France operates within European law.

Some of them have not received a bill in four months now.

How does the Minister intend to maximise compost and recyclable waste if he recognises increasing charges are a disincentive in this regard, but are also a logical consequence of the privatisation of waste collection services?

The news that Panda waste is introducing a new €3.80 charge for brown bin lifts in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and at a time when we are trying to encourage people to segregate their waste appropriately landed like a lead balloon. There was a significant response from customers of the company and people generally, outlining the probable consequences of that measure. There is a real risk that there will be more inappropriate use of bins and dumping and a reduction in appropriate segregation, reusing and re…

The Minister of State knows well - when I read the question to him, I spotted that as well - that my point is about maximising the appropriate segregation of waste and, of course, reducing the amount of waste. The Minister of State outlined the policy, which is to reduce waste, in the first instance, and ensure that it is appropriately segregated. I am asking the Minister of State how, in the name of God, charging people at a rate they cannot afford for compost and recyclable waste is intended to encourage them to …

I ask the Minister how he intends to act on the recommendations of the energy security review, if he has assessed the environmental, social and economic impact of State-owned gas storage versus commercial liquified natural gas, LNG, if he will rule out the introduced of commercial LNG and if he will make a statement on the matter?

I refer to the timeline for this and the active consideration being given to the options set out in the energy security review. There is an understanding that the trilemma of energy security, affordability and sustainability have to be balanced out. It is a question of how to balance them out. What weighting and prioritisation will be given to each leg of the stool, given the identified risks, such as the environmental impact of fracked gas and LNG and the impact of lock-in on affordability?

Will the Minister set out the timeline for that ongoing analysis and for a decision? A clear indication from the energy security review is that we need this gas storage. Separately but related, the Minister mentioned the Dermot McCarthy report. Will it be published and, if so, when? How will it be acted on by the Government?

The North-South interconnector project needs to be delivered and it is a matter of how we deliver it. A number of findings in the report are important. First, it says that VSC-HVDC is a viable option. Second, it is very critical of the cost-benefit analysis that has been conducted heretofore, specifically in the area of losses over the full life cycle of this project, not just the immediate upfront costs, and it talks about the need for a techno-economic comparison. We also need to look at this project in the conte…

I ask the Minister the number of retrofits completed under the SEAI one-stop shop and warmer homes schemes in quarter 1 of 2023, and for the building energy rating prior to and after completed projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

What we are increasingly getting is a picture of a fundamental flaw in the Government’s approach to the national retrofitting plan. The Minister will have heard me previously welcome the funding and welcome the commitment, but what we see here is a two-track approach, and we see vulnerable people who are poor and live in cold homes being left behind. It is welcome that we are starting to collect the data in a way that we have not done before. However, for example, when I asked this question in regard to 2022, just …

I do.

The Minister said he disagrees with me and gave his response but that response does not deal with any of the issues I raised. There is demand there, of course, and I welcome that but the question is from whom is the demand and what works are being done. I have the figures in front of me. Of all of the works done under the warmer homes scheme, only 3% of households were lifted to a B2 standard. That tells me that the warmer homes scheme is doing something very entirely different to what the one-stop shop scheme is d…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. The Bill provides a new framework to modernise and bolster the law that provides for the protection of our archeological and related heritage. There is much work to be done on the Bill but it is an important piece of work. In County Meath we have many archeological sites. In my own constituency of Meath East we have the High Cross of Kells, Knowth, Dowth, Newgrange and the historic site of Slane Castle. I will focus my comments on the Hill of Tara. I live in Tara. Th…

By the Government's own assessment, anything above €92 per megawatt hour for wind- and solar-generated electricity can be considered a windfall gain. Last July, Irish renewable energy companies were paid €182 for wind and solar; in August, €204; and in September, €341. By any measure, these are supernormal windfall profits, but here is the problem. The Government's windfall tax will tax none of these supernormal profits because the cap on market revenues will apply only from December 2022 to June 2023. Other countr…

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for bringing forward this motion. The shortage of, and absolute need for, affordable homes to buy and rent is a major issue in my county of Meath. The motion further calls on the Government to dramatically increase its investment in the delivery of genuinely affordable homes for working people and to deliver at least 8,000 affordable homes to rent and to buy annually. We have a proven track record in delivering housing in County Meath but it is nowhere near enough to meet demand. The Governme…

Research conducted by Queen's University Belfast and Technological University Dublin, which was commissioned by the Irish Heart Foundation and the British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland, indicates that 1,000 lives could be saved on the island of Ireland each year if air pollution was reduced. A major source of air pollution comes from the burning of solid fuels in the home. Many people have no alternative but to use such fuels. They are not eligible for or cannot afford the retrofitting schemes that the Governme…

I refer to the readiness of local authorities to deal with the increase in the number of people presenting as homeless expected because of the lifting of the eviction ban. My local authority has taken out an advertisement in the local paper this week calling for expressions of interest for emergency accommodation, such is the scramble in that regard. Regarding the tenant in situ scheme, it has been operated restrictively in County Meath and many other local authorities. There is a target of just 40 units for County…

Has the Department green procurement policies that relate to all procurement? It was intended in an earlier iteration of the action plan to consider various services used by the Department. With regard to the procurement of vehicles for the Department, there is an electric vehicle, EV, policy pathway that states the Department should be considering procuring EVs instead of vehicles with internal combustion engines. The Taoiseach mentioned LED lighting in respect of the retrofitting of buildings. Is there a plan to …

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue, but I note that it has been put forward on the deadline, echoing what seems to be the Government's usual style - rushing things through at the absolute last minute. There are a number of points that it is important to raise. The Government is going to purchase 4.15 million carbon credits from Slovakia for a total of €2.9 million. This comes on the back of a further €121 million paid for by the taxpayer for failure to meet our 2020 emissions targets under the second …