Written Answers Nos. 161-171
161. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he has intentions to implement an enhanced emissions reporting framework and price incentivisation for large energy users to encourage them to participate in flexible demand initiatives designed to shift electricity consumption to times when emissions are low; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22565/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs set out in the Climate Action Plan 2024, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland is developing an enhanced emissions reporting framework for electricity emissions for Large Energy Users. The purpose of this framework is to facilitate reduced carbon intensity across Large Energy Users’ demand profile and promote grid efficiency. A report is expected from SEAI in Q3 2024. My Department is liaising with the SEAI on the development of this framework.
Alongside this framework, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) are developing a National Energy Demand Side Strategy (NEDS), with the aim of 20% to 30% of electricity demand to be flexible by 2030. As we move to higher levels of renewable energy sources it will be necessary for electricity demand to become much more flexible to match when renewable electricity is plentiful, and prices are at their lowest. Large Energy Users will be expected to make up a higher proportional contribution to the NEDS target, as they are making up a high proportion of the increase in electricity demand.
As part of the National Energy Demand Strategy, the CRU is also currently reviewing its Large Energy Users connection policy. The aim of this review is to provide a new pathway for Large Energy Users to connect to the electricity and gas systems, that minimises the impact on national carbon emissions while also taking account of the capacity of our energy and grid infrastructure. Decision papers for the NEDS and Large Energy Users connection policy are expected in 2024.
162. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications for an update on the SEAI application of a person (details supplied); if he will address the points raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22632/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) operates the Warmer Homes Scheme on behalf of my Department. Delivering free energy upgrades to low-income households and reducing the waiting times for the Warmer Homes Scheme is a top priority for my Department and the SEAI.
Last year, almost 5,900 homes were upgraded under the Scheme with an average spend of €24,000 per home and €157 million in total expenditure. A record budget allocation of almost €210 million is in place for the scheme this year.
My officials continue to work with the SEAI to optimise and accelerate the output of free energy upgrades provided under this critical scheme. Importantly however, individual applications to the Warmer Homes Scheme are an operational matter for SEAI and as Minister I have no function in relation to such applications.
Applicants can contact SEAI at any time to get further information on the status of their application either by email to warmerhomes@seai.ie or by phone to 1800 250 204. Oireachtas members can make queries on behalf of applicants by contacting the dedicated email address, oireachtas@seai.ie.
163. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to detail the legal provisions in place to ensure the State is in compliance with Article 3(8) of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; and if he would make a statement on the issue. [22672/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland ratified the Aarhus Convention in June 2012. Irish law contains a number of safeguards to implement Article 3(8) of the Aarhus Convention, so that members of the public exercising their rights in conformity with the provisions of the Convention are not penalised, persecuted, or harassed for their involvement in relevant processes.
Section 50B of the Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended, provides that a court may award costs against a party, in proceedings to which that section applies, if the court considers that a claim or counterclaim by the party is frivolous or vexatious, or because of the manner in which the party has conducted the proceedings.
Other legal provisions in place to protect members of the public exercising their rights in conformity with the provisions of the Convention include the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act, 2014.
Irish courts hold an inherent power to dismiss proceedings which constitute an abuse of process which is exercised with great caution. The concepts that an action may be frivolous or vexatious are inherent in the tort of abuse of process. The courts are willing to strike out proceedings at their own discretion where the claim is bound to fail and/or no cause of action is disclosed.
Further to these safeguards, as an expression of solidarity with environmental defenders and of Ireland’s commitment to protecting their rights, in 2021 we committed, along with Austria, to provide funding of €85,000 per year for four years to support the Rapid Response Mechanism established under the Aarhus Convention to safeguard environmental defenders. This is the first international mechanism to specifically safeguard environmental defenders to be established within a legally binding framework either under the United Nations system or other intergovernmental structure.
164. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of take-back exemptions, by category type, that have been granted in the context of the deposit return scheme. [22715/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Regulations, some retailers may avail of an exemption to provide a take-back service, provided certain conditions are met. Retailers with a store size of less than 250m2, as well as those operating vending machines or online sales, food-to-go and hospitality establishments may apply to Re-Turn, the DRS operator, for an exemption.
To date, 7,685 retail premises have availed of a take-back exemption. The table below provides details of those exemptions by category of retail.
|
Category |
Number of Premises |
% |
|
Hospitality including gym, sports/golf clubs and cinemas |
3,209 |
42% |
|
Schools, staff canteens & catering providers |
641 |
8% |
|
Mobile vans, ice-cream parlours, juice bars, vending machines & online sales |
1,003 |
13% |
|
Small retailers & other retail types that sell small volumes of containers (e.g. clothes and bookstores) |
2,832 |
37% |
|
Total |
7,685 |
100% |
165. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications how much of the just transition fund under the 2021-27 allocation has been drawn down to date. [22838/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra166. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the funding allocated to projects under the Just Transition Fund 2021-2027 to date, in tabular form. [22839/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 165 and 166 together.
Ireland's EU Just Transition Fund Programme and Territorial Just Transition Plan were approved by the Government and by the European Commission in December 2022. The amount of funding provided to the programme by the EU has been set at €84,466,694. This funding will be available until 2027, in line with the EU Multi-Annual Financial Framework for 2021 to 2027. As a co-financed programme, the EU funding will be matched by national funding provided by the Exchequer. This brings the total funding available under the programme to €168,933,388.
All expenditure under the programme is initially funded by the Exchequer, and the EU contribution is reimbursed in line with incurred expenditure, in accordance with EU rules. Funding under the programme is allocated to a number of different Departments managing schemes under the programme each year through the Estimates process in accordance with the programme requirements. The award of funding to individual projects under each scheme is currently ongoing, with the timeline for the distribution of grant funding to selected projects aligned with the requirements of the EU Just Transition Fund Programme.
The schemes included in the EU Just Transition Fund Programme, Departments and Agencies involved in their delivery, and current allocation of programme funding to these schemes is set out in the table below. Individual Departments are responsible for announcing details of grant awards for their respective schemes.
|
Scheme |
Intermediary Body / relevant Department |
Programme Allocation |
|
1.1 Economic Drivers. Regenerative Tourism |
Fáilte Ireland / Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media |
€38m |
|
1.2 Supporting bottom-up local and regional economic strategies |
Pobal / Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications |
€29m |
|
1.3 Bioeconomy Initiatives |
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine |
€20m |
|
2.1 Peatland Restoration |
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage |
€12m |
|
2.2 Midland Carbon Catchment |
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine |
€15m |
|
2.3 Trails Network |
Fáilte Ireland / Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media |
€30m |
|
3.1 Electric Bus Routes |
Department of Transport |
€2m |
|
3.2 Support to Private Bus Operators |
Department of Transport |
€1m |
|
3.3 Community Centre Charging |
Department of Transport (ZEVI) |
€15m |
The Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA) is the Managing Authority for Ireland’s EU Just Transition Fund Programme. Further information, including programme documentation, and links to information about previous, currently open and future funding calls, is available on the EMRA website at www.emra.ie. Information on projects selected for funding will also be published on this website in due course.
167. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if a response will issue to questions and concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied) on the deposit return scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22864/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has no record of the correspondence referred to in the question. The Deputy's constituent should submit their query directly to my Department and I will arrange for a response to be prepared and issue.
168. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the 2023 and 2024 budget allocation for his Department's anti-litter and anti-graffiti awareness grant scheme; and the percentage of the 2023 funding that was actually spent. [22890/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides financial support to local authority efforts to tackle litter through the Anti-Litter & Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme. In 2023 €750,000 was made available under the Scheme. Approximately €713,000, or 95% of the total amount available, was actually drawn down by the various local authorities in 2023. Funding for 2024 has been maintained at 2023 levels.
169. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the reason An Rinn in County Waterford is not included in the national broadband plan; the steps that can be taken by families and businesses in An Rinn that wish to access high-speed data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22926/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra170. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications in view of the lack of national broadband access in An Rinn, County Waterford, if he will advise alternative providers that can possibly provide a service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22927/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 169 and 170 together.
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the government's initiative to deliver high speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland.
The area in question is in the BLUE area on the broadband map. The BLUE area represents those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high-speed broadband services. The Department defines high-speed broadband as a connection with minimum speeds of 30Mbps download and 6Mbps upload.
The activities of commercial operators delivering high-speed broadband within BLUE areas are not planned or funded by the State and the Department has no statutory authority to intervene in that regard. There may be a choice of operators offering this service in any given area. Further information in this regard is available at www.comreg.ie/compare/#/services.
If a person lives in the BLUE area and after contacting their Retail Service Provider are told they cannot get access to greater than 30Mbps, they should raise a query via the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) webform at: secure.dccae.gov.ie/forms/NBP-Customer-Service.aspx. The department will escalate with the commercial operator to investigate this matter further.
As per records made available to this department there are premises within An Rinn which currently have full fibre available to them. The remainder of premises in the area are included in open eir's Full Fibre deployment programme which will provide a full fibre gigabit connection with speeds up to 2GBps.
Commercial operators’ fibre rollout plans are progressing at pace. Open eir have already passed over 38,700 homes and businesses in County Waterford with gigabit services, and have plans to pass a further 15,300 homes and businesses. Other commercial operators are also continuing to increase their network footprint right across Waterford, with SIRO recently passing over 12,600 premises for full fibre, and Virgin Media passing over 30,600 premises.
171. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the quantity of renewable wind energy generated between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. annually; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22930/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister, I have no role in the operation of the integrated Single Electricity Market on the island of Ireland, which is operated by EirGrid in respect of Ireland as the independent Transmission System Operator under EU energy legislation.
I direct the Deputy’s attention to EirGrid's website which provides details on the amount of wind generated electricity on the grid on a quarter-hourly basis going back to 2014: www.eirgrid.ie/grid/system-and-renewable-data-reports
