Briefly, I wish to add to the collective sympathies offered to the Bruton family, to Finola, her children, her grandchildren and, of course, my dear colleague Richard and his sister, on their profound loss. I did not overlap with John's term here from 1969 through to 2005. When I was first elected in 2004, there was another member of the class of the Government of 1994 through to 1997 and the deputy leader of Fine Gael at that time, Nora Owen. Most likely it was Nora shared my number with John because, not long aft…

The Minister's answer will be fine.

I thank the Minister and Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I very much look forward to the project. The people in Donabate, in my constituency, who are without a DART have looked forward to this for quite some time. I heretofore had six train stations in my constituency, which was fantastic during election periods. That number has now been reduced to three, but the extension of the DART is much more important than one single constituency because it has the capacity to change the transport habits of tens of thousands of people…

I thank the Minister and agree with him on charging facilities, in particular in Drogheda. Have they entered, or are they about to enter, procurement? I also agree about the turnaround time from delivery. That applies to non-electric carriages, that is, the intercity carriages that arrived recently. My understanding is that it took more than six months for them to be commissioned and introduced. As I said, however, on behalf of my own constituents in Donabate and beyond, it is so important that the timeline of this…

I thank the Minister for being here. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this Bill, which I believe will set research and innovation on a pathway to success into the future and provide a suite of benefits that will put Ireland very much on the front foot in this field. I commend the Minister and his officials on their work on the Bill and I look forward to engaging with them as this Bill progresses and when its provisions are implemented following the passing of all Stages. As a former member o…

I thank the Taoiseach for his response. I very much welcome the initiative of the shared island forum. I very much welcome the agreements and expenditures to date. My focus in this particular question is related to the youth forum. The forum is a wonderful opportunity for the 80 young people the Taoiseach mentioned because their voice is so important. The decisions that we make on a weekly basis, and in the Taoiseach's case on a daily basis, will affect those individuals for many years to come. It is important that…

My question relates to the status of the development of a centre for sustainable animal and grassland research and for further information to be provided to the House on that matter.

I thank the Minister very much for the response. I am very fortunate to be very familiar with Teagasc's operations. It has two in Fingal, one large and one small, and it plays an invaluable role in agriculture. This is a relatively new departure for myself in the sense of the sustainable farming model, which is extraordinarily important as we move towards 2030 and beyond, in particular in the level of research required to ensure we are as sustainable as possible and to ensure we are able to support farm families, w…

I call Deputy McNamara. He has 20 minutes.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad Éireann has passed the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2023, without amendment.

As a relatively long-term Member of the House, this type of Bill is a first for me, as I understand it is a first for the Leas-Cheann Comhairle as well. The next speaker is Deputy Ó Snodaigh.

The draft text released last night by the COP presidency is beyond disappointing. For it to state that "reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuel in a just, orderly and equitable manner so as to achieve net zero by, before, or around 2050 in keeping with the science", is quite a disappointment in the context of the action that is required. The main issue that I have with that is the term "or around", and then a cop-out reference to the science, which was just thrown in for good measure. I have serious…

In the context of this question, I wonder whether the Department has the capacity or maintains a database of properties that have been applied for, either directly for social housing or where there is a known element of social housing to be delivered in a private estate. Does the Department maintain a register of failed projects? I am specifically asking about the number of projects that are slipping through the cracks and not being delivered as a result of either objections or technical issues with planning applic…

I ask the Minister of State to provide us with on update on the activities of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority.

I thank the Minister of State for the response and update. I am very passionate about offshore wind generation but Ireland has a significant success story to tell in the delivery of onshore wind generation, which I would like to see us continue. The key to our success as a potential clean energy exporter is for us to staff, equip, fund and deliver on the commitments we have given and we can only do that with MARA. What is the capacity of the organisation? I fully accept that it has only been established for six mon…

I am pleased to hear the Minister of State make those comments. I have no doubts about the capacity of Mark Mellet. I know the man well. I was on the justice committee and defence committee for many years and so had reason to meet him many times. I am acutely aware, though, of the pressures on both the private and public sectors when it comes to hiring people with the appropriate level of expertise across the board, whether it is the person making the cup of coffee or the one planning the next wind farm off the coa…

How many houses did Deputy McDonald's party object to?

It must be thousands.

I thank the Tánaiste for his response. I compliment the Department of Foreign Affairs and the consular and diplomatic staff for the work they have done in securing the release of Emily Hand and the safe passage of other citizens. Like Deputy Harkin, I am very interested to know how many Irish citizens remain in Gaza and how many of those wish to leave. I note that the Tánaiste mentioned the death of one Irish citizen who had not been on the radar, so to speak, of the embassy in Cairo. Have there been other Irish de…