Written Answers Nos. 808-821
808. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the appropriate notice period that should be given to persons who have been residing in a dwelling house for in excess of eight years and who are now being requested by way of notice to leave as the landlord intends to sell the dwelling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7074/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe requirements for the valid termination of a tenancy by a landlord are set out in Parts 4 and 5 of the Residential Tenancies Act as amended. In the case of a tenancy of 8 years or more in duration, the Act provides that a landlord is required to give a tenant 224 days notice of termination of the tenancy.
809. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of social houses delivered, not including housing assistance payment or rent allowance, in each of the first three months of 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7111/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraA full breakdown of 2015 output, by local authority, across each of the social housing funding programmes, is available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.
Data relating to quarter one 2016 is in the process of being gathered from all local authorities and will be published on my Department’s website when available.
810. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of individual housing assistance payment cases approved for County Meath in each of the months since the scheme was opened in County Meath. [7112/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a major pillar of the Social Housing Strategy 2020. The HAP scheme removes a barrier to employment, by allowing recipients to remain in the scheme if they gain full-time employment, it improves regulation of the rented accommodation being supported and it provides certainty for landlords as regards their rental income. To be eligible for HAP, a person must first apply for and be approved for social housing support by their local authority.
Under the HAP scheme, eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector, payments are made electronically directly to the landlord on behalf of the tenant, and the tenancy agreement is between the HAP recipient and the private landlord.
The first phase of the statutory pilot for the HAP scheme commenced in September 2014 and has been introduced incrementally to 19 local authority areas to date, including the administrative area of Meath County Council where the pilot scheme became operational on 2 November 2015.
Since commencement of the scheme, 89 households have been supported by the scheme in the administrative area of Meath County Council with an average of 5 HAP tenancies being set up per week in 2016. The amount of households supported by the HAP scheme by month is as follows and these figures are in line with what was envisaged in the initial stages of roll out for the scheme in the Meath County Council area:
|
Month/ Year |
Number of households supported by HAP |
|
November 2015 |
2 |
|
December 2015 |
9 |
|
January 2016 |
12 |
|
February 2016 |
20 |
|
March 2016 |
18 |
|
April 2016 (to date) |
28 |
It should be borne in mind that HAP is a demand-led scheme and in this context, I am pleased at how the HAP scheme is being operated within the administrative area of Meath County Council and I would like to commend the local authority on its engagement with the scheme to date.
812. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of houses owned and managed by local authorities. [7164/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraGeneral statistics on local authority housing stock, including the total number of dwellings in each local authority area, is available on the website of the National Oversight and Audit Commission at the following link: http://noac.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/NOAC-Performance-Indicators-Report-2014.pdf.
The most recent published information (December 2015), covering all local authorities, is in respect of 2014.
813. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the grants available to voluntary organisations for acquiring new equipment in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7240/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraFunding to voluntary organisations for the purposes of acquiring new equipment may be available under the Dormant Accounts legislation whereby balances on dormant accounts with banks, building societies and An Post are paid into the Dormant Accounts Fund, which is managed by the National Treasury Management Agency.
The primary purpose of the legislation is to re-unite the original account holders with their moneys, including all interest due. In addition, the legislation provides that disbursements from the Fund may be made for charitable purposes or for purposes of community benefit.
A Disbursement Scheme sets out the moneys that may be disbursed from the Fund. The current scheme was approved by Government in December 2013 and will run until November 2016. In addition, a Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan is prepared each year in order to implement the Disbursement Scheme. The most recent Action Plan was adopted on 1 July 2014 and contained an allocation in excess of €26m to be expended through a number of Government Departments and agencies.
Work is currently underway on drafting a new 2016 Dormant Accounts Action Plan and it is anticipated that this plan will be finalised shortly. Further data in relation to the Dormant Accounts Fund are available on my Department’s website at http://www.environ.ie/en/Community/DormantAccounts/.
In addition, grant assistance is provided by my Department towards the purchase and installation of personal monitored alarms under the Seniors Alert Scheme , which encourages community support for vulnerable older people in our communities. This scheme enables older persons, of limited means, to continue to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. Funding is available towards the purchase of equipment by a registered organisation i.e. personal alarm and/or pendant and the associated monitoring and service charges are paid by the participant. The scheme is administered by local community and voluntary groups with the support of my Department.
814. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the uptake in electric vehicles; the incentives in place to encourage uptake; his plans for future incentives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7009/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme supports and incentivises, through grants of up to €5,000, the deployment of electric vehicles in Ireland. These grants are in addition to the Vehicle Registration Tax reliefs of up to €5,000 which apply to electric vehicles. In addition, where technically feasible, customers who qualify for the grant also qualify for a free domestic charge point installed by the ESB. The extent to which electric vehicles are adopted in the short-to-medium term will depend on a range of factors including, inter alia, consumer interest in the vehicle models offered to the market, the strength of the economy, the overall numbers of new vehicles being purchased, the cost of purchasing and running electric vehicles compared to fossil fuel comparators, and the number of different electric vehicle models available to purchase. There are signs that these factors are improving.
In 2015, 555 new electric vehicles were supported through the Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme, which represents more than half of the total of 1,090 supported since the programme began in 2011. A further 196 electric vehicles have been supported in the first three months of this year.
815. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the lack of broadband resources in south County Kildare (details supplied); when homes in the area will begin to have access. [6312/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.
The commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2 billion in network upgrades and enhanced services in the last four years, and is continuing to invest. These very significant investments represent a step change in the quality of broadband services available.
On 22 December 2015, I formally launched the procurement process for the State intervention to provide high quality, high speed broadband to all premises in Ireland that may not be served through commercial investment. The formal procurement process commenced with the publication of the Pre-qualification Questionnaire and Project Information Memorandum. Five responses were received from prospective bidders to this stage of the competitive procurement process by the deadline of 31 March. The responses are now being assessed in line with criteria set down by the Department with a view to selecting qualified provider(s) to proceed to the next stage of the procurement. This second stage in process will be a formal Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD) to shortlisted bidders.
The High Speed Broadband Map 2020, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie shows the extent of the State Intervention area. The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services. The areas marked AMBER represent the target areas for the proposed State intervention. The Map shows that there are currently 20,536 premises in the AMBER area in Kildare, representing 23% of the total of premises in Kildare. The remaining 77% of premises are in the BLUE area and are expected to be served by commercial operators.
The intention is to build out the network in the AMBER area as quickly as possible. The procurement process is underway and it is proposed to engage with the winning bidder(s) in due course on the optimum rollout strategy, and on the sequencing of the network deployment to maximise efficiencies during network build, having regard to business and consumer needs, and to areas of particularly poor service and areas of strong demand. All these factors will need to be balanced against the most efficient network rollout and will be agreed during the procurement process.
Engagement with industry stakeholders as part of the pre-procurement consultations has indicated that the rollout in the Amber area could be achieved within 3-5 years of the contract award. In this context, the NBP proposes that through the combination of commercial investment and State intervention, 85% of all premises in Ireland (both commercial and intervention area) will have access to high speed broadband within two years of the contract award, with 100% of premises connected within 5 years.
816. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he is aware if the Hibernia Atlantic Cable Network Operations Centre has played a role at or from its base in Clonshaugh, Dublin 17 in piloting drones operated in the Middle East by the military of the United States of America; if he will request information on this from the operations centre in Clonshaugh; if permits for such activity have been sought and if he has issued such permits; if he has had talks or consultations with the US regarding such activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6420/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have no role in determining the uses to which international fibre connections can be put, nor do I have any role in the monitoring, or permitting, of data traffic passing over fibre networks transiting the State. I have not had any talks or consultations with any entity about the use of any facility in this State or about the use of telecommunications infrastructure in the State for piloting drones.
817. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the public and private companies which are using the Eircode system. [6551/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe commercial element of Eircodes, including use by private sector firms, is managed by Capita the Eircode licence holder as part of a ten year contract to develop, maintain and support the system.
In order to encourage usage and take up of Eircodes, over 80 million records across 15 public sector bodies were encoded prior to their launch. This has allowed a number of public sector bodies to start using Eircodes in public engagement. Since launch, over 3 million pieces of correspondence has been issued by public sector bodies. Examples of usage by public sector bodies include the following:
- The passport card online application form was introduced in October 2015 and all passport card online application forms request an Eircode.
- All 2016 Census forms, currently being delivered to households, include an Eircode.
- The Department of Transport has started uploading the National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) with Eircodes. This database includes address particulars in respect of the 2.59 million licensed vehicles and 2.74 million driving licence holders in the country. The motor tax database of the NVDF went live in January 2016.
- Revenue Commissioners has uploaded Eircodes in some of their main databases and started issuing Eircode enabled correspondence on July 2015. In November 2015 alone one database issued more than 800,000 pieces of correspondence with Eircodes.
- The Department of Social Protection started issuing Eircode enabled correspondence in October 2015; since then more than 877,000 pieces of correspondence has issued with an Eircode.
- The educational grants authority, SUSI, request that college grant applications include an Eircode. This will assist SUSI to more efficiently determine student addresses.
- Electric Ireland issued 680,000 electricity bills in February which had an Eircode included on them.
- A new version of the Register of Electors was rolled out to 31 local authorities. This version incorporates the ability to add in an Eircode against a dwelling.
- The Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS), which takes emergency calls made to 112 and 999 numbers, has also updated its systems and changed processes to enable the use of Eircodes when presented by callers.
- The National Ambulance Service has installed a new computer-aided dispatch system, which incorporates the Eircode. This will allow callers in any part of the country to phone the ambulance control centre and give their Eircode.
818. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when he will roll out broadband in the Kiltrea and Enniscorthy areas of County Wexford (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6572/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.
The commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2 billion in network upgrades and enhanced services in the last four years, and is continuing to invest. These very significant investments represent a step change in the quality of broadband services available.
On 22 December 2015, I formally launched the procurement process for the State intervention to provide high quality, high speed broadband to all premises in Ireland that may not be served through commercial investment. The formal procurement process commenced with the publication of the Pre-qualification Questionnaire and Project Information Memorandum. Five responses were received from prospective bidders to this stage of the competitive procurement process by the deadline of 31 March. The responses are now being assessed in line with criteria set down by the Department with a view to selecting qualified provider(s) to proceed to the next stage of the procurement. This second stage in the process will be a formal Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD) to shortlisted bidders.
The High Speed Broadband Map 2020, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie shows the extent of the State Intervention area. The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services. Enniscorthy is in the BLUE area and based on information provided by commercial operators, high speed broadband services should be available in Enniscorthy at present. The areas marked AMBER represent the target areas for the proposed State intervention and includes the area of Kiltrea, County Wexford. Consumers can see whether their individual premises is in the BLUE or AMBER area by entering their Eircode on the Map.
The intention is to build out the network in the AMBER area as quickly as possible. The procurement process is underway and it is proposed to engage with the winning bidder(s) in due course on the optimum rollout strategy, and on the sequencing of the network deployment to maximise efficiencies during network build, having regard to business and consumer needs, and to areas of particularly poor service and areas of strong demand. All these factors will need to be balanced against the most efficient network rollout and will be agreed during the procurement process.
Engagement with industry stakeholders as part of the pre-procurement consultations has indicated that the rollout in the Amber area could be achieved within 3-5 years of the contract award. In this context, the NBP proposes that through the combination of commercial investment and State intervention, 85% of all premises in Ireland (both commercial and intervention area) will have access to high speed broadband within two years of the contract award, with 100% of premises connected within 5 years.
819. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the date for the roll-out of high-speed broadband for Ashmount, Silversprings and Tivoli in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6576/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.
The commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2 billion in network upgrades and enhanced services in the last four years, and is continuing to invest. These very significant investments represent a step change in the quality of broadband services available.
On 22 December 2015, I formally launched the procurement process for the State intervention to provide high quality, high speed broadband to all premises in Ireland that may not be served through commercial investment. The formal procurement process commenced with the publication of the Pre-qualification Questionnaire and Project Information Memorandum. Five responses were received from prospective bidders to this stage of the competitive procurement process by the deadline of 31 March. The responses are now being assessed in line with criteria set down by the Department with a view to selecting qualified provider(s) to proceed to the next stage of the procurement. This second stage in the process will be a formal Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD) to shortlisted bidders.
The High Speed Broadband Map 2020, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie shows the extent of the State Intervention area. The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services. Ashmount, Silversprings, County Cork is in a BLUE area. Based on information provided by commercial operators, which may be subject to change, commercial roll-out of high speed broadband infrastructure is planned for this area in Q3 2016. The areas marked AMBER represent the target areas for the proposed State intervention. Consumers can see whether their individual premises is in the BLUE or AMBER area by entering their Eircode on the Map.
The intention is to build out the network in the AMBER area as quickly as possible. The procurement process is underway and it is proposed to engage with the winning bidder(s) in due course on the optimum rollout strategy, and on the sequencing of the network deployment to maximise efficiencies during network build, having regard to business and consumer needs, and to areas of particularly poor service and areas of strong demand. All these factors will need to be balanced against the most efficient network rollout and will be agreed during the procurement process.
Engagement with industry stakeholders as part of the pre-procurement consultations has indicated that the rollout in the Amber area could be achieved within 3-5 years of the contract award. In this context, the NBP proposes that through the combination of commercial investment and State intervention, 85% of all premises in Ireland (both commercial and intervention area) will have access to high speed broadband within two years of the contract award, with 100% of premises connected within 5 years.
820. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the status of the sale of the Whitegate oil refinery in County Cork; and if he has attempted to take it into public ownership. [6615/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2015, Phillips 66, the owners of Ireland's only oil refinery, announced their intention to sell the Whitegate refinery as a going concern. The sale process is a private commercial process between the owners and interested parties. Phillips 66 recently advised my Department that the sale process is ongoing and that the company is engaging with a number of interested parties.
There are no plans to take the Whitegate refinery into public ownership. However, the Government has acknowledged that the continued operation of the Whitegate refinery on a commercial basis is highly desirable from an energy security and economic perspective. Security of supply remains an important tenet of our energy policy.
821. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the details of each statutory instrument signed; each contract entered into; each tender issued; each tender awarded; and each State board appointment made by him or by an agency of his Department from 1 January 2016 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6687/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information which the Deputy requested is outlined in the table below.
In procuring any services, my Department always seeks to ensure value for money and to keep expenditure to the minimum necessary.
The information sought by the Deputy regarding the agencies under the aegis of my Department is an operational matter for each Agency. I will request the relevant bodies to reply directly to the Deputy with the information requested in respect of their organisation.
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Statutory Instruments (S.I.) Signed |
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S.I. No. 115 of 2016 Control of Fishing for Salmon Order 2016. This S.I. authorises the issuing of commercial fishing licences by Inland Fisheries Ireland and prescribes the maximum number of commercial licences which may be issued. |
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S.I. No. 109 of 2016 Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act, 2015 (Commencement) Order 2016.This S.I. commences the provisions of the Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act, 2015 which transposes Directive 2013/30/EU on safety of offshore oil and gas operations. |
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Requests for Tenders (RFT) issued / Tenders Awarded / Contracts Entered into |
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RFT issued on 18 March 2016 for the Provision of Consultancy services for an economic analysis of the Renewable Heat Incentive for Ireland. Closing date 15 April 2016. |
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RFT issued on 16 March 2016 for the supply of specialist personnel to support the National Broadband Plan. Closing date 29 April 2016. |
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RFT issued on 16 March 2016 for the Provision of Process Auditor Services in relation to the Procurement Process for the State-led intervention under the National Broadband Plan. Closing date 7 April 2016. |
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Project Brief issued on 29 March 2016 for Insurance Advice required by the Department for the National Broadband Plan. Closing date 19 April 2016. |
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Supplementary RFT issued on 30 March 2016 for the provision of Tax and VAT Advisory Services in relation to the National Broadband Plan procurement process. Closing date 19 April 2016. |
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RFT issued on 25 March 2016 for Provision of LIDAR Data Acquisition and Pre-processing for GSI/Coillte work Programmes. Closing date is 9 May 2016. |
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RFT issued on 8 March 2016 for Marine Survey Ship Hydrographic Mapping Services. Closing date is 18 April 2016. |
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RFT issued for the Provision of Statutory Environmental Assessments for Geophysical and Offshore Drilling Operations. Contract entered into with Bec Consultants Ltd. |
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Contract awarded to David Fox Associates Limited for Petroleum Engineering Support. |
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RFT issued for Consultancy Services to monitor compliance of consent conditions for the operation of the Corrib gas pipeline. Closed recently and currently under evaluation. |
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Mini call for Skippers and survey boat crew under an RFT issued in March 2014 Personnel Framework Agreement. Closed and call down list created on 9 March 2016. |
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RFT issued on 5 February 2016 for Provision of Bulk Mail Services for Tellus. Contract was awarded to An Post. |
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RFT issued on 19 January 2016 for ICT Technical Architect. No contract awarded. |
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RFT issued on 15 February 2016 for Microsoft Visio Professional 2016. Contract awarded to Micromail. |
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RFT issued on 11 March 2016 for Citrix NetScaler. Contract awarded to Datapac. |
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RFT issued on 7 March 2016 for Microsoft licenses. Contract awarded to Micromail. |
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RFT issued on 1 March 2016 for Security Certificates. Contract awarded to GeoTrust. |
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RFT issued on 22 March 2016 for Sharepoint Administrator and C#.net Developer and this is currently being evaluated. |
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A tender for the provision of Expert Services for Mine Inspections & Environmental Advice was awarded following a public procurement competition. The contract in relation to this tender has not yet been entered into. |
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RFT issued and contract entered into with Norcontel for the provision of certain financial advice relating to the Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs). |
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Contract awarded to Aurum Exploration Ltd for provision of a Bedrock Geologist for Land Mapping Unit. |
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Contract awarded to Aurum Exploration Ltd for provision of Digital Mapping support for Land Mapping Unit. |
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Contract entered into with the Commissioners of Public Works for the hosting of the National Energy Forum at Dublin Castle (Printworks) on 19 July 2016. |
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Contract entered into with Ernst & Young for the provision of Head of Internal Audit Unit services. |
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Contract entered into with Glenpatrick Water for Water Cooler Servicing. |
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Contract entered into with Neopost for Franking Machine Servicing. |
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Contract entered into with Mr Philip O’Reilly to provide certain Project Management Support Services relating to the postcodes project. |
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Contract entered into with Clever Cat Design for the design and printing of the recently published Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty. |
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Contract entered into with Europus for Irish translation of Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty document. |
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Name of Board |
Name of Member |
Date of Appointment |
Type of Appointment |
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An Post |
Lorraine Tormey |
01/01/2016 |
Re-appointment as Elected Postmaster Member |
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ESB |
Noreen Wright |
19/01/2016 with effect from 28/06/2016 |
Re-appointment as Member |
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Irish National Petroleum Corporation (INPC) |
Úna Dixon |
01/01/2016 |
Re-appointment as Departmental representative |
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Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) |
Patrick Gibbons |
13/01/2016 |
Appointment on the nomination of the Joint Oireachtas Committee |
