Results 881-900 of 1,155,056 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Paul Gavan OR speaker:Hildegarde Naughton OR speaker:Kieran O'Donnell OR speaker:Seán Canney OR speaker:Seán Fleming OR speaker:Seán Sherlock OR speaker:Francis Noel Duffy OR speaker:Richard Bruton OR speaker:Richard Bruton6 OR speaker:Leo Varadkar OR speaker:Brendan Griffin OR speaker:Marian Harkin OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív OR speaker:Paul Donnelly OR speaker:Matt Shanahan OR speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív88 OR speaker:Gary Gannon OR speaker:Niall Collins OR speaker:Pat Buckley OR speaker:Colm Brophy OR speaker:James O'Connor OR speaker:Pauline Tully OR speaker:Joe Flaherty OR speaker:Ciarán Cannon OR speaker:Mary Butler OR speaker:Peadar Tóibín OR speaker:Micheál Martin OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív1 OR speaker:Christopher O'Sullivan OR speaker:Martin Kenny OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív46 OR speaker:Noel Grealish OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív57 OR speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív5 OR speaker:Holly Cairns OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív42) in 'Committee meetings'

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

James O'Connor: Can Ms Collier provide the names of the Members on that list?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

James O'Connor: Can Ms Collier find that information for me now?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

James O'Connor: We need that information before the end of the meeting.

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

James O'Connor: There needs to be accountability on this. It is hard to know where to start. For an agency in charge of 2,500 properties across the State, there is an unmerciful amount of, what we call, blindfolded trust on the OPW's side of the table. This has done inordinate damage to the reputation of our national Parliament and to the public's perception of what the State is spending hard-earned...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I thank the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee for inviting me to discuss COP29, which is scheduled to commence in Baku, Azerbaijan, in less than three weeks. I recently attended the pre-COP meetings in Baku, during which I was honoured to be formally announced by the COP29 presidency as one half of the ministerial pairing leading negotiations on adaptation. I thank the Chair for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I agree. We have an obligation on the international stage, wherever we are, to raise the concern we have about what is happening in the Middle East. I do not want in any way to minimise that, but we have similar concerns about what is happening in Ukraine, Sudan, South Sudan and elsewhere. However, "Yes" is the answer. We would look for whatever opportunity we can. We need to remember...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: One of the bigger gaps was not identifying the source of the problem, which is the use of fossil fuels. As I said, that was in some way rectified last year in the UAE when we started to focus on that. That goes across many areas but also includes military use. I do not have the figures globally but I recall that in the US, the military would probably be the largest consumer of fossil fuels.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: That is just one example. We could say the same of the Russian army. I accept that military use of fossil fuels is a significant part of the problem. In international negotiations the key issue will be how much we can afford to support the most vulnerable countries, if we were to divert some of the increased spending that is going towards defence. While we need that, including in our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: I welcome the Minister. What is his assessment of how changes in the geopolitical landscape, to put it at its most euphemistic, the output of war, the increasing tensions, the increasing sense of retaliatory measures between different states which we look to to co-operate in the context of reducing emissions, have put a dampener on progress that can be made at COP29? Are these countries...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: The Deputy asked if where we stand geopolitically hinders this. We all agree that geopolitically the world is in a very bad place with what is happening in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere, and also the fear of impending potential trade wars with protectionist policies on the rise. There is also a deep injustice in the current financing system, particularly for the new industrial revolution that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I thank the Senator. I was very proud we were asked to do the job we are being asked to do on adaptation because as she says, it is central. It is the most important issue, especially for the most developing countries, because that is where they need the resources most immediately. Their definition of "adaptation" is much broader than what others might see. It is not just a flood defence,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: There are different views on that, including within the European Union, and we have to take a European Union position on it. One of the aspects will be whether we suballocate or have a special allocation for loss and damage. There is some good news with loss and damage. We as a country were centrally involved in its establishment and in the positioning of it as a fund to especially target...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: We have doubled our climate finance in the last three years, as we promised we would. As I have said, this funding is not loans; it is 100% grants. It is not tied. It goes to the poorest. It is designed to enhance communities. It is not just us coming in as if we know everything and controlling things from the top down. It is actually a really good international example of collaboration...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: I was struck by the statistic the Minister provided that, of the 473 GW of renewable energy put in place, only 2.7 GW is in Africa. Has the Minister been able to probe what is going on there? I recently met the Moroccan ambassador to Ireland and he identified great opportunity in this area, to which he is very committed. What are the barriers? Are they funding barriers or are they more...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: There are. That 2.7 GW was just last year, although every year is the same. A large chunk of new renewable energy is solar and a very large chunk of it is going to China. China's renewable energy is growing 20% per annum and it has more than the rest of the world combined. Europe is probably in second place, growing by 10% per annum. It has about 20% of overall global renewables. The US...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: The structural question is whether all these microeconomic matters are addressed at the UN or if it is solely the macroeconomic thing of how much money is in the pot.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: The UN has an interest in this. We need to refer to it. Going back to what I was saying, if it is just about the pot and you do not change the financial system, the fundamental problem that our global finance systems are not aligned with climate change remains. Senator Higgins is right; you have to be careful. You can broaden out and look at all financial flows but you can also criticise...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: In Baku recently, no one was talking about the quantum of the NCQG. To a certain extent, you must agree in order to make negotiations work. It is not just about that core figure. In so many ways, it is about the architecture around it - in adaptation, mitigation, Article 6, transparency and so on. That will only come towards the end of the negotiations when people get down to talking...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: That it key. It is part of the reporting, tracing and accountability issue I mentioned earlier. It has taken us time to set up some of the funds. Everyone recognises the Green Climate Fund was slow to start and bureaucratic in its formation, but we have learned the lessons and it is starting to deploy more capital. Often what countries are looking for is speed and ease of accessibility as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: For this transition we need traceability and auditing and accounting systems that are transparent on energy flows, financial flows and material flows. That is a big task but that is what we need. The new digital technologies available to us, including AI and others, should give us that capability. It should not exclude any country or any sectors.