Written Answers Nos. 77-87
77. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the amount spent by his Department on legal costs or legal services in each of the past ten years and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [40007/22]
View answerMy Department administers a very diverse and complex brief. Its remit includes oversight of very complex policy areas and direct procurement of major services where protection of the State’s interest must be paramount. This situation necessarily requires my Department to procure specialist external professional advice in legal areas to enable it to discharge its responsibility to deliver quality services and protect the interests of the State and the taxpayer. In procuring specialised legal services, my Department always seeks to ensure value for money and the keeping of expenditure to the minimum necessary.
My Department has been reconfigured on several occasions since 2012. The information sought by the Deputy is not readily available and its compilation would involve a disproportionate amount of time to compile.
For details of costs for the period covering 2016 – July 2020 I would direct the Deputy to Question 61 of 7 July 2020.
The amount spent on legal fees by my Department since then is outlined in the below table.
|
Timeline |
Amount |
|
July 2020 – End 2020 |
€438,173 |
|
2021 |
€1,201,097 |
|
January 2022 - Date |
€765,850 |
78. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the amount spent by his Department on the procurement of office space and furniture and office IT equipment in each of the past ten years and to date in 2022. [40025/22]
View answerMy Departments accommodation needs are provided by the Office of Public Works. The spend on furniture and IT equipment in my Department since the formation of the current Government is set out in the table below.
|
Year |
Furniture |
IT Equipment |
|
2022 to date |
€ 80,387 |
€ 123,797 |
|
2021 |
€38,671 |
€451,577 |
|
2020 |
€39,609 |
€800,723 |
|
TOTAL |
€ 158,667 |
€1,376,097 |
79. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of times that he embarked on visits to foreign countries on behalf of the State since the formation of the Government; the geographical location of each visit; the number of days that he spent abroad on such trips; the dates upon which each trip took place; and the associated travel and accommodation costs which were incurred by his Department in relation to each trip in tabular form. [40043/22]
View answerThe information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
82. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if a response will issue to a query (details supplied) in relation to the €200 credit provided against electricity bills; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40080/22]
View answerThe Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures Act 2022 established a scheme for the making in 2022, of a once-off Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Payment to each domestic electricity account, having regard to the exceptional rise in energy prices.
The Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Payment was €176.22, exclusive of VAT as set out in section 5(2) of the Act.
The benefit payment was allocated to billed costs in the first bill issued after 31 March 2022. Suppliers applied the benefit payment in April, May and June. VAT is applied at the date the bill is issued to the customer.
When the VAT rate was 13.5%, the full benefit of the €176.22 payment to the account was €200. VAT has been reduced from 13.5% to 9% on gas and electricity bills from the start of May until the end of October as part of the suite of measures introduced in the National Energy Security Framework. Therefore, the total benefit to accounts credited after 1 May was adjusted to reflect the decrease in VAT charged.
The Deputy may also wish to note that Frequently Asked Questions are available on gov.ie at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/4ae14-electricity-costs-emergency-benefit-scheme/
83. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the reason that emergency procurement for power generation is required in the years 2024 to 2026 when generation capacity shortfall in these years can be procured via the existing capacity market process; if due consideration has been given to this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40101/22]
View answer84. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the reason that resources being provided for emergency power generation have not been provided to successful T-3 and T-4 projects in the existing capacity market process, specifically in relation to procurement of equipment, planning and provision of grid connections when the T-3 and T-4 projects provide a long-term security of supply solution; if he will be procuring further resources to remedy this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40102/22]
View answer85. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if further resources will be provided to ensure adequate support for existing projects which have already been successful in the capacity market process in the context of energy security issues, specifically T-3 and T-4 projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40103/22]
View answer86. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if due consideration has been given to the possibility of a legal challenge from the successful applicants in the capacity market process in the T-3 and T-4 periods given the apparent disadvantage conferred on them relative to emergency procurement participants as they cover the same years; if any legal challenges have been received to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40104/22]
View answer87. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if his attention has been drawn to any delays to the delivery of emergency power generation for the period commencing September 2022; the reason, if any, for these delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40105/22]
View answerI propose to answer Questions Nos. 83 to 87, inclusive, together.
Under the Electricity Regulation Act, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities has responsibility for ensuring security of electricity supply and is directly responsible for the performance of its functions to a Joint Committee of the Oireachtas.
The running of the electricity capacity auction process is solely a matter for EirGrid and the Single Electricity Market (SEM) Committee, as auctions are conducted by the Transmission System Operator according to the auction design and under overall regulatory supervision of the SEM Committee. There is no Ministerial function in relation to the auctions, apart from securing state aid approval for the capacity mechanism, which was obtained in 2017.
In September 2021, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) published a programme of work to provide additional stability and reliance to the Irish energy system over the next four to five years. The CRU Security of Supply programme of work was in response to identification of a potential capacity shortfall, for the winter periods of 2022/23 to 2025/26, which was set out in the EirGrid’s most up to date All Island Generation Capacity Statement 2021.
On 27 June 2022, the CRU has published an update on the actions within the programme on and this is available on their website. This includes the actions relating to temporary generation and the electricity capacity auctions.
The Deputy may wish to note that CRU provides a dedicated email address for Oireachtas members, which enables them to raise questions to CRU at oireachtas@cru.ie for timely direct reply.
