Written Answers Nos 241-250
241. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his attention has been drawn to the issue of a threefold increase in commercial rates for wind turbines by local authorities and the disincentive that this will be with regard to renewables targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13266/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraResponsibility in relation to commercial rates is a matter for the relevant rating authorities. I have been informed by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government that Local authorities are under statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes, in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015.
The Commissioner of Valuation has responsibility for valuation matters, and a definition of relevant properties for valuation purposes is set out in that legislation. The Annual Rate on Valuation (ARV), which is applied to the valuation of each property determined by the Valuation Office to obtain the amount payable in rates, is decided by the elected members of each local authority in the annual budget and its determination is a reserved function of the elected members.
242. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the discussions he has had with the European Union Commission or with his counterpart in the British Government on the need to avoid mobile phone roaming charges following Britain's exit from the EU's digital single market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13337/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraEU Roam Like at Home took effect by way of EU Regulation on 15 June 2017 and is now in force EU-wide. Therefore until the UK leaves the European Union, this EU law has full effect in the UK, including Northern Ireland.
On the issue of Brexit, my Department engages on an ongoing basis with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with a view to informing Ireland’s approach to the ongoing EU-UK negotiations and the manner in which this is communicated to our EU partners. In parallel, my Department is also contributing to the very detailed work on a no-deal or worst-case-scenario, which is being advanced through the cross-Departmental coordination structures chaired by the Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade. This work provides a baseline scenario for the policies and sectors impacted, which can then be adapted as appropriate in light of developments in the EU-UK negotiations.
In this regard, a transition period, extending to 31 December 2020 and based on the status quo, is currently the subject of negotiations between the EU and the UK within the context of the wider withdrawal process. Should this be agreed, EU Roam Like at Home will continue to apply until at least the end of the transition period. This period will provide time for businesses and citizens to prepare for the UK’s ultimate withdrawal from the EU based on the outcome of the negotiations on the framework for the EU’s future relationship with the UK.
In the immediate term, my Department will continue to focus on the risks and opportunities that may emerge as a result of Brexit and to develop appropriate strategies for these. We continue to monitor the situation closely and to liaise with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on planning for the potential effects of Brexit on the telecommunications sector, including with regard to roaming.
243. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the new connection policy proposed by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, ECP-1, will prioritise providing a grid connection for renewables over fossil fuel plants. [13397/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra244. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if projects that have already applied to the ESB for a grid connection and have planning permission will receive a grid offer under ECP-1. [13398/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra245. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if ECP-1 will increase the capacity of the batch size from 600 MW to 1,000 MW to ensure that all projects which currently have planning permission can connect to the electricity system. [13399/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra246. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the Commission for Regulation of Utilities will adequately resource the ESB to handle the number of renewable energy projects with planning looking to receive a grid connection. [13400/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra247. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the ESB will process more than 50 applications under the proposed new connection policy. [13401/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 243 to 247, inclusive, together.
The regulation of the electricity network, including the management of the grid connection process and related matters, is a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), under the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999. In this regard the CRU’s Work Plan outlining its key priorities for 2018 was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas earlier this year. The CRU is an independent statutory body, solely accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas, and I therefore have no function in the matter.
As outlined on the CRU’s website, the CRU’s proposed decision on the Enduring Connection Policy ( ECP-1) was subject to public consultation between 2 November and 15 December 2017. The CRU's consideration of stakeholder feedback is ongoing. My Department further understands that the CRU proposes to issue a final decision on ECP-1 by the end of March 2018.
248. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when high-speed broadband will be made available at a location (details supplied) in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13425/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location. The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. Today, almost 7 out of 10 of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland have access to high speed broadband. Since this Government came into office almost 400,000 additional premises have access to high speed broadband. This will increase to nearly 8 out of 10 premises by the end of this year and by 2020, 9 out of 10 premises will have access to a high speed broadband connection. This is being achieved via a combination of commercial investment and a State led intervention.
The premises referred to by the Deputy is in an AMBER area on my Department’s High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie. It is therefore included in the State Intervention Area under the NBP.
My Department is in a formal procurement process to select a company who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network in the State intervention area. That procurement process is now in its final stages.
In the interim, practical initiatives will continue to be addressed through the work of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce to address obstacles and improve connectivity in respect of existing and future mobile phone and broadband services.
Under this Taskforce, engagement between telecommunications operators and local authorities through the Broadband Officers is continuing to strengthen. These Broadband Officers are acting as single points of contact in local authorities for their communities. The appointment of these officers is already reaping rewards in terms of ensuring a much greater degree of consistency in engagements with operators and clearing obstacles to developing infrastructure. There is a link to a list of these local Broadband Officers on my Department's website.
249. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for a multi-modal approach to deal with traffic congestion in Dublin city centre and the College Green area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13256/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that Dublin City Council and the National Transport Authority (NTA) jointly published the Dublin City Centre Transport Study in 2015 which sets out the various measures proposed for Dublin's city centre to ensure the efficient functioning of transport within the city centre. In preparing the study, Dublin City Council and the NTA reviewed the current and future transportation needs of the City Centre, and the report noted that as the economy continues its recovery and employment rises, without positive intervention, increased congestion and longer journey times on the key routes to Dublin City, and within the City Centre itself, will become an increasing feature of the City. The report also acknowledged that with the introduction of the Luas Cross City Project, Luas trams would be caught up in traffic congestion, and that the service reliability would be prone to disruption due to general traffic. Similarly the report also acknowledged the impact to the reliability of the bus network given the interaction with other road traffic. The report recognised that a rebalancing of the available road space will be required on various streets to facilitate the introduction of additional capacity for public transport, cycling and walking. Significant changes to the traffic network in the City Centre will be necessary, with the objective of guaranteeing that the overall transport system is capable of operating efficiently and reliably, with consistent journey times.
NTA and DCC, in collaboration with Dublin Bus and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, are progressively implementing the measures set out in that document to enable the continued development and growth of the city with the objective of guaranteeing that the overall transport system is capable of operating efficiently and reliably, with consistent journey times. As the Deputy is aware, the City Council's College Green Plaza proposal is currently with An Bord Pleanála for determination, and if approved, would remove a lot of the conflicting traffic movements that currently exist in College Green.
Looking to the future, as Minister for Transport I have ensured that Budget 2018 increased the multi-annual capital investment funding envelopes for the coming four-year period, including providing an enhanced capital envelope of €2.7 billion for a multi-modal public transport investment programme between 2018 and 2021. The 4 year envelope will allocate investment fund projects such as BusConnects, MetroLink, DART expansion, will continue investment in Dublin's light rail network, cycling and walking and traffic management measures in our capital and beyond. These programmes will be implemented by the NTA which has statutory responsibility for development of Public Transport in the GDA.
Furthermore, Government’s Public Transport investment priorities are also set out in the recently published National Development Plan (NDP). The NDP seeks to protect the quality and value of the existing assets and deliver a multi-modal public transport network that will provide high-quality passenger interchange points, which facilitate convenient transfer between efficient and integrated public transport services. All the planned investment in public transport combined will add greatly to the choice and experience of the travelling public, connecting more people with more places and ease congestion in Ireland’s cities.
250. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department will provide the financial assistance requested by Donegal County Council for investment in local roads and community initiatives in advance of the holding of an event (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13290/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads within its area of responsibility are the statutory responsibility of Donegal County Council, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from the Council's own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.
I announced the 2018 regional and local road allocations on 29th January and all grant funding available to my Department has now been allocated. Donegal County Council has been allocated €33 million approx. The base grant allocation has increased by close to €3 million from the 2017 initial allocation and in addition €10 million is being allocated this year to assist Donegal with works related to the severe flooding event last summer. It is for the Council to determine its priorities and decide its work programme, taking available grant funding and its own resources into account.
In December 2017 Donegal County Council contacted my Department seeking a contribution to the estimated €3 million road infrastructure costs related to facilitating the Irish Open Golf Tournament. In response my Department notified Donegal County Council that unfortunately, given the competing demands for funding and the continued need to try to restore funding for maintenance/rehabilitation programmes along with funding a limited number of improvement projects under the Capital Plan, the Department would not be in a position to provide funding over and above Donegal's annual road grant allocation to assist with the works proposed on the access roads to the Irish Open Golf Championship in 2018.
In this context my Department's approach in such circumstances is to allow the relevant local authority to make whatever adjustments are needed to its restoration programmes arising from works associated with Irish Open Golf Championship. However, Fáilte Ireland and Sport Ireland are providing €500,000 each to support the Irish Open in Donegal this year as part of a three year government-sanctioned deal.
