It is not just community projects. Will the Government extend the timelines?

I thank the Minister of State. I am just trying to get answers to the questions I have asked.

We never get answers anyway.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Gas (Amendment) Bill. It is a short, technical Bill that provides for the transfer of all functions for the national gas infrastructure from the current company, Ervia, to a new publicly-owned entity, called Gas Networks Ireland, GNI. When it comes to the gas market or the energy market more generally, the Government needs to do a whole lot more to deliver the overlapping aims of addressing sustainability and climate change, bolstering energy security and resilience and cre…

I extend my condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and supporters of Councillor Damien O'Reilly. I attended his funeral in Dunboyne this morning. He was 40 years of age. It is dreadfully sad. He was a great public representative and staff member in the Houses of the Oireachtas too. I extend by deepest condolences on behalf of my party and, I am sure, colleagues in the Houses too. I am pleased to finally have the opportunity to speak on this legislation and that it has been introduced. It is incredible that …

I thank Deputy Cian O'Callaghan and his party, the Social Democrats, for tabling this motion. The cost of buying a home has increased by more than 25% since this Government came into office. It now costs almost €330,000, on average, to buy a home, an increase of more than €66,000 since 2020 and €90,000 since 2017. In my constituency, the average cost of a home is well in excess of €330,000. I look at www.daft.ie , particularly to see the prices of new homes in Ashbourne, Dunshaughlin, Dunboyne and Ratoath and note …

I will return to the issue of Tara Mines. Workers are protesting at the mines. SIPTU has tabled an emergency motion at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, conference this morning calling on the Government to urgently engage with the mine's owners, Boliden, and trade unions to put the necessary supports in place to ensure the mine remains in production and workers continue to be paid in full. Will the Government do that? Will it convene a meeting with unions, Boliden and Tara Mines headquarters management, not…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the progress of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and on the interconnected issue of Ireland's biodiversity crisis. Until recently, successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael-led Governments failed to take these issues seriously. Decades of their paralysis have landed us in the situation we are now in, which is way behind where we once had the potential to be. Data from the NPWS note that Ireland is suffering widespread habitat destruction and nature loss. The situation is extr…

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this motion and this urgent issue today, which is the EU's nature restoration law that addresses the crisis in biodiversity, and we have a crisis in biodiversity. Some 85% of Ireland's habitats are in inadequate or poor states. Despite the green image of our island, our forest cover stands at just 11%. This pales in comparison to the European average of 35%. The number of near pristine river sites in Ireland has declined from more than 500 in the 1980s to just 32 today. Many sp…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, line 37, to delete “23 September” and substitute “28 July”. Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 seek to speed up the process of providing relief to households by legislating for the temporary solidarity contribution, TSC, to be paid to the Revenue Commissioners on 28 July, as opposed to 23 September. They push forward the date on which the TSC is due from 23 September to 28 July in 2023 in amendment No. 1 and 2024 in amendment No. 2. This is because people need urgent relief, and they need it…

I accept the Minister of State's arguments with regard to those timelines. However, I find it deeply concerning that the legislation might not be commenced by 28 July. Eighteen other European countries have moved on this legislation and are at a significantly advanced stage in many of those. We have had delay after delay, and we have a handful of amendments to discuss today because so many of them have been ruled out of order. There is an absolute consistency in what we in Opposition are trying to do in our amendme…

I support this amendment. It is imperative that the TSC is applied and distributed to provide urgent relief to households. This amendment would provide for important oversight of the Minister's application of the TSC and the distribution of its proceeds. A report could provide critical insights into how effective the measures were in providing urgent relief to households and how robust enforcement measures were, with a view to improving them in 2024. A report would also be useful to explore the possibility of exten…

I move amendment No. 12: In page 15, to delete line 16 and substitute the following: " ". Amendment No. 12 states that if a return is delivered between zero and two months from the specified date, companies will pay a surcharge at a rate of 5%. Amendment No. 13 states that if a return is delivered between two and six months from the specified date, they will pay a surcharge at a rate of 10%. Amendment No. 14 states that where a return is delivered after six months, they will pay a surcharge at a rate of 50%. Amendm…

I do not accept the Minister of State's argument. In fact, I spelled it out there. Sinn Féin's proposals are to bring these measures, in the first instance, in line with the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. Why should there be preferential treatment in this response for energy companies? The 50% rate would really be a statement of intent from the Government that it is very serious about collecting this and about ensuring there will not be avoidance, given the circumstances. The Minister of State spoke as an example ab…

I move amendment No. 13: In page 15, to delete line 17 and substitute the following: " ".

I move amendment No. 14: In page 15, after line 17, to insert the following: " ".

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this report and the wide-ranging implications Ireland’s declining water quality has, from the devastation it is wreaking on our biodiversity to the deteriorating quality of life it is inflicting on our local communities. The significance of the problem is difficult to overstate and it should be treated with the absolute urgency it deserves. I commend the EPA on preparing the report. Though the reports findings are far from welcome, we welcome efforts to highlight the gravity of…

I am sharing time with Deputies Gould and Mac Lochlainn. Deputy Gould will take the second slot. Deputy Mac Lochlainn has not yet arrived. I am pleased to be here finally to see the introduction of this measure. We are used to the Government dragging its feet and prevaricating, but we can all agree, even in relative terms, that this legislation has been quite the saga. The EU introduced its regulation in October 2022. The Government announced its intentions in November. Here we are, four days from the beginning of …

Land use and agri-environmental schemes will be very important and the Taoiseach mentioned ACRES. At European level some progress was made in the Council's approach to the nature restoration law. What approach will the Government take on this? Sinn Féin has set out our proposals on the need for funding, public participation and assurances on the voluntary nature of schemes to maintain the ambition. Will the Taoiseach outline what role he, as a Prime Minister or Taoiseach of the European People's Party, EPP, will pl…

I raise the case of Tara Mines and the 650-plus jobs under threat there. Are the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, at the table with Tara Mines? Have they met the company? SIPTU is in discussions with the management at Tara Mines. Specific requests have been made of the Government regarding direct support for energy costs. It was rumoured and reported that the Government is looking at a potential scheme…