Written Answers Nos 236-245
236. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a targeted agricultural modernisation scheme application by a person (details supplied) will be approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29157/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe applicant in question submitted an application on 26 June 2016 for Animal Housing under the Animal Welfare, Safety and Nutrient Storage Scheme of TAMS II, tranche three. His application has passed the administration checks and will be going to the next stage which is the Ranking and Selection of applications in the near future.
237. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding an application for funding under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29167/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe applicant in question applied on 28 September 2016 for a mass concrete tank and animal housing. The tranche closed on 30 September 2016. All of the applications received in this tranche will go through the administrative checks in the first instance before proceeding to the ranking and selection process. Applications which are considered eligible but which are not successful in a particular tranche roll over into the next tranche.
238. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a use it or lose it by year end rule is or has been in operation within his Department when devolving funding to agencies under his remit on an annual basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29189/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are twelve State Bodies under the aegis of my Department of which seven are in receipt of annual funding. The 2016 allocations are detailed in the table:
|
State Body |
Allocations |
|
Aquaculture Licensing Appeals Board |
Nil |
|
Bord Bia |
€ 32.492m |
|
Bord Iascaigh Mhara |
€ 39.680m |
|
Bord na gCon |
€ 14.8m |
|
Coillte |
Nil |
|
Horse Racing Ireland |
€ 59.2m |
|
Irish National Stud |
Nil |
|
Marine Institute |
€29.309m |
|
National Milk Agency |
Nil |
|
Sea Fisheries Protection Authority |
€12.460m |
|
Teagasc |
€116.280m |
|
Veterinary Council of Ireland |
Nil |
In line with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 13/2014 - Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds - some funding may be retained by a State Body if deemed necessary to meet existing outstanding financial requirements. Such balances, however, must be kept to a minimum and can be taken into account when considering the following year’s grant.
239. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Cumarsáide, Gníomhaithe ar son na hAeráide agus Comhshaoil an síleann sé gur chóir go mbeadh gach rud a bhaineann le seirbhísí cumarsáide, fuinnimh agus acmhainní nádúrtha faoi chúram na Roinne Gaeltachta, cibé ábhar atá ann, agus nach bhfuil aon fhreagracht air as rud ar bith a bhaineann leis an teanga, ar nós réiteach ar fhadhbanna maidir le seoltaí Gaeilge sa chóras nua Eircode a mhaoiniú; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [28971/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraIs í aidhm na scéime teanga 2014-2017 a bhí ullmhaithe ag an Roinn seo ná na seirbhísí atá á soláthar trí Ghaeilge a choimeád agus a fheabhsú.
Níl sé éigeantach Eircode a úsáid; úsáidtear ar bhonn deonach é, agus níl aon riachtanas na seoltaí atá ann cheana a thiontú ó Ghaeilge go Béarla, nó a mhalairt. Go bunúsach, cuirtear an cód leis an seoladh, cé acu i nGaeilge nó i mBéarla. Seachas cóid cheantracha de chuid Bhaile Átha Cliath, is neodrach é gach uile Eircode ó thaobh suímh de. Is é sin le rá, meastar an cód seacht ndigit mar shonra, seachas mar theanga. Tá na heagraíochtaí Gaeilge sásta leis an gcur chuige seo.
I gcomhar le Conradh na Gaeilge agus Foras na Gaeilge, tá litreacha dátheangacha agus ábhar bolscaireachta dátheangach curtha amach ag Eircode. Tá foireann dhátheangach fostaithe sa lárionad glaonna Eircode, leis, chun ceisteanna an phobail a fhreagairt trí Ghaeilge.
Tarraingítear seoltaí atá sa bhunachar sonraí Eircode – seoltaí Gaeilge ina measc – go díreach ón mbunachar sonraí GeoDirectory, atá curtha ar fáil d’Eircode faoi cheadúnas ag An Post GeoDirectory (APG). Mar chomhlacht ainmnithe faoin Acht 2003, is é cúram d’An Post an scéim sin a riar. Tá sé curtha in iúl don Roinn ag APG go bhfuil sé i gceist acu logainmneacha deimhnithe a chur leis an mbunachar GeoDirectory. Chuige seo, bainfidh siad úsáid as aistriúcháin ón mBunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann agus Suirbhéireacht Órdanáis Éireann. Le déanaí, thosaigh Logainm ag cur comhaid de logainmneacha a bhí athraithe nó nuashonraithe ar fáil d’APG. Nuair is féidir, cuirtear iad siúd agus logainmneacha deimhnithe eile leis an mbunachar GeoDirectory de chuid APG, agus ansin tá siad tugtha isteach sa bhunachar Eircode.
The language scheme 2014 -2017 prepared by my Department aims to maintain and enhance the provision of services through Irish.
The use of Eircode is voluntary, not mandatory and there is no requirement to change existing addresses in Irish or English. The Eircode is simply appended to the existing address be it in English or Irish. With the exception of the existing Dublin district codes, all Eircodes are neutral of location in both English and Irish language which means that the seven digit code is considered data rather than language. The Irish language organisations are satisfied with this approach.
Eircode in consultation with Conradh na Gaeilge and Foras na Gaeilge has produced bilingual promotional material and postcode notification letters. Bilingual staff are available in the Eircode call centre to take calls from members of the public in Irish.
The provision of addresses, including Irish language addresses in the Eircode address database is solely derived from the GeoDirectory database provided under licence by An Post GeoDirectory (APG) to Eircode. An Post are responsible for their own scheme as a designated body under the 2003 Act. APG have informed my Department that they endeavour to include the verified official Irish placenames within their database where available, using translations from Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann and Ordnance Survey Ireland. Logainm have recently begun to supply APG with a file of placenames that have been changed or updated. Where possible those and verified placenames are included in the GeoDirectory database provided by APG and incorporated into the Eircode database.
240. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if all premises covered by the national broadband plan will be connected by the end of 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29050/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority. This is being achieved through private investment by commercial telecommunications companies and through a State intervention in areas where commercial investment is not forthcoming. The formal procurement process for the State Intervention commenced in December 2015.
The Department is now in a formal procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network to over 750,000 premises in Ireland, covering 100,000km of road network and 96% of the land area of Ireland. Since bidders were invited to participate in dialogue with the Department, there have been well over 100 hours of meetings, with considerable more interaction to follow over the coming months.
Since the procurement commenced in December 2015, the contract award timeline is being kept under constant review to ensure that the process is robust and delivers effectively and it became apparent earlier this year that further time was needed and this was communicated publically before the Department entered into dialogue with bidders. The timing of each stage of the procurement continues to be dependent on a range of factors including the complexities that may be encountered by the procurement team, and bidders, during the procurement process. Bidders need adequate time to prepare detailed proposals and their final formal bids and get the relevant shareholder and funding approvals at key stages of the process. It is also important to ensure that risks in this multi-million euro procurement are carefully managed. I do not propose to comment any further at this juncture, given the sensitivity of discussions in the procurement process. I can assure the Deputy however, that the procurement process is being intensively managed, to ensure an outcome that delivers a future-proofed network that serves homes and businesses across Ireland, for at least 25 years.
As part of the Department's extensive stakeholder consultations in 2015, telecommunications service providers indicated that it could take 3-5 years to roll out a network of the scale envisaged under the NBP. It is however open to bidder(s) to suggest more aggressive timescales as part of their bids. As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best roll-out strategy, in order to target areas of particularly poor service, business needs and-or high demand. This will need to be balanced with the most efficient network roll-out plan. A prioritisation programme will be put in place in this regard, in consultation with the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. A detailed roll-out plan for the network will be published once contract(s) are in place.
The Programme for Government also commits to measures to assist in the roll-out of the network once a contract is awarded. In this regard, Minister Humphreys is leading on the establishment of two regional action groups, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.
In the meantime, my Department continues to liaise closely with industry and relevant other Departments and agencies to assist in the commercial deployment of telecommunications networks. The commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2bn in upgrading and modernising networks which support the provision of high speed broadband and mobile telecoms services. These investments will further improve the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile voice and data services throughout the country.
In line with commitments in the Programme for Government I established a Mobile Phone and Broadband Task Force with my colleague Minister Humphreys in July 2016. The task force will recommend practical actions that can be taken in the short-term to improve mobile phone and broadband access in Ireland, working with Government Departments, Local Authorities, ComReg, State Agencies, the telecoms industry and other key stakeholders. The work of the task force will also assist Local Authorities in preparing for the roll-out of the new NBP network once contract(s) are in place. I expect that Minister Humphreys and I will bring proposals to Government by the end of 2016, on foot of the task force's report.
241. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment in view of the importance of the issue of climate change and in view of the commitment in the programme for Government to produce a national low carbon transition and mitigation plan and following the establishment of the Climate Change Advisory Council, if the council will issue a public advisory statement ahead of the publication by his Department of a draft plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29056/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra242. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment in respect of the national low carbon transition and mitigation plan, the person who will be consulted in its development; the process that will be undertaken to develop the plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29057/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 241 and 242 together.
In accordance with Section 11(3) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, the Climate Change Advisory Council is independent in the performance of its functions. It is, therefore, a matter for the Council to determine if it will issue of a public advisory statement ahead of the publication of the draft National Mitigation Plan (NMP).
Development of the NMP is being guided by a long-term vision of low carbon transition as set out in the National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development 2014, based on:
- an aggregate reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of at least 80%, compared to 1990 levels, by 2050 across the electricity generation, built environment and transport sectors; and
- in parallel, an approach to carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land-use sector, including forestry, which does not compromise capacity for sustainable food production.
The ultimate objective of successive NMPs is to incrementally achieve this vision by 2050. The first iteration of the NMP will place particular focus on the putting in place the necessary measures to address the challenge to 2020 and also on planning ahead to ensure that appropriate policies and measures are in place beyond that. Work on this task, which is being co-ordinated by the NMP Steering Group, is well underway by all Departments concerned. Key sectors in the low carbon transition process - electricity generation, transport, built environment and agriculture - are currently developing sectoral mitigation measures in tandem with Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) processes and financial analysis during which measures will be further developed and prioritised.
In the interests of transparency and inclusiveness, consultation has been a key part of the process to date and a number of non-statutory consultations have already taken place. Each of the Departments with responsibility for the four key sectors have already undertaken stakeholder participatory initiatives to input into the decision making process on policies and measures to be included in the respective sectoral mitigation measures. Last year, a consultation document issued informing the public of the context for the NMP, the process by which the NMP was being prepared, the proposed outline structure of the NMP and invited early stakeholder engagement on Ireland's national transition to a low carbon future.
In terms of statutory consultation, in accordance with Section 4 (8)(a) and (b) of the Act, it is intended to publish a draft NMP for public consultation before the end of 2016. In advance of that, in accordance with Sections 4(3)(d) and 4(9)(b) of the Act, the advice of the Climate Change Advisory Council and relevant Ministers of Government will be sought in relation to the development of the NMP and associated sectoral mitigation measures.
243. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Question No. 855 of 27 September 2016 (details supplied), if he will introduce legislation to compel electricity suppliers to provide a tariff to generators of renewable energy; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this has led to the success of renewable energy supplies in Germany and other countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29117/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland's electricity market is commercial, competitive, liberalised and regulated in accordance with frameworks set out in EU and national legislation. The regulation of the market is the responsibility of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) which is an independent statutory based regulator and I have no function in the matter. Accordingly, in a liberalised market I have no plans to introduce legislation on this matter.
On the question of a tariff payment for energy exported to the grid from micro-generation, as I have previously stated in the House, other than Electric Ireland, to date no other electricity supplier has chosen to provide such a tariff, to either domestic or commercial customers, although they have been invited to do so by the CER. Any decision by an electricity supplier to offer a tariff payment is a commercial decision for the company.
The Energy White Paper published last December sets out a high-level framework for Ireland's energy transition to a low carbon economy and society and identifies a range of measures and actions to support this aim. Exploring the scope to provide support for renewable micro-generation will form part of my Department’s on-going analysis to underpin the introduction of a new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).
In-depth analysis is now underway to inform the actual costings of a new Scheme. While no decision has been taken on the precise renewable technologies to be supported, the cost and technical viability of a range of renewable technologies is being assessed, including, for example, micro-generation. As regards the design of the scheme, options ranging from the payment of support tariffs to up-front grants to deploy renewable energy for self-consumption are under consideration.
244. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when his Department first announced plans to introduce the awaited national broadband plan; the dates on which various Ministers held press conferences to publicise it; the expected commencement and completion dates given by Ministers at each of these press conferences; the current projected commencement date and completion date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29119/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) which was published in August 2012 by the then Minister Pat Rabbitte outlined Government’s commitment to deliver high speed broadband availability across the country and reflects Government and European objectives to deliver high speed services to all citizens. Specifically it committed to a State intervention in those areas where commercial investment is not forthcoming.
Since the publication of the Plan, there have been numerous updates provided in respect of progress. In April 2014, the Government decided that it needed to scale up the ambition of the plan. This was a consequence of the mapping process, which has been underway since 2013, and which demonstrated that there was a significant fibre-deficit across Ireland that this would require a major network build. It also recognised new State Aid Guidelines published in 2013, a significant ramp-up in demand for data services nationally and internationally, and accelerated industry investment following regulatory and policy decisions, which included legislation to allow ESB to enter the telecoms market. Facilitating commercial investment continues to be a critical element of the Plan and industry is now delivering to approximately 1.2m premises across Ireland, which represents an increase of at least 200k more homes and businesses than had originally been anticipated. Telecoms operators are also rolling out fibre-to-the-home services in Ireland - a technology which was not envisaged on any scale in 2012. At least two operators have announced ambitious fibre-to-the-home roll-out plans, one of which involves the use of the ESB network, which was facilitated by legislation introduced by my Department as part of the broader NBP policy.
Following the Government's decision to scale up the ambition of the plan, significant additional resources were brought to bear on the project. Since then, my predecessor and I have held media briefings to flag key milestones in the development of the Plan. These include:
November 2014 - the publication of the High Speed Broadband Map and launch of a public consultation;
June 2015 - the publication of the draft Intervention Strategy along with 7 expert reports which are supporting the delivery of the procurement
December 2015 - the publication of the updated High Speed Broadband Map and formal launch of the procurement process, with the publication of a detailed Project Information Memorandum and Project Information Notice in the Official Journal of the EU.
July 2016 - the decision by Government in relation to the ownership model for the network to be built and the shortlisting of three companies to be brought forward as bidders in the procurement process.
July 2016- the Programme for Government commits to the establishment of a Mobile Phone and Broadband Task Force to consider immediate measures to address telecommunications deficits in rural Ireland. The task force, which I co-chair with my colleague, Minister Humphreys, was established in July 2016. The task force has established four sub-groups to examine various aspects of mobile phone and broadband coverage and there have been 10 meetings since July with the next meeting of the main group scheduled for tomorrow, 7 October 2016. The task force is making good progress in identifying practical actions that can be taken in the short-term to improve mobile phone and broadband access in Ireland including access to infrastructure and network improvement.
The task force will work with Government Departments, Local Authorities, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), State Agencies, the telecoms industry and other key stakeholders. The work of the task force will also assist Local Authorities in preparing for the roll-out of the new NBP network once contract(s) are in place. I expect that Minister Humphreys and I will bring proposals to Government by the end of 2016, on foot of the task force's report.
I am sure that the Deputy will agree that regular progress reports on the development of the plan, at the key milestone stages outlined, is important in order to inform the public of progress.
The Department is now in a formal procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll out a new high speed broadband network to over 750,000 premises in Ireland, covering 100,000km of road network and 96% of the land area of Ireland. Since bidders were invited to participate in dialogue with the Department, there have been well over 100 hours of meetings, with considerable more interaction to follow over the coming months. While the Department had indicated that the process would be concluded in 2016, this has not been possible, due to the complexity of the process. For example, there were 5 consortia considered during the pre-qualification phase of the procurement, involving over 30 companies, with each potentially bidding for three lots in the procurement process. This required detailed analysis and companies requested more time at that stage of the process.
Throughout the process, it was envisaged that contract(s) would be awarded in 2016. Since the procurement commenced in December 2015, the contract award timeline is being kept under constant review to ensure that the process is robust and delivers effectively. It became apparent earlier this year that further time was needed and this was communicated publicly before the Department entered into formal dialogue with bidders. The timing of each stage of the procurement continues to be dependent on a range of factors including the complexities that may be encountered by the procurement team, and bidders, during the procurement process. Bidders need adequate time to prepare detailed proposals and their final formal bids and get the relevant shareholder and funding approvals at key stages of the process. It is also important to ensure that risks in this multi-million euro procurement are carefully managed. I do not propose to comment any further at this juncture, given the sensitivity of discussions in the procurement process. I can assure the Deputy however, that the procurement process is being intensively managed, to ensure an outcome that delivers a future-proofed network that serves homes and businesses across Ireland, for at least 25 years.
As part of the Department's extensive stakeholder consultations in 2015, telecommunications service providers indicated that it could take 3-5 years to roll out a network of the scale envisaged under the NBP. It is however open to bidder(s) to suggest more aggressive timescales as part of their bids. As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best roll-out strategy, in order to target areas of particularly poor service, business needs and-or high demand. This will need to be balanced with the most efficient network roll-out plan. A prioritisation programme will be put in place in this regard, in consultation with the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. A detailed roll-out plan for the network will be published once contract(s) are in place.
The Programme for Government also commits to measures to assist in the roll-out of the network once a contract is awarded. In this regard, Minister Humphreys is leading on the establishment of two regional action groups, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.
In the meantime, my Department continues to liaise closely with industry and relevant other Departments and agencies to assist in the commercial deployment of telecommunications networks. The commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2bn in upgrading and modernising networks which support the provision of high speed broadband and mobile telecoms services. These investments will further improve the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile voice and data services throughout the country.
245. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if a use it or lose it by year end rule is or has been in operation within his Department when devolving funding to agencies under his remit on an annual basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29192/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department complies with the provisions of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 13/2014 - Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds. This circular sets out the public financial rules to be followed in the management of grant funding and in general, requires that any unspent funding at year end is surrendered to the Exchequer. An exception to this general rule is where agencies are pre-funded towards their day to day running costs. In these instances year reasonable end balances may be retained where it is deemed necessary to meet outstanding financial commitments. My Department has monitoring and control systems in place to ensure that these retained balances are keep to a minimum.
