Ministerial report from Pat Rabbitte TD

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Minister Pat Rabbitte TD Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources

WORKING TOGETHER

BROADBAND The Spectrum auction yielded €855 million for the State and also made spectrum space available for wireless and advanced 4G technologies.

Our new National Broadband Plan promises high speed broadband throughout the country and a detailed mapping exercise, to identify the black spots and important to comply with EU State Aid rules, is underway.

I will shortly steer legislation though the Dáil to allow the ESB use its infrastructure to roll out fibre optic broadband. This will greatly add to the area of the country that can access high quality internet connectivity.

By Summer 2014 – well ahead of target – we will have completed our project to install industrial strength broadband in all second-level schools.

BORD GAIS The decision to dispose of the Energy business of Bord Gais in 2013 is now in its concluding stages. The State will retain the gas networks in public ownership and Bord Gais will continue to employ nearly 600 workers.

Separately, Bord Gais is delivering on the plan to create a new national water utility, Irish Water, which will also remain in public ownership.

BETTER ENERGY HOMES ■ €600 million in buildings and 3,800 jobs maintained over the past 5 years.

■ 250,000 homes have been upgraded – 100,000 free of charge to low income households.

Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte with Cllr Chris Bond and Deputy Eamonn Maloney at the Warmer Homes constituency launch.

■ Homeowners have made energy savings of €150 million and will continue to save €60 million annually.

■ Under the Better Energy Communities scheme, we have given €7 million to 46 community projects throughout the country and upgraded 740 homes as well as other community, public and private facilities.

ELECTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE Refurbishing and building out new energy infrastructure is essential to our economic development and social progress. A number of separate projects are planned, involving investment of the order of one billion euro, including the North-South interconnector, Grid West (Mayo-Roscommon) and Grid Link (Munster-Leinster).

Minister Pat Rabbitte announcing the Government's commitment to roll out high speed broadband to all second level schools by 2014.

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RENEWABLE ENERGY There are exciting prospects for a new export trade in wind energy. I’ve signed a memorandum of understanding with my UK counterpart and the Taoiseach and Prime Minister will, if concluded, sign a formal intergovernmental agreement next Spring.

We must be sure Ireland will still meet its own ambitious wind energy targets – 40% electricity generation by 2020. Already, around 18% of electricity generation is being produced from renewables.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY FUND I secured Government approval for €35m in seed capital to set up an Energy Efficiency Fund, which will attract at least as much again from the private sector, with a view to investing in energy efficiency projects. The focus will be on retrofit of public and commercial buildings.

OIL & GAS Last September I announced a review of the fitness for purpose of our fiscal regime for oil and gas. Bearing in mind that our oil and gas belong to the People and the need to maximise the public benefit from exploiting these resources, I am seeking expert advice as to whether revisions to the current licensing regime are needed. The challenge is to maintain a higher level of exploration and drilling offshore.

I expect that gas from the Corrib field will be brought ashore in 2015, which will add greatly to our diversity and security of supply.

BROADCASTING I remain fully committed to a strong and well-funded public service broadcasting sector. I am working on new legislation to address the decline in advertising as source of revenue, which affects both public sector and commercial broadcasters.

I am also finalising proposals for a switch from the TV licence to a Public Service Charge. The new charge will replace (and will not be in addition to) the TV Licence and is unlikely to be higher than the TV Licence.

JOBS AND INCLUSION

POSTAL

Ireland’s first National Digital Strategy is focussed on getting indigenous Irish business online, enhancing eeducation and digital inclusion.

An Post continues to operate successfully without public subsidy.

It has won the National Lottery bid which guarantees an income for decades to come. The core postal business is stabilising and An Post continues its expansion into ancillary activities. I am pushing to involve An Post in the Basic Bank Account and other financial services.

POSTCODES Next year we will roll out an advanced 21st century postcode system, with a unique identifier for every postal address in the State.

Pat Rabbitte TD

Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street Dublin 2

We plan to get 10,000 new Irish businesses online. The Trade Online Voucher scheme will put up to €2,500 directly into the hands of 2,000 small businesses to help them trade online effectively.

We also plan to halve the number on “non-liners” by 2016 and get an additional 288,000 people online.

We’ve paid €1.4 million under BenefIT4 for community-based computer training.

We continue to fund the Digital Hub Development Agency and the National Digital Research centre, where currently some 800 people are employed in 66 enterprises.

Phone: 6183772 / 6782011 Email: pat.rabbitte@oir.ie Web: www.patrabbitte.ie