Written Answers Nos. 121-141
121. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to outline the Government's plans for sustainable energy infrastructure in County Kildare, including support for solar energy initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42548/24]
View answerThe Government is committed to supporting the development of sustainable energy infrastructure. Under Climate Action Plan Update 2024, Ireland has set a target of 80% of electricity demand from renewable sources by 2030, including 8 GW of solar and 9 GW of onshore wind.
Ireland now has over 1 GW of solar and over 5 GW of onshore wind energy generation, with significant further development needed to support Ireland’s economic growth through the deployment of renewable energy infrastructure.
Under the aegis of the Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce (ARE Taskforce), officials from my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage have been developing a renewable electricity spatial policy approach that provides for the alignment between local plans and national policy.
Regional renewable electricity targets for solar and onshore wind have been included in the draft First Revision of the National Planning Framework. This will deliver a regional balance and distribution of renewable technologies and provide a supporting policy framework for Ireland’s electricity supply to protect Irish homes and businesses from volatile fossil fuel prices.
Following the finalisation of the revised National Planning Framework, the three Regional Assemblies will integrate these targets into their Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies and associated Regional Renewable Energy Strategies. These allocations will then be translated into local authority-level targets that shall be planned for through their city and county development plans. Counties in the East and Midland region will play a leading role in benefiting from Ireland's renewable energy transformation, with 25% of onshore wind and 45% of solar capacity due to be provided across the region by 2030.
My Department has developed a number of support schemes, such as Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS), Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS) and Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS) to incentivise the development of renewable energy infrastructure, encourage community participation, and achieve our 2030 targets.
122. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the progress being made with the roll-out of the National Broadband Plan in north Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42562/24]
View answer123. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the progress being made with the roll-out of the National Broadband Plan in south Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42563/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 122 and 123 together.
Ireland's Digital Connectivity Strategy, published by my Department, sets ambitious targets, which include providing a Gigabit network to all households and businesses in Ireland by 2028 and access to 5G in all populated areas by 2030.
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the government's initiative to deliver high speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland.
National Broadband Ireland (NBI) are connecting circa 4,200 homes each month.
I am advised by NBI that over 300,180 premises are passed across 26 counties and available for immediate connection, which is over half the premises in the Intervention Area. Over 100,609 premises are already connected to the National Broadband Plan high-speed broadband network.
In the Deputy’s own county of Kildare over 11,432 premises are passed with a high-speed fibre broadband network and 12,169 available to order/pre-order, with 3,637 premises now connected. A further 3,568 premises with Kildare will be passed by NBI’s high speed fibre broadband by the end of the contract.
Further details are available on specific areas within County Kildare and can be monitored via nbi.ie/reps. NBI has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries.
Along with the NBP intervention contract, progress is being made by commercial operators’ in expanding their next generation networks throughout the State and ensuring the targets set out in the Digital Connectivity strategy are achieved.
Open eir have already passed over 67,438 homes and businesses in Kildare with gigabit services, with plans to pass a further c.23,633 homes and businesses over the next 2 – 3 years. Other commercial operators are also continuing to increase their network footprint right across Kildare, with SIRO recently passing over 42,211 premises for full fibre and Virgin Media Ireland passing 52,948 premises.
124. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he is aware of the issue around legacy ghost estates now being reactivated, where the building work was completed long before December 2020, but where an MRPN only issued subsequently, resulting in people being locked out of grants available for the installation of solar panels; if his Department has any plans to address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42627/24]
View answerThe Micro-generation Support Scheme (MSS) provides capital grants through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) for solar PV installations, in the form of the Domestic Solar PV and Non-Domestic Microgeneration schemes. Micro-generation has an important role in creating opportunities for homes, schools, community groups and small commercial customers to take the first steps towards investment in renewable technologies, by generating and consuming their own electricity.
The eligibility criteria for the Domestic Solar PV scheme are based on the MSS high level design approved by Government in December 2021, with the Final Scheme Design published in 2022. Grants are administered by the SEAI and are available to houses built and occupied prior to 2021. In order to avoid confusion with the term built and occupied, SEAI use the date of connection to the electricity grid via the MPRN details; as the method of determining eligibility; in line with other SEAI support schemes.
The current scheme came into operation in February 2022 and built on the success of the previous pilot version of the grant scheme. As part of the transition between schemes and in order to increase access to the new scheme; the eligibility criteria was changed from those houses built prior to 2011, to those built prior to 2021.
Targeting the grant scheme at older homes, maximizes emissions reductions and delivers energy savings for the widest range of homeowners possible, whilst also making the most efficient use of limited exchequer funding for the scheme. There are no plans to change the building year requirement at this stage but grant eligibility will be kept under review, and changes to the scheme will be made when necessary.
125. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications how car batteries are finally recycled, and what happens to each of their individual parts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42659/24]
View answerIreland uses the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model for dealing with End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) and batteries waste streams. This means producers are responsible for financing the collection and environmentally-sound waste management of their products at end of life. Currently, management of waste car batteries, including EV batteries, is arranged through a partnership between the EPR compliance schemes for batteries and ELVs.
Car batteries are collected and sorted by type and chemical composition in permitted facilities in Ireland for export to dedicated recycling facilities abroad.
EV batteries are an increasing component of this market. In Ireland, there is growing industry collaboration with EV battery producers to increase the take back system for reuse, recycling and material recovery of EV batteries at specialist lithium battery recycling facilities in Europe. This requires specialist transport, waste battery segregation and shipment from authorised operators in Ireland. Support is also being provided by EPR schemes to producers who return batteries to their own diagnostic and refurbishment centres in Europe.
In 2022, a Long Life Lithium Battery Re-Use Pilot was carried out by Circuléire, a circular manufacturing innovation network supported by my Department. This consisted of training and upskilling staff, developing a setup, installation and testing facility for testing and dismantling EV batteries and investigating the suitability for alternative second-life applications.
Regulation (EU) 1542/2023 (“the Batteries Regulation”) came into force on 18 February 2024 and replaces the Batteries Directive. Under the new Regulation, recyclers must ensure that recycling achieves the minimum recycling efficiencies and recovered materials levels laid down in the Regulation . The Regulation strengthens the sustainability rules for batteries and waste batteries through the entire life cycle of batteries. Entry into force of different provisions is staggered throughout the period to 2027.
126. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications for an update on the latest developments in relation the development of synthetic fuel as a possibility to use as a fuel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42660/24]
View answer140. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications how he intends to encourage domestic biofuel production, including investment in research and development, and financial incentives for producers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43187/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 140 together.
I understand that the Questions refer to liquid fuels in the context of heating.
The Climate Action Plan includes a range of measures to address the use of fossil fuel in heating systems in buildings, and the National Heat Study contains the detailed analysis that is informing the development of options, policies and measures to decarbonise the heating and cooling sectors to 2050. The Heat Study considered a number of potential decarbonisation options for a wide range of dwelling and business types. This included the use of liquid biofuels such as hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), solid biomass, biogases and other technologies such as heat pumps and district heating networks.The recommendation of the Heat Study is that heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation path for heating systems, with district heating, mostly fed by waste heat and heat pumps ,also being an path that should be widely deployed. There are, therefore, no current plans to provide support for the use of liquid fuels in a heating context.
127. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when high speed fibre broadband will be made available at an address (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42691/24]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the government's initiative to deliver high speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland.
The premises in question is in the BLUE area on the broadband map. The BLUE area represents those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high-speed broadband services. The Department defines high-speed broadband as a connection with minimum speeds of 30Mbps download and 6Mbps upload.
The activities of commercial operators delivering high-speed broadband within BLUE areas are not planned or funded by the State and the Department has no statutory authority to intervene in that regard.
There may be a choice of operators offering this service in any given area. Further information in this regard is available at www.comreg.ie/compare/#/services.
If a person lives in the BLUE area and after contacting their Retail Service Provider are told they cannot get access to greater than 30Mbps, they should raise a query via the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) webform at secure.dccae.gov.ie/forms/NBP-Customer-Service.aspx and the department will escalate with the commercial operator to investigate this matter further.
As per records made available to this Department the premises in question is currently capable of getting over 60Mbps from open eir’s local cabinet.
Additionally, the premises has been included in open eir's Full Fibre deployment programme which will provide a full fibre Gigabit connection with speeds up to 2 Gbps.
128. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will provide the details of costings provided to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, in the context of the National Development Plan 2021-2030 review conducted earlier this year; and to provide a breakdown of each project and its projected cost in each of the years 2025 to 2030. [42715/24]
View answerPreliminary details of expenditure allocations for 2025 are provided at programme level in the Budget Estimates for Public Service, these allocations will be finalised and published at subhead level, before the end of the year, in the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2025. Overall capital ceilings out to 2030 are set out in the NDP but a breakdown of expenditure by sector has not yet been set.
|
Programme |
Capital Allocation 2025 €m |
|
Climate Action and Environment Leadership |
109 |
|
Energy Transformation |
546 |
|
Circular Economy Development |
54 |
|
Connectivity And Communications Delivery |
431 |
|
Total |
1,140 |
129. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to consider appointing an ombudsman to deal with issues between An Post and Postmasters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42746/24]
View answerThere are no plans to establish an Ombudsman for the Post Office network. An Post is a commercial State body with a mandate to act commercially.
The operation of the post office network and the terms under which Postmasters contract with An Post is a matter between the Postmasters and An Post and any negotiations are a matter for both parties directly and I, as Minister, have no function.
130. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to provide a schedule of public funding provided to each local authority in respect of each year since 2020. [42792/24]
View answerDetails of payments made to each Local Authority from 2020 to end September 2024.
|
Local Authority |
2020 € |
2021 € |
2022 € |
2023 € |
End September 2024 € |
|
Carlow County Council |
156,070 |
189,047 |
279,787 |
312,700 |
|
|
Cavan County Council |
251,130 |
251,130 |
305,114 |
469,471 |
|
|
Clare County Council |
232,907 |
509,285 |
1,416,146 |
495,830 |
|
|
Cork City Council |
184,928 |
425,881 |
491,450 |
560,738 |
|
|
Cork City County Council |
1,454,677 |
22,202 |
|||
|
Cork County Council |
481,804 |
1,297,976 |
1,817,989 |
365,723 |
|
|
Donegal County Council |
540,613 |
1,692,241 |
2,523,528 |
621,615 |
|
|
Dublin City Council |
110,641 |
2,059,714 |
1,995,725 |
3,579,568 |
856,272 |
|
Dublin City County Council |
35,000 |
||||
|
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Co |
282,203 |
815,889 |
1,993,045 |
1,020,873 |
|
|
FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL |
348,240 |
583,095 |
579,249 |
584,379 |
|
|
Galway City Council |
114,185 |
215,185 |
415,025 |
335,710 |
308,927 |
|
Galway County Council |
1,784,191 |
2,652,295 |
1,156,348 |
2,403,626 |
209,999 |
|
Kerry County Council |
447,144 |
439,602 |
560,279 |
542,694 |
6,336 |
|
Kildare County Council |
7,686,727 |
16,135,545 |
15,999,365 |
5,451,755 |
2,098,961 |
|
Kilkenny County Council |
334,543 |
382,920 |
1,054,124 |
401,400 |
44,689 |
|
Laois County Council |
187,370 |
726,348 |
1,056,089 |
307,200 |
|
|
Leitrim County Council |
196,620 |
206,782 |
721,318 |
||
|
LGMA |
67,436 |
||||
|
Limerick City and County Council |
932,905 |
1,238,711 |
1,386,522 |
913,847 |
62,355 |
|
Longford County Council |
12,871 |
203,779 |
472,915 |
418,733 |
|
|
Louth County Council |
273,132 |
1,199,147 |
601,821 |
693,708 |
21,562 |
|
Mayo County Council |
209,091 |
804,295 |
1,069,208 |
842,057 |
158,180 |
|
Meath County Council |
240,010 |
391,010 |
375,364 |
491,255 |
94,662 |
|
MONAGHAN COUNTY COUNCIL |
336,159 |
336,825 |
364,056 |
679,775 |
|
|
Offaly County Council |
287,219 |
869,712 |
938,898 |
829,733 |
|
|
Roscommon County Council |
139,043 |
194,038 |
274,685 |
333,797 |
|
|
Sligo County Council |
210,231 |
249,791 |
324,484 |
418,868 |
824,170 |
|
South Dublin County Council |
537,209 |
645,880 |
714,046 |
765,705 |
106,375 |
|
Tipperary County Council |
1,279,004 |
617,670 |
1,384,864 |
1,713,177 |
898,746 |
|
Waterford City Council |
212,000 |
554,775 |
1,006,596 |
403,695 |
|
|
Waterford County Council |
212,000 |
100,000 |
|||
|
Westmeath Co Co |
295,836 |
362,281 |
342,743 |
707,626 |
382,392 |
|
Wexford County Council |
244,108 |
385,518 |
463,111 |
563,578 |
|
|
Wicklow County Council |
554,425 |
877,379 |
995,162 |
2,224,828 |
194,011 |
|
Regional Waste Management Planning Offices (Dublin City Council, Limerick City and County Council) |
1,200,000 |
||||
|
Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) |
67,436 |
||||
|
Overall Total |
€18,643,347 |
€36,382,113 |
€41,802,286 |
€32,485,299 |
€9,194,930 |
131. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to outline the costs incurred by his Department in the development, creation and completion of the energy security review. [42893/24]
View answerThe Energy Security Package was published last November, 2023.
As I outlined in the Report over the course of two years my Department has undertaken a review of our Energy Security policies, with a particular focus on the Electricity and Gas sectors. In 2022, I engaged Mr Dermot McCarthy, former Secretary General at the Department of the Taoiseach, to carry out an Independent Review on the Security of Electricity Supply, which contributed directly to the actions outlined in the package. The Department received over 450 responses to our consultation on our Security of Supply of Ireland’s Electricity and Natural Gas Systems. The review also takes account of the review by the IEA of Ireland.
As outlined at the time of publication I confirmed that security of supply review will be concluded following the consideration by Government on the optimal approach to deliver a Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve.
I have also requested my Department to carry out additional research into the areas of interconnection and electricity storage.
The direct additional expenditure incurred up to the publication of the report in November 2023 was €938,056.17. This cost does not take account of the direct work of the staff in my Department and across Government on the project. This expenditure also does not take account any cost incurred since November 2023 on the follow on work streams required to conclude the review of energy security.
132. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the estimated full year costs to increase the number of WTE fisheries officers employed by Inland Fisheries Ireland to 180. [42910/24]
View answerInland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) currently employs 127 Fishery Officers. The current full year pay costs of a Fishery Officer employed by IFI - at first point of scale - is €43,665. Therefore, the salary cost of an additional 53 posts would be €2,314,245 per annum.
133. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if there are any plans to introduce legislation to facilitate an SMS scam filter to better protect consumers from mass fraudulent text messages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43016/24]
View answerMy Department is committed to tackling scam calls and texts across electronic communications networks and services.
Both my Department and the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), the statutorily independent regulator under the aegis of my Department, continue to explore and evaluate interventions to protect consumers from nuisance communications. This includes an ongoing evaluation of potential legislative solutions that would enable a broader application of SMS Filtering than currently available.
Meanwhile, ComReg established an industry action group to address the growing menace of scam calls and texts, the Nuisance Communication Industry Forum (NCIF). This cross-industry body builds on the work of the previous Nuisance Communications Industry Taskforce (NCIT), established in February 2022.
In April of this year, informed by the submissions to its consultation in June 2023 and by the work of the NCIT, ComReg mandated six interventions. The interventions focus on restoring trust in Ireland’s telecommunications services by identifying and deploying interventions to decrease the prevalence and damaging effects of nuisance communications. These include:
- Do Not Originate (DNO) list: a list of numbers that will be blocked for call origination.
- Protected Numbers (PN): The blocking of numbers that have not been assigned by ComReg.
- Fixed – Calling Line Identification (CLI) Call Blocking: Identifies and blocks scam calls originating from international networks, but present as an Irish landline caller.
- Mobile CLI Call Blocking: Identifies and blocks scam calls originating from international networks presenting as an Irish mobile caller.
- SMS Sender ID Registry: Allows businesses to register their Sender ID. Operators would then block any SMS message bearing a Sender ID from an unregistered source.
- Voice-firewall: which is software that identifies and blocks scam calls from Ireland or abroad and will help protect against future more sophisticated scams.
The NCIF will assist and oversee the implementation of ComReg’s recently published Decision Instruments, mandating this package of interventions.
These interventions are at various stages of deployment and so the impact of these efforts will likely be enjoyed and recognised by the Irish consumer in a phased manner. Operators have already implemented a number of these measures to tackle nuisance communications, which have blocked around 30 million scam calls since 2023.
ComReg intends to publish separate a consultation before the end of the year to identify any further interventions to combat scam SMS.
134. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the remuneration package for the chief executive officer of a company (details supplied), the basis for any recent changes to it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43107/24]
View answerThe Chief Executive Officer of EirGrid is appointed by the Directors of EirGrid and holds office upon, and subject to, such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration, superannuation, and allowances) as may be determined by the Directors, with the consent of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, and the Minister for Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform.
The current remuneration package for the EirGrid Chief Executive Officer is a basic salary of €221,000, with taxable benefit of €13,000 and a defined benefit pension contribution of €66,000. The salary of the Chief Executive Officer is published annually in EirGrid’s Annual Report and Accounts which can be found on the Oireachtas website.
In September 2024 EirGrid advertised to recruit a new CEO. Contract terms and conditions for the EirGrid CEO role are under consideration and have not yet been finalised.
135. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of vacant properties owned by his Department; and the number of which are houses or residential properties. [43142/24]
View answerMy Department does not own any properties.
136. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if it is the intention of the Minister’s officials in the Inland Fisheries Division and senior management at Inland Fisheries Ireland to conduct retrospective appropriate assessment screenings on two bye-laws, namely the Pike Conservation Bye-Law (No. 809) and the Coarse Fish Conservation Bye-Law (No. 806) from 2006, considering that retrospective screenings of plans or projects are in direct contravention of the EU Habitats Directive in addition to EU case law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43160/24]
View answerInland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is currently reviewing the Conservation of and Prohibition on Sale of Coarse fish Bye-Law No. 806 of 2006 and the Conservation of Pike Bye-Law No. 809 of 2006 as part of an extensive work programme on relevant Bye-Laws that are in existence for over 10 years. This review is currently proceeding through IFI’s internal environmental assessment and compliance processes. No retrospective appropriate assessment is planned for the existing Bye-laws which may be subject to amendment in the future depending on the outputs from the review process and my subsequent consideration of those outputs.
Upon completion of this review, I will be in a position to consider any action in respect of the two bye-laws.
137. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the reason no appropriate assessment screening was conducted for the Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout Ballysadare (Catch and Release) Bye-Law No. 1012, 2024 that covers multiple SACs, considering that other recent bye-laws legislating for salmon conservation in SACs have been screened for under the EU Habitats Directive, such as the Waterford Fisheries District, (River Barrow) Angling Limitations during Salmon Spawning Run Bye-Law No. 1011, 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43161/24]
View answerAs conveyed to the Deputy in my reply to Question No. 125 of 15 October 2024, following concerns raised about the unexplained mortalities of more than 900 salmon found in the Ballysadare river, I introduced an Emergency Bye-Law on 17 July which suspended all angling activity in the waters of the Ballysadare River system in the No. 12 Sligo District with immediate effect. The Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout Ballysadare (Closed Rivers) Bye-law No. C.S. 336, 2024 was enacted as a precautionary and emergency measure against any potential spread of disease that could occur in the absence of information on the nature of the fish kill in the catchment. Given the urgent and emergency requirement for immediate action to prevent any potential disease spread that could occur, it was not possible in the time available for an appropriate assessment screening to be conducted and evaluated for the relevant urgent Bye-Laws.
Scientific investigations including laboratory results from the Marine Institute and IFI together with advice from The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine indicated that there was no evidence of notifiable diseases and/or transmissible diseases or general issues of concern in the samples analysed. On that basis the Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout Ballysadare (Catch and Release) Bye-Law No. 1012, 2024 revokes the Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout Ballysadare (Closed Rivers) Bye-law No. 336, 2024. Bye-law 1012, 2024 forms a component of the overall emergency fisheries management response following the significant Atlantic salmon mortality event in July, providing for catch and release in respect of salmon and sea trout (over 40cm) in the Ballysadare River.
138. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the damaging anthropogenic introduction of highly invasive fish species such as perch and bream into rivers that feed The Gearagh Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a unique alluvial forest in County Cork, has been recently highlighted on RTÉ Radio One, if he and his officials in the Inland Fisheries Division will continue to protect these non-native fish under the Coarse Fish Conservation Bye-Law (No. 806) 2006 contrary to the EU Habitats Directive and the Water Framework Directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43162/24]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), in conjunction with my Department, is carrying out a review of relevant inland fisheries bye-laws in force for 10 years or more and their continued application. Bye-Law No. 806 of 2006 is being examined and reviewed as part of this exercise. The review process will consider relevant legal acts of the European Union including the EU Habitats and Water Framework Directives.
139. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the concession on dead bait fishing was a sop to pike angling interests, whose quarry also pose a clear and present danger to salmon sustainability, when on 17 September 2024 he signed into law the Waterford Fisheries District, (River Barrow) Angling Limitations during Salmon Spawning Run Bye-Law No. 1011, 2024, to ban all forms of angling except the use of dead baits during the closed salmon season with the purpose of preventing anglers catching pre-spawning salmon in a SAC during their upstream migration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43163/24]
View answerThe purpose of Waterford Fisheries District, (River Barrow) angling limitation during salmon spawning run Bye-Law No. 1011, 2024 is to prevent anglers catching pre-spawned salmon stocks during their migration to spawning grounds through the River Barrow system or returning kelts - during the months of January, October, November and December each year. Over a period of time, such fish have become the target of increased illegal fishing activity along this stretch of the River Barrow. Given the declining status of salmon generally and in the River Barrow in particular, it was critical that I made and introduced this byelaw as a necessary conservation, protection and management measure.
This bye-law was introduced to afford an additional protection measure to salmon by prohibiting angling, other than angling with dead bait. It was deemed that dead baiting is unlikely to target accidental catching of salmon.
141. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to confirm the date on which the State aid approval for the renewable electricity support scheme will expire; whether he intends to request from the EU Commission an extension to the approval and, if so, when he plans to submit this request; the intended duration of the extension; and what engagement his Department has had with the EU Commission on this matter. [43195/24]
View answerThe Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is pivotal to the achievement of Ireland’s target of generating 80% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030. RESS consists of a series of competitive auctions, four onshore and one offshore to date, in which successful applicants are offered a two-way support arrangement for a period of 15 years.
The RESS received State Aid approval in 2020 and the first auction was held in the same year. State aid approval was granted for a period of 5 years, expiring at the end of 2025, and allowing for a series of auctions to be held up until that date.
As part of the RESS State Aid Decision, Ireland is required to complete an Evaluation Report and submit it to the European Commission before the current state aid approval for the scheme expires. The Evaluation Report covers areas such as competition, technology diversity, delivery rates and community measures and will provide the basis for a state aid notification for a revised or extended scheme.
My Department has initiated the evaluation process, and plan to submit the Evaluation Report before the expiry date of the current approval. In conjunction, my Department is considering the design of a revised or extended scheme for renewable electricity support after 2025 which will consulted on and notified to the European Commission in due course.
Further information on the State Aid Decision on RESS is available on this website: www.gov.ie/en/publication/36d8d2-renewable-electricity-support-scheme/#eu-approval-for-ress
