibility for the Household Benefits Package, which includes the Telephone Allowance, rests with the Minister for Social Protection.

Commission for Energy Regulation

Questions (275)

Eoin Ó Broin

Question:

275. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he has examined the report on the regulation and inspection of gas installers operating here that was published by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications in July 2015; and if he will appoint an independent expert or consultant to conduct a thorough investigation of the extent of illegal activity regarding gas boilers being installed by persons operating outside of the law as recommended in the report. [23664/17]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Responsibility for the regulation of gas installers with respect to safety of the electricity and gas markets is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). Under the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 the CER is responsible for regulating the activities of gas undertakings and gas installers with respect to safety. The legislation provides that any gas works carried out on domestic gas installers may be carried out only by a Registered Gas Installer (RGI). Under the energy regulatory framework the CER is accountable to a Committee of the Oireachtas and not to the Minister. I therefore do not have any role or function in the matter. Furthermore, paragraph 26 of Schedule 1 of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 provides that the CER “shall have regard to any recommendations of such Joint Committee relevant to its functions”.  I am informed that the CER responded in detail by letter dated 29 March 2017 to the Joint Committee in the matter of illegal operators within the gas boiler installation industry, and on the other recommendations contained in the report of the Committee.