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Tuesday, 26 Apr 2022

Written Answers Nos. 329-334

Data Protection

Questions (329)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

329. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if a piece of surveillance technology (details supplied) is being used by his Department or any agencies under his remit in view of the fact that there are security and privacy concerns associated with the use of same; the data protection policies on the use of artificial intelligence with respect to instances in which this technology is being used; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21233/22]

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Written answers

The surveillance technology referred to in the Deputy's question is not in use in any of my Department's offices.The information requested in relation to the agencies under the aegis of my Department is an operational matter for each agency. The Department will request the relevant bodies to reply directly to the Deputy with the information requested in respect of their organisations.

Broadband Infrastructure

Questions (330)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

330. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when fibre broadband will be rolled out in an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21247/22]

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Written answers

The Question refers to premises located in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map which is available on my Department's website www.broadband.gov.ie. The AMBER area represents the area to be served by the network to be deployed under the NBP State led intervention.  I am advised by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) that, as of 15 April 2022, over 319,000 premises have been surveyed or have survey underway, with almost 172,000 premises constructed or under construction across all counties. NBI has also advised that premises are now connected in 16 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Laois, Limerick, Louth, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Wexford and Wicklow and almost 64,000 premises are available to order and pre-order across 22 counties.  In County Limerick surveying is complete in the Deployment Area of Hospital, main works are underway in the Deployment Area of Adare and network build is complete in the Deployment Area of Limerick, with over 7,000 premises under construction or complete, and over 2,500 premises available to order or pre order a high speed broadband connection.

Further details are available on specific areas within County Limerick through the NBI website which provides a facility for any premises within the intervention area to register their interest in being provided with deployment updates through its website www.nbi.ie. Individuals who register with this facility will receive regular updates on progress by NBI on delivering the network and specific updates related to their own premises as works commence. NBI has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries. 

Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) are a key element of the NBP providing high speed broadband in every county in advance of the roll out of the fibre to the home network. As of 15 April 2022, 553 BCP sites have been installed by NBI and the high speed broadband service will be switched on in these locations through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly accessible sites and the Department of Education for school BCPs. In County Limerick 13 BCPs have been installed to date including Cappamore Community Centre, which is approximately 6.7km from the premises referred to. Further details can be found at nbi.ie/bcp-locations/. 

In County Limerick 13 schools have been installed by NBI to date for educational access. My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the Intervention Area. Further details of schools in scope are available on the NBI website at nbi.ie/primary-schools-list/.

Question No. 331 answered with Question No. 247.

Environmental Policy

Questions (332)

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

332. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if concerns raised by a person (details supplied) in respect of the Government’s strategy on fast fashion will be addressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21259/22]

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Written answers

The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, published in September 2020, contains some 200 circular economy measures which will be delivered on a phased basis over the 5-year lifetime of the plan.  A number of specific measures address the need for more sustainable textile production and consumption practices, including measures to: - Develop separate collection framework proposals that take account of the potential global impacts of the international trade in used textiles and in consultation with existing collection operators.

- Ban textiles from the general waste bin, landfill and incineration.

- Promote eco-design for clothing and textiles in collaboration with Irish fashion designers and retailers.

- Support an education and awareness campaign around textiles as a theme of SDG 12 Sustainable Production and Consumption.

- Over the medium to long-term, examine the potential role of economic instruments (e.g. levies) on ‘fast fashion’ which could also support higher value indigenous producers by reducing the cost differential.

The Department will shortly be establishing an industry working group which will identify opportunities to capitalise on the value of post-consumer textiles and explore options to improve future circularity.

Deliberations of the working group will be informed by projects already underway or completed such as CRNI's "Circular Textiles" project funded under the EPA's Green Enterprise Grant Scheme (crni.ie/circular-textiles/) and a recently published EPA study on post-consumer textiles in Ireland (Nature-and-Extent-of-Post-Consumer-Textiles-in-Ireland---Study-Report.pdf (epa.ie) )

Post Office Network

Questions (333)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

333. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); the steps he is taking to support the post office network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21268/22]

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Written answers

An Post is a commercial State body with a mandate to act commercially and it is longstanding Government policy that postal services will not be directly subsidised by the taxpayer. An Post has statutory responsibility for the State’s postal service and the post office network. In addition, Irish post offices are typically independent businesses that are run by postmasters. Decisions relating to the network, including those in relation to the size, distribution and future of the network are operational matters for the Board and management of the company. The Government is committed to a sustainable An Post and post office network as a key component of the economic and social infrastructure throughout Ireland. The company fully understands the Government position and a sustainable, viable and customer-focused post office network is a key strategic priority for the company. The transformation programme that was agreed with the Irish Postmasters Union in 2018, was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. An Post introduced the pandemic recovery fund in 2021, which was worth €8.5 million over an 18-month period. This commenced on 1 July 2021 and will continue until the end of this year. The Government recognises the importance of the high value and high quality post office network to our citizens right across the country, as well as the central and trusted role of postmasters in our communities. An Post, including through the post office network provides important services to its customers and it is contracted to provide key Government services to citizens.

The work of the interdepartmental group, which was established to consider the feasibility of the new Government services, is being considered at present and the report of the Group will be brought to Government when all options have been considered. While decisions relating to the network are matters for the board and the management of the company, they continue to engage with the IPU on operational matters. The Government is committed to ensuring that An Post continues to play a vital role.

Officials in my Department have ongoing engagement with the company, with other Departments and with key stakeholders to explore all options, in line with this commitment.

Energy Policy

Questions (334)

Gary Gannon

Question:

334. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the State has started to repurchase coal from the Cerrejón mine in Colombia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21289/22]

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Written answers

I have no function in purchasing coal. If the question is in respect of the purchase of coal for electricity generation, the matter would be an  operational one for the company concerned and would likewise be one in which I have no function.

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