I am not sure what way the Minister of State's speaking notes are numbered but it is almost as if he was responding to amendment No. 4, which specifically deals with extending the period to which the windfall tax will apply. This is a specific element relating to hedging practices and the lack of oversight thereof. In fairness to the Bill, it brings in an element of oversight but it is restricted in terms of the timeframe. There was a similar amendment on Committee Stage. The Minister of State is hearing this from …

I support this amendment. It is consistent with the practice in many parts of Europe. My office examined the powers of the regulator and reporting practices in Britain, France and Germany. It is quite common for the average prices of natural gas and electricity and the average margins of natural gas and electricity suppliers to be published monthly. Similarly, annual reports on the compliance of electricity and gas transmission and distribution operators with agreed codes of conduct are regularly published in the i…

Will the Minister make a statement on the progress that has been made in identifying measures to make school transport more sustainable, a measure identified in the annex of actions attached to the climate action plan?

When are we likely to see the review and the implementation of its recommendations? There were interim proposals and some of them were taken on board but even in the period since the interim proposals and the change to include the second nearest school, which was welcome, there has been a significant step change in terms of climate policy and transport policy and in terms of school transport policy. When might we see that review? Quarter 4 of 2023 is indicated in the annexe of actions in the climate action plan. Is…

I know from a reply to a recent parliamentary question about the school transport scheme that there are more than 6,400 vehicles in the scheme. From meeting with transport providers I know there is a similar challenge for the private fleet to deliver reduced emissions. It is a reasonable expectation that it might be slower in that fleet. That raises the question of the importance of a fuel efficient and modern fleet in terms of the school transport fleet owned by Bus Éireann. Is that something that is going to be a…

I want to ask the Minister the total number of gardaí in County Meath at present, the total number newly recruited and the total number who resigned in each of the years 2020 to 2022 and to date in 2023. If possible will the Minister supply figures on retirement as well to give us a sense of turnover, and whether there are plans to increase recruitment? Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Minister. I am not looking for a particular advantage for County Meath. What I am looking for is fairness and equity. It has been confirmed again this morning that County Meath has the lowest number of gardaí per head of population. That is a long-standing issue. I will ask the Minister about the rationale as to how we ended up in that position. It is fair to say that the number of gardaí in County Meath, which is not unique in this regard, has decreased under the tenure of this Government. In 2020, whe…

It is a statement of fact that in 2018 we had 318 sworn gardaí in County Meath. Five years later we are back to that point. That is just a statement of fact. I welcome the additional funding in the budget. However, we know recruitment is significantly behind the targets. It was 800 for 2022 and 300 were recruited, 1,000 for this year. I heard the Minister on the radio this morning saying she would hope for 800. A question comes up repeatedly in regard to this. Are there objective criteria for resource allocation? I…

In my limited time, I wish to focus on the climate and environment budget. Budget 2024 reaffirms the Government's commitment to a climate strategy that is not working. Despite Ireland having the highest greenhouse gas emissions in the EU and having blown almost half of its first five-year carbon budget in two years, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party remain steadfast in their determination to lead Ireland down the path of certain climate failure. Yesterday, they introduced us to the infrastructure, climate …

I support the Sinn Féin amendment. This hike in carbon tax is a deeply regressive move. The Government has played with words and spun very significantly about the carbon tax for far too long. We need to state clearly that it is just the increases and not all of the carbon taxes that are ring-fenced. Therefore, a very significant amount of carbon tax that is raised goes into the general Exchequer; that is still the case. This is a measure that punishes ordinary people when alternatives are not in place. The Governme…

We have spelled it out for the Government, but it consistently ignores it. It is interesting to draw a comparison between how it treats ordinary workers, families and people who do not have alternatives, and how it treats energy companies. We have looked at our windfall taxes which are before the Oireachtas at this point in time. Sinn Féin and others in the Opposition have pushed for the Government to go further. Time and again, the Government has dragged its feet and it continues to drag its feet on the windfall t…

It is a deeply regressive retrofitting scheme.

I wish to ask the Minister of State about the risk of blackouts and brownouts this winter in light of media reports that back-up generation will not be delivered on time. Has this risk been assessed? What contingency is in place? What date will the energy security review and the McCarthy report be published?

What is the headroom or margin for this winter? EirGrid’s Shaping our Electricity Future 1.1 points out that 700 MW of previously awarded capacity was not delivered. What is the margin for this winter? There is 650 MW of temporary emergency generation to be delivered at four sites. I think Shannonbridge is to come on in October. Will the Minister of State update the House on the three other sites? When will they be delivered? On the energy security review, is there still a commitment that the McCarthy report will b…

I am not sure what "coming weeks" means. I would like to see the McCarthy review. I do not know why it needs to be delayed. We could and should see it straightaway. I would like to know what “coming weeks” means because in June we expected to see it over the summer months. That was what the Minister led us to believe but it did not happen. What is the headroom for this winter? Does the Minister of State know what that will be in terms of supply and demand that a limited amount of temporary emergency generation will…

EirGrid gave it to us last year. There is an assessment. It would be helpful to have it for this year. About this time last year, EirGrid indicated the figure.

Has the Minister met with renewable energy stakeholders regarding publicly expressed concerns about the latest renewable energy support scheme, RESS, auction? Will the Minister of State outline the measures being taken in this regard to ensure that renewable energy targets are met and will he make a statement on the matter?

The Minister of State's response was shocking and concerning. If that is the official State response, the Government is in denial about where we are in the delivery of renewables. Alarm bells should be going off, but I get no sense from the Minister of State’s response that they are. It was signalled that this would be the outcome, but based on his response, the State is ignoring the alarm bells. There will be less output at a higher price. Of the three wind projects, one of them had timed out from RESS 2. I am con…

I welcome that the Minister of State is willing to establish a stakeholder forum. Sinn Féin has published legislation in that regard. A forum should happen. It would provide a space to address the concerns about the grid, planning and auction design that have materialised following the outcome of the recent auction. I have tabled another oral question that we will probably not reach. I met community energy companies that were in RESS 1 and RESS 2. Their projects will not be delivered. Instead, they will time out be…

It is not just community projects.