Written Answers Nos. 72-91
72. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if his Department has costings or projected figures for the additional cost of the National Broadband Plan as a result of the poor infrastructure of the existing network (details supplied); if additional costs attributable to this will be met solely by the State or the winning tenderer for the plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10359/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder State Aid Guidelines, Member States are required to use existing infrastructure to the maximum extent possible when rolling out high speed broadband networks. The NBP network is, therefore, being constructed through the use of existing telecoms infrastructure where possible and the construction of new infrastructure where necessary. National Broadband Ireland is using infrastructure assets including the eir network, ESB assets and the State owned Metropolitan Area Networks. The NBP network build involves the use of poles, ducts and exchanges and NBI has entered into infrastructure access agreements with the relevant entities. NBI will be utilising over 1.5 million poles and over 15,000 kilometres of duct networks.As part of the rental agreements, eir and enet are fully responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of infrastructure in use by NBI. The full cost of this is included in the annual rental charges to NBI. In the case of eir, the pole and duct infrastructure is fully regulated by ComReg who oversee the appropriate recovery of costs through the rental charges set by eir.While the aggregate annual rental to be paid by NBI to eir could be in order of €20m - €30m per annum once the network is fully deployed, the actual annual cost of using the existing infrastructure will not be known until the network is built and a full inventory of all poles and ducts in use by NBI is known. The final costs will also be dependent on reviews by ComReg which generally take place every five years and which can result in rental prices being either increased or reduced.The current rural network has been in place for many years and it was anticipated that some remediation work would be needed. In some areas, the extent of the remediation work is greater than was originally envisaged. NBI has concluded a service level agreement with openeir with respect to the remediation of poles and ducts as part of the “make ready” programme. The subsidy for the 25 year period of the NBP is capped at €2.7 billion, made up of the base subsidy of €2.1bn, a further amount of €480m of contingency subsidy that can be claimed in specified circumstances, plus VAT. While the contract provides for circumstances where costs savings revert to the State and the State also stands to share in future profits, National Broadband Ireland carries the full risk for any areas of cost over run, as the State subsidy is capped under the contract.
73. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of the discussions with the key energy sector stakeholders which have taken place to date to reduce the very high current cost of energy utilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10388/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a European Union regulatory regime wherein electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised, and competitive. Operating within this overall EU framework, responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets, is solely a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), which was assigned responsibility for the regulation of the Irish electricity and gas markets following the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA), 1999. The CRU is an independent statutory regulator and is accountable for the performance of its functions, including more generally on the matter raised in this question, to the Oireachtas, and not to me as Minister. I understand that the CRU appeared before Committee on Environment and Climate Action as recently as the 15th February to answer questions on these matters.More broadly, and in view of the current pressures faced by households following the exceptional rise in international energy prices I introduced The Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures Bill 2022, that now provides for a payment, on a once off basis in 2022, to each domestic electricity account amounting to €200 (including VAT). This payment is part of a suite of policy measures announced by Government designed to give additional support households at this time. The operation of the payment is facilitated by the Distribution System Operator (ESB Networks) and electricity suppliers under the oversight of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU).
74. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his plans to improve cyber-security in the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10390/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) works to support Government Departments and other public bodies to improve the resilience and security of their IT systems to better protect services that people rely upon, and their data, and the NCSC works very closely with the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) in this regard. However, it should be noted that the responsibility for the integrity and security of individual ICT networks lies with each individual Department, or Agency. The Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) based within in the NCSC, has developed and deployed technology on the infrastructure of Government Departments to detect and warn of certain types of threat. The Centre also provides expert advice and analysis on cyber security issues and is involved in coordinating the response to significant incidents. My Department has also recently published the baseline cyber security standard to be applied by all Government Departments and Agencies. The NCSC worked with colleagues across Government to develop the standard which will support public bodies to identify cyber risks, deploy appropriate mitigation measures, and protect personal and other important data.
The publication of Baseline Standards is one of the key measures identified in the National Cyber Security Strategy 2019-2024. The Strategy stated that, under Measure 8, that the NCSC (Nationals Cyber Security Centre), would formulate the Baseline Standards in conjunction with the OGCIO (Office of the Government Chief Information Officer). The main goal of the Cyber Security Baseline Standard, that was developed last year, is to improve the resilience and security of information and communications technology infrastructure and systems (ICT) in Public Service Bodies. The Cyber Security Baseline Standards provide a clearly-communicated set of security policies and procedures, to support good cyber security risk management whilst also reflecting business objectives. They are aligned with international standards and include measures and controls in relation to staff training, identity and access management.
In July 2021 the Government agreed a number of measures to support the continued development of the NCSC over the coming five years. The measures agreed include increasing the overall fulltime staffing complement of the NCSC to at least 70 over the next 5 years. with a first tranche of an additional 20 staff recruited by end 2022 bringing the serving complement to 45. In addition, the General Scheme of a Bill will be prepared for Government approval to establish the NCSC on a statutory basis and provide for related matters including clarity around its mandate.
75. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when he expects the use of CCTV to be authorised to combat illegal dumping;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10391/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe General Scheme of the Circular Economy Bill 2021 was published on 15 June 2021. It is my intention under the Bill to facilitate not only the use of CCTV, but also the use of a broad range of Audio-Visual Recording (AVR) equipment in order to assist local authorities in their efforts to combat litter and illegal dumping. The pre-legislative scrutiny process has been completed with the publication of the final report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action on 16th December 2021. Drafting is well advanced and the Bill will be published in Q1 2022 and enacted as soon as possible thereafter.
76. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he plans to roll-out district heating on a large scale; the way he plans to do so; if legislative change will be required to achieve this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10392/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Climate Action Plan 2021 contains a number of actions regarding the increased rollout of district heating, a technology that has the potential to make use of renewable and waste heat and to contribute to the decarbonisation of the built environment. Included is provision for the establishment of a District Heating Steering Group. The Steering Group will draw on insights from the recently published SEAI led National Heat Study to set appropriate targets for the rollout of district heating, ensure that there is a robust governance framework in place and develop a regulatory framework, along with any legislation that may be required.
The District Heating Steering Group, which is comprised of relevant stakeholders and experts, held its first meeting this month.
77. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the safeguards that he will put in place to ensure that communities can access supports for community renewable energy projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10393/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is the main Government policy to help deliver on our objective of up to 80% renewable electricity by 2030. The RESS supports communities in a variety of ways, including through a separate category for community projects and a mandatory community benefit fund for every project supported in the scheme. The Climate Action Plan includes a target for at least 500 MW of renewable electricity to be supplied by local community-based projects, meaning approximately 100 community projects will be needed to meet this ambition. In order to ensure such a pipeline of community projects I have allocated €2 million in capital funding in Budget 2022 to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
This funding will enable SEAI to deploy a range of capacity-building supports including toolkit guides to assist communities in developing renewable projects. The first four of these, covering grid connection, Solar PV, the planning process and onshore wind, are available on the SEAI website, with more to be developed in the coming months. A trusted intermediary service is also now in place, with an advisor service and financial grant supports to be delivered in Q2 2022.
To ensure genuine community participation for future RESS auctions, only projects that are 100% owned by a Renewable Energy Community (REC) will be eligible for the separate community category, ensuring that all of the benefits from the project stay in the local area. The REC definition in RESS is based on the definition set out in the EU’s Clean Energy Package, in particular Article 22 of the Renewable Energy Directive. Accordingly, a REC must be open to all potential local members and its primary purpose should be to provide environmental, economic or social community benefits for the local areas where it operates, rather than financial profits.
78. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he plans to introduce legislation or other measures to improve the air quality around quarries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10394/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAir quality in Ireland is protected by a range of legislation and policies, in line with EU and international policy. If required, legislation can also be introduced by the Minister under the Air Pollution Act (1987). There are no plans at present to introduce new legislation in relation to quarries. The Waste Management (Management of Waste from the Extractive Industries) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No 566 of 2009) provide for measures and procedures to prevent or reduce as far as possible any adverse effects on the environment, in particular water, air, soil, fauna and flora and landscape, and any resultant risks to human health, brought about as a result of the management of waste from the extractive industries.
Under Regulation 19(1) each Local Authority is required to establish and maintain a register of all extractive industries within its functional area, including the extraction, treatment and storage of mineral resources, the working of quarries, and the extraction, treatment and storage of peat.
Where air quality is found to be impacted in the environs of a quarry, the matter should be reported to the relevant Local Authority and the Environmental Protection Authority.
Quarries are also subject to planning permission, and control of quarries falls under Section 261 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and, therefore, any potential environment effects such as air quality would fall to be considered by the relevant planning authority for new developments, or for significant expansion of existing permitted extractive industries.
79. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when the deposit return scheme will be in operation; if glass will be included in the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10395/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe roadmap for the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme for plastic bottles and aluminium cans in Q3 2022 was outlined in the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, published in September 2020. I continue to work towards meeting that deadline. In November last year, I signed the Separate Collection (Deposit Return Scheme) Regulations 2021, providing the legal framework for the scheme, in particular the terms under which a scheme operator may be approved. The regulations also set out the obligations that will fall to producers, retailers and return point operators under the scheme.The introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme will assist in reducing single use plastics, thus helping Ireland meet EU targets while promoting a wider circular economy. Materials to be included in the scheme will be those for which Ireland faces immediate, challenging EU recycling and separate collection targets. The scheme will therefore focus on plastic bottles and aluminium beverage cans. Recycling rates in Ireland for glass are significantly above current EU targets.The Regulations provide that other materials may be considered for inclusion in the Deposit Return Scheme when the scheme is fully established.
80. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if local authorities will receive support in 2022 to help fund anti-dumping initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10396/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Anti-Dumping Initiative (ADI) was introduced in 2017 to encourage a collaborative approach between local authorities, communities, and other State Agencies to tackling the problem of illegal dumping. Funding of over €12 million has been provided by my Department under the Initiative, which has supported the delivery of over 1,250 projects nationwide. Details of funding, broken down by local authority and individual project, for each of the years 2017-2021 are available on the gov.ie website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/e27ac-anti-dumping-initiative/.
Allocations for 2022 have yet to be finalised, but I anticipate that a further €3m will be made available to support the Initiative in 2022.
My Department also continues to invest significantly in the local authority waste enforcement network under the Local Authority Waste Enforcement Measures Grant Scheme, with the intention of maintaining a visible presence of waste enforcement personnel on the ground across the State. Over €7.7m was provided to local authorities under the scheme in 2021, while my Department also provides ongoing support (€1mn in 2021) to the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities, which were established to position the local authority sector to better respond to emerging and priority waste enforcement challenges.
81. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of a broadband connection for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10492/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra82. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of a broadband connection for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10493/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra83. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of a broadband connection for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10494/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra84. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of a broadband connection at a location (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10495/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 81, 82, 83 and 84 together.
The Questions refer to premises located in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map which is available on my Department's website www.broadband.gov.ie. The AMBER area represents the area to be served by the network to be deployed under the NBP State led intervention.
I appreciate people’s frustration when they are living close to a fibre network, owned by a commercial operator, but cannot obtain a connection to that network. The NBP will ensure that in all such cases a future proofed high speed broadband network will be built to serve these premises and work to deliver on this is underway.
I am advised by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) that, as of 11 February, over 301,000 premises have been surveyed or have survey underway, with over 157,000 premises constructed or under construction across all counties. NBI has also advised that premises are connected in 16 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Laois, Limerick, Louth, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Wexford and Wicklow and over 54,500 premises are available to order and pre-order across 22 counties . In County Cork surveying is underway in the Deployment Area of Clonakilty, surveying is complete in the Deployment Areas of Templemartin, Tallow, Kanturk and Fermoy, main works are underway in the Deployment Areas of Midleton and Youghal and network build is complete in the Deployment Area of Carrigaline. To date over 35,000 premises in County Cork have been surveyed, with over 10,500 premises under construction and over 4,500 premises now available to order.
Further details are available on specific areas within County Cork through the NBI website which provides a facility for any premises within the intervention area to register their interest in being provided with deployment updates through its website www.nbi.ie. Individuals who register with this facility will receive regular updates on progress by NBI on delivering the network and specific updates related to their own premises as works commence. NBI has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries.
Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) are a key element of the NBP providing high speed broadband in every county in advance of the roll out of the fibre to the home network. As of 11 February 2022, 486 BCP sites have been installed by NBI and the high speed broadband service will be switched on in these locations through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly accessible sites and the Department of Education for school BCPs. In County Cork 22 BCP’s have been installed to date, including Lisavaird Community Centre, which is approximately 8.4km from the premises at Rossmore, and Riverstick Community Centre which is approximately 0.1km from the premises at Brookdale, 8.1km from the premises at Ballinhassig and 11.4 km from premises at Bandon. Further details can be found at nbi.ie/bcp-locations/.
In County Cork 15 schools have been installed by NBI to date for educational access. My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the Intervention Area. Further details of schools in scope are available on the NBI website at nbi.ie/primary-schools-list/.
85. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport if he has conducted a women’s safety and accessibility audit of electric vehicle charging infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10232/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that Ireland has set an ambitious target of 936,000 EVs on our roads by 2030 that reflects the scale of the transformation needed to achieve its climate targets in the coming years. Under the National Development Plan €1bn has been allocated to specific carbon reduction measures, including vehicle electrification.
The Government is fully committed to supporting a significant expansion and modernisation of the electric vehicle charging network over the coming years. A national charging infrastructure strategy is being developed which will set out a pathway to stay ahead of demand over the critical period out to 2030. My Department is engaging with relevant stakeholders to inform this work and it is envisaged that the strategy will be published for consultation in the coming months. Safety and accessibility will be considered as part of this process.
As safety and accessibility of the current public network is a matter for ESB eCars, I forwarded the Deputy's correspondence to them for direct reply. Please contact my office if no reply is received within 10 working days.
86. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport the status of the plans for the Boyne Greenway; if a particular route has been identified as the preferred route; if he will detail when the public consultation stage for the greenway project will commence; and when it was originally due to commence. [10209/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to Greenways. The planning, design and construction of individual Greenways is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. It is important too that a proposed Greenway has the support of the relevant Local Authority as funding is provided by TII to Local Authorities for this purpose. This matter is also subject to the Public Spending Code and the necessary statutory approvals. In this context, TII is best placed to advise you on the status of this project.
Noting the above position, I have referred your question to TII for a direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
87. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Transport the reason that a person (details supplied) has been waiting over ten months to receive an appointment to undertake their motorcycle driving test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10310/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder legislation, the Road Safety Authority is responsible for the operation of the motorcycle test. I have therefore forwarded the Deputy's query to the RSA for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
88. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport the number of electronic data transfers forwarded by An Garda Síochána to the Road Safety Authority on road traffic collisions that occurred in 2021; if he will include the details of each incident; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10367/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested is held by the Road Safety Authority (RSA). I have therefore forwarded the Deputy's query to the RSA for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
89. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport if he will consult with the Road Safety Authority and provide a schedule of the number of persons who died in road traffic collisions in 2021; the number of persons who were suffered a life-changing injury in road traffic collisions in 2021, by county and date of the collision; the number of persons who later died in hospital within 30 days of the road traffic collision, by county and date of the collision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10368/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the compilation of road safety statistics is the responsibility of the Road Safety Authority I have referred this Question to the Authority for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
90. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Transport the name of the company, statutory body or organisation that is responsible for signage on the approach roads to railway bridges informing the public of the height of railway bridges. [10397/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe legal framework for traffic signage is contained in a number of Acts and Regulations. These include the Road Traffic Acts, the Road Traffic (Signs) Regulations and the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations.
The legal responsibility for public roads is vested in the County Councils and City Councils. These local authorities, in discharging their road functions, are referred to as ‘Road Authorities’. The statutory duty of Road Authorities includes responsibility for the specification, construction and maintenance of road signs and markings within their functional area.
In the case of rail bridges, the headroom to be signed must be agreed with the relevant railway authority.
91. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Transport if the announced 20% cut in transport fares will apply to those who have purchased annual taxsaver ticket for 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10468/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport, nor decisions on fares. It is the National Transport Authority (NTA) that has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services, provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
The Government is strongly committed to helping combat the rising cost-of-living being experienced throughout the country. In this context, a suite of new measures is being introduced by Government to help with this issue, including a 20% average fare reduction on PSO services until the end of 2022. These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use public transport every day. A further €54m in Exchequer funding has been secured to allow for the introduction of these discounted fares, this is in addition to the REV22 allocations.
The NTA will work with the public transport operators in the coming weeks to commence rolling out these fare reductions across the public transport network in April/May. In light of the NTA's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's specific question in relation to the application of the fare reductions to the annual taxsaver ticket for 2022, to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
