Results 121-140 of 1,060,297 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Geraldine Feeney OR speaker:Seán Crowe OR speaker:Paul Donnelly OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Malcolm Noonan OR speaker:Peter Burke OR speaker:Marc MacSharry OR speaker:Darren O'Rourke)

Family Courts Bill 2022 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (24 Oct 2024)

Question again proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Family Courts Bill 2022 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (24 Oct 2024)

Jim O'Callaghan: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I commend the Minister for bringing it before the Dáil. Obviously, under our Constitution the administration of justice is the preserve of the courts. Even though that is the case, we, as Members of the Oireachtas, have an extremely important role to play in putting in place the statutory architecture required in order for the...

Family Courts Bill 2022 [Seanad]: Second Stage (24 Oct 2024)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an reachtaíocht seo a thógáil ós ár gcomhair. Is Bille an-thábhachtach é agus tá súil agam go n-éireoidh leis agus linn nuair a théann sé go dtí Céim an Choiste, agus ina dhiaidh sin agus muid ag iarraidh a chinntiú gur píosa reachtaíochta é atá láidir go...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: I thank the members of the committee for inviting me to speak. With me are: Mr. Gary Tobin, assistant secretary with our enterprise strategy, competitiveness and evaluation division; Mr. Joseph Cummins, head of our climate action and energy policy unit; Ms Cathy Madden and Aisling McCarthy from our climate action programmes unit; and Mr. Jack McDermott from our offshore wind strategy unit. ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: Both are important. It is not simple to decouple them. We need to be clear about the value that data centres bring to our economy. Ours is a modern economy that has attracted significant investment. Approximately one in every seven euro that we will spend under budget 2025 will come from foreign direct investment, that is, corporation tax, in our economy. As a value proposition, our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: We need large energy users. If we have 37 GW of energy by 2050, we need to use the value of that energy on our shore. We do not want to export everything, but to use that energy for our society so that we can benefit from the economic value it adds.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: No. What I said clearly was that we had the large capacity to increase our renewable, clean, green energy. With the new legislation that has been introduced, we have a new pathway for our offshore renewable contracts, four of which have been signed on the east coast. We have a significant pipeline of renewable, clean, green energy, both via onshore and offshore wind and through other...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: They underwrite very significant employment in this country, and do not mistake that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: The actual data centres themselves-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: There are thousands of jobs directly related to the prevalence of data centres in this country and do not in any way underestimate that, because there are and I know there are.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: I have met many of these foreign companies that are in this country providing high-value jobs, not to do what you would espouse.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: I have given you my answer. There are thousands of jobs underwritten in this country by data centres.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: That is not what I said.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: There are 18,000 people employed in building data centres,-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: -----but there are thousands of people who have jobs that are reliant on security of energy policy and the commercial data centres.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: I thank the Deputy for the number of questions he has put forward. In terms of the reduction, we have approximately 9.6% of a reduction in industry on 2018 levels. If the cement industry is excluded, it is 11.5%. Obviously, in the commercial built environment, it is 15.7% since 2018 and if the cement sector is taken out, it is a reduction of an additional 7%. There is significant progress...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: I thank Senator Higgins for her questions. As I pointed out during my earlier contributions, it is not about the employment at the data centre; it is about how much employment it underwrites and supports. That is the key thing. There are so many companies in operation in our State that explicitly rely on data centres to underwrite their activities and keep the high-value jobs that are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: We have a process to manage it. We are all very honest and clear on this. I am not saying at this point that every data centre can get connected. We have to sustainably manage the energy we have available and ensure other sectors do not suffer. We are very ambitious when it comes to other areas in our economy and it is important the CRU manages that process. It will make a determination...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: Anyone who says contrary to that, I believe is misleading people.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Peter Burke: We are waiting for the CRU to make an adjudication, which it will do shortly. We have published our guidance in respect of cement. I had a round-table meeting with the cement group and representatives of Enterprise Ireland to try to ensure that it will be ready when the rules relating to public procurement change shortly. The members of the group will have to be ready to ensure that they...