The European Commission has identified a gap between the CAP strategic plan and the climate action plan vis-à-vis the targets. Will the Minister identify how he plans to bridge that gap and how we will reach the target of achieving a reduction of 1.2 megatonnes in emissions, as identified by the European Commission under the CAP strategic plan? I want to hear about the measures and how the Minister intends to fund those measures.

I want to pick up on the point about regulation with respect to nitrogen. We regulate nitrogen primarily to protect our rivers. Is the Minister looking at regulating nitrogen to reduce greenhouse gases as well? It is important to put that on the record of the House. The Minister did not talk about rewetting peatlands. The CAP strategic plan identifies 40,000 ha of peatlands and the climate action plan 80,000 ha, but there are 300,000 ha of emitting peaty soils in the country. The CAP strategic plan is worth €2 bill…

My question is for the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. There are strong reasons for reactivating our large vacant housing stock. There is, of course, housing need, as well as environmental reasons and revitalising towns and villages. My colleague Deputy Matthews, Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, today launched a report that recommends a vacant homes tax. Media reports in recent days suggest such a tax is on the cards for the next budget. I ask the Minister to o…

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak. Much too often we take for granted this opportunity to voice our ideas and opinions freely and without repercussions. It is not a luxury afforded to politicians in many other countries around the world and it is even less likely that the people reporting on the business of politics, state affairs and international conflicts would be given the same assurances. Our discourse in this House can be biased, ideological and charged but the message of a journalist is not a person…

One of the great success stories of the past ten years has been the level of job creation in Limerick and the mid west. Credit is due to the previous two Governments for getting that level of job creation going. This Government is certainly reinforcing that and will accelerate it. There are 6,000 people employed at the Raheen industrial estate. There is a disused rail line there. It is stated in the national development plan that the line is to be reopened. We need a train station at the Raheen industrial estate to…

It is fantastic to see the publication of the strategic plan of the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for the NPWS and the publication of the independent review that underpins it. I am aware that delivering on this programme for Government commitment has been the Minister of State's top priority since he took office. That the action plan is resourced by the Government, with €55 million over the next three budgets, makes this achievement all the more significant. I commend the Minister of State and his Department on…

Yesterday I had the honour of attending the Norwegian constitution day celebrations at the ambassador's residence with a number of other guests, including Members of this Oireachtas. It was a great occasion and I got to meet a number of people who are working on developing the wind energy sector in Ireland. Indeed, the Norwegians are very interested in what Ireland plans to do in that regard. I had a very interesting conversation with Mr. Liam Curran of Enterprise Ireland and Mr. Cormac Gebruers of the National Mar…

I endorse Deputy Cairns’s comments on food security. It should go without saying that climate change has significant implications for global food security, especially in developing countries. For many, floods, drought and disease will cause crops to fail this year. People will go hungry. These extreme weathers are increasing in intensity directly as a result of our warming world. The World Meteorological Organization report, released last week, foresees a tragic future. We are up against our ecological limits. We k…

I take this opportunity to congratulate those who were successful in the Assembly elections in Northern Ireland and commiserate with those who lost their seats, including the two Green Party MLAs who served the Assembly very well in the years they were there. I am sure they will come back again. I thank Deputy Cronin of Sinn Féin for her generous comments a few minutes ago. Today we mark Europe Day which celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The 20th century was a century of hostile conflicts but also a century of …

I want to support my colleague's call to develop the sail, rail and trail opportunity that Ireland has. I think it is a very significant opportunity for the whole of the country. There is a vision where we can link Rosslare to Waterford, through Tipperary and into Limerick. Some very good work is being done. The launch of the national greenway network yesterday was very positive. In time, we will see slow travel being embraced. Visitors will come from France and Germany, and northern and southern Europe. They will …

What steps has the Minister taken to ensure that local authorities have adequate flexibility in the recruitment of the multidisciplinary competencies necessary for both active travel teams and town teams, as outlined in Government policy and recent funding initiatives?

I thank the Minister for his answer. This question was originally sent to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage but it was referred to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, who is obviously referring the issue back to the Minister with responsibility for housing. I believe there is a role for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in this area, particularly with regard to the active travel allocation. The €1.8 billion over five years, €360 million per annum, is a key achievement…

I thank the Minister and appreciate his reply. I will revert to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. As I said, we need that diversity in these teams on our local authorities and there is a question as to how we should spend public money. This is a huge sum of public money and it will be transformative in this country. We have an issue with how we fill those posts. A person can get a level 9 qualification in sustainable transport, for example, but if he or she does not have a level 8 qualificati…

I welcome the opportunity to speak following the European Council meeting the week before last. On the mind of everybody in this House, as well as across the country and across Europe, is the energy crisis. That crisis is leading to a very severe cost-of-living crisis that is making life difficult for our people. Our short-term challenge is solving the energy crisis. This has already been spoken about in the House today and on many previous occasions in recent weeks and months. I want to talk about the medium- and …

As my colleagues have mentioned, the IPCC report published on Monday made for grim reading. It did not tell us anything we do not know already. We are in a really dangerous situation with respect to climate. It was a hard scientific report put together by people who know what they are talking about. They have looked at the numbers. They have been looking at this for 30 years. The science is absolutely, categorically true: we are in a perilous situation with respect to our climate. The report says that by 2025, glob…

We did try to make amends and I hope that we will continue to see Labour engage very positively on the climate debate. Deputy Whitmore is in the House. I do not want to pre-empt her contribution, but the Social Democrats are probably inclined to say that the carbon budget is not good enough and should go further. I hope I am not misrepresenting her position. From People Before Profit-Solidarity, Deputy Bríd Smith is a valued member of the committee. I expect its position will be that we should also have a more dema…

That is not true.

Will I be given an opportunity to respond?

That is an interpretation that we do not agree with. We wrote the programme for Government.

That is its interpretation.