I am glad to be able to contribute to the debate. Some positive legislation has come before us, yet there are some concerning areas I wish to speak on as well. This legislation commits to cutting carbon emissions by 51% by the year 2030 and meeting a zero carbon emissions level by 2050. This Bill puts a statutory commitment to both of these and provides for economy-wide five-year carbon budgets. After the legislation is passed through these Houses, the next step will be to prepare a climate action plan. This will s…

I have a slightly different take on aspects of this discussion. We are living every day according to NIAC, NPHET and the HSE. These entities are part of everyday parlance and every time we turn on the television or radio, we hear figures and statistics. Mother ship Europe also has a co-ordinating agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, ECDC, based in Stockholm. The ECDC is an alarmingly small agency, with only 300 staff. RTÉ just up the road from us has six times that number of employees. Th…

This legislation is important and timely. My colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has been to the fore in advancing this over the past several months. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, from Wexford is doing a fantastic job in the Department in progressing this legislation. The renowned British graffiti artist, Banksy, has often said that one dies twice. The first time is when one stops breathing, loses body functions and one's body shuts down. The second time somebody dies is when one's name is no l…

I thank the Minister again for bringing this legislation before the House. It is progressive legislation and is the fourth time since last summer he has brought forward such legislation before the House to protect tenants during the Covid pandemic. Despite what others have said in terms of populist grandstanding, this legislation protects people. I know several constituents, some of whom live close to me, who have been very much protected by this legislation to date. It is fine to talk about blanket eviction notice…

I implore the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, when engaging with his colleagues in Europe, to really drive on the message that the digital green certificate is the way forward to allow international air travel to return. Aviation is at its lowest point of all time. It is very hard to see a recovery over the next 12 to 18 months. Some people say it could even take three years for the sector to recover fully. In recent days, we have seen the UK Government already start planning what its summer and its summer of inte…

Fianna Fáil fully supports the Bill. It is very progressive legislation. It will ensure that every child gets the best possible start in life. It supports parents to spend more time with their children. As the dad of three children aged five and under, I really cherished the early days when our children came home from the maternity hospital. There were added benefits in that regard because, like most women shortly after giving birth, my wife was absolutely exhausted in those early days and needed a significant amou…

Perhaps the final few points could be responded to in writing.

I have a question on a particular issue, to which I hope the Minister can respond. In the 17 years since I graduated from the University of Limerick, UL, the campus has grown exponentially but it no longer has the space to develop further. There is not adequate land to do so, nor is there sufficient road access from both sides. The campus straddles two counties, encompassing a part in Limerick city and a large portion that is now in County Clare. In fact, the majority of the campus has been developed on the Clare s…

I thank the Minister, Deputy Ryan, for being in the Chamber. I wish to ask him, in his brief as Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, how the existing climate action plan can be enhanced to increase the speed at which renewable energy projects are brought online, particularly in the context of the expedited downsizing of the Moneypoint power station in west Clare.

I thank the Minister. He said that Moneypoint will cease burning fossil fuels in 2025. There is a belief, and a worry, in Clare that that will happen much quicker because it is losing out in key energy options. It has colossal 400 kV power lines running from the coast of west Clare right across to Leinster. It is the best specification of power line in Ireland and that is where the future lies. Ireland's maritime area is approximately seven times that of its land and the scope and potential for offshore wind energy…

A very delicate balance has to be struck. We want to see a shift and transition away from old fossil fuels and towards more renewable energy. The Government needs to speed up the issuing of new wind energy guidelines to all local authorities. We have had some absurd wind applications granted and other ones turned down. For example, in my county of Clare today we had the council determining - rightly so - that a 100 m high wind turbine in the middle of the village of Parteen was wrong and improper planning. It is to…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill today. The Land Development Agency Bill is one of the transformative measures in bringing about accelerated social and affordable housing in this country. I am glad that it is my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, who is leading the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage because Fianna Fáil over many decades has been known as a party that in good and in bad times delivered on housing and communities. When I think of all the local authority …

I will follow the lead shown by other members. I will be fast and put a few questions. I hope the Minister can respond to all of them at the end. In Ennis in recent weeks we have had an immense problem whereby an inordinate number of students did not get a secondary school. They got no offer. We have five secondary schools with several patron bodies but the problem is the schools enrol individually. There is no cross-communication between the schools. This means some children ended up being offered four first place…

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. It has been a bad ten days or so for the banking sector in Ireland. First we had the NatWest announcement that it would be closing its Ulster Bank branches, which will have a huge impact in my county of Clare where there are branches in Shannon town and in the county town of Ennis. Many of the branches are in buildings in iconic locations. The same applies to some of the Bank of Ireland branches that are to be closed, several of which have been there for well over …

I will take up where Deputy Mattie McGrath left off because there was much parish pump politics there about the daoine óga. A total of 4,237 people have died over the past 12 months. This Sunday marks the anniversary of the first case of Covid. This time last year, I used to turn off my television and radio when I heard about the Covid pandemic because it was happening in a province in China. Then, like a bolt of lightning, it swept across Europe and the wider world and it reached our island. In the past year, 4,23…

I am glad to have some speaking time on this topic today. The New Decade, New Approach agreement aims to initiate inclusive discussion on how we can all thrive on the island of Ireland. We must live in harmony and respect our island's complex history. I want to briefly speak on history because if the general election had not gone well, I would probably be in a classroom right now teaching history. This time 12 months ago, I sparked what probably become a national debate overnight by refusing to attend a State comme…

I wish to put a number of points to the Ministers of State and I hope that they will be able to respond within time. Yesterday morning, I met Family Carers Ireland's County Clare branch, which is led by Ms Vicky Ward. It was a virtual meeting, as everything has gone virtual these days. Nonetheless, it was nice to be able to see the carers and engage with them. They have two significant concerns and I hope that the Ministers of State will be able to give them some assurances or indication of what will happen. First,…

I have a few points I wish to make and I hope the Tánaiste will have time to respond to them. The points relate generally to the aviation sector, which has probably been the most exposed and ravaged by the onslaught brought on by the Covid crisis. The first issue relates to the maintenance, repair and operations, MRO, sector, which is a significant part of the aviation economy. It is very large in my constituency of Clare, around Shannon Airport, and also quite large in Cork and in the hinterland of Dublin Airport.…

Many farm families are waiting with bated breath to see what new legislation will be introduced regarding the fair deal scheme. I refer to legislation to cap how much farmers and landowners in general will have to contribute to nursing homes costs. I ask the Minister to brief me, if there is time, regarding where that legislation stands now. Turning to the proposed new rural environment protection scheme, REPS, I would like to find out more about the pilot the Minister has been talking about for some time for farme…

I too will use one minute of my time to give the Minister time to respond. We had very good news today regarding the Limerick northern distributor road, which starts and ends in my home parish of Parteen-Meelick-Coonagh. It is good news and I am glad the Minister signed off on it. When are works expected to commence? When will phase 2 begin? The project is in the doldrums and clarification is needed in respect of it. When does the Minister expect a new chairperson to be appointed to the board of Shannon Group? We r…