Returning to an issues that has been raised repeatedly on Questions on Promised Legislation this week, which highlights its importance, O'Carolan College in Nobber is one of the 58 schools where planning is due to expire in early February 2024 so it is time-sensitive. The school needs to have substantial works completed by that stage. It was at the point of approving a contractor when it received that notice along with 57 other schools. The Taoiseach has said that the projects will proceed. Can the Tánaiste reassur…

I support this amendment in the name of Deputy Whitmore. I was here for the debate on Second Stage last evening and this proposed amendment was referred to. It is to remove the text "to the extent that it considers practicable, taking particular account of the said exceptional circumstances and urgent and compelling necessity”. There is concern in this regard. We have the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, but we do not have it that long. That terminology, though, provides too much scope and room for th…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this Bill. Sinn Féin will not be opposing it, although, as we have said at committee meetings and when dealing with similar legislation in this House, we are very frustrated with the process. It is no way to do legislation. It should be acknowledged and recognised that we are in this situation due to the spectacular mismanagement of our energy system. It is now an emergency situation where the Government is rushing through legislation and, essentially, making it up as it goes al…

I thank Deputy Doherty for bringing forward this timely and important motion. It is clear that Government can and must do more to protect energy customers. We have only to look at the recent reports which point to an increase of 135% in the number of people unable to heat their homes. According to the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, more than 40% of households are now estimated to be living in fuel poverty. Some 25% of parents have had to cut down on household bills, such as gas and electricity, in or…

The Government has to want to do it in the first place.

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Will the Minister provide an update on the national car test, NCT, delays; the number of customers afforded a free test in 2022 and to date in 2023, in line with the recently reintroduced provision of the customer charter; the date on which the company concerned will meet its 12-day waiting time target; and the penalties it has faced to date for failing to meet this target? Will he make a statement on the matter?

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I am concerned about what we have we heard from Applus and the RSA, and the Minister of State is today just reflecting figures that Applus is giving him. He said 35,000 tests have been done, a significant improvement on December; however, it is no improvement at all on the figures we were given in the committee on 23 January. The figures the Minister has given are 599 staff plus eight; in January we were told there were 610 staff. Where is the increase in staff and in the number…

My sense is Applus is giving the RSA and the Government the runaround. That is my firm position. This company came before the Oireachtas committee and said the big issue was no-shows and people not turning up. When we questioned them on it, it transpired they are operating at 100% capacity and all those slots are filled. If there are no-shows, in some cases they are getting paid 150%. Applus has a dedicated workforce doing more tests than ever, is operating at greater than 100% capacity and gave those staff €10 for…

I will ask the Minister if he will outline the measures he will take in 2023 to support Irish ports in readying themselves to help deliver on Ireland's offshore wind potential, and if, drawing on European examples, options for direct state funding for ports have been explored and will be employed. Will he make a statement on the matter?

I would appreciate if the Minister of State came back on this. I could have read that response, because it is exactly the same as a written response I received a number of weeks ago. This is something I have been pursuing, month after month and season after season, in the Dáil at Question Time. I am deeply concerned about this. What I am hearing from the Government is that we have a task force for the delivery of onshore renewables; we have a ports co-ordination group; and we are pointing ports towards highly compe…

I accept that there is activity here and that it is not all about funding, but if the funding is not there, the deck of cards will fall and we will not be in a position to deliver on it. We know Irish ports have applied for TEN-T and CEF funding and have been completely unsuccessful in securing funding. While we hope the applications are successful, we cannot put all our eggs into that basket. One of the clear differences here compared to other places, as the Minister of State said, is that Exchequer funding is not…

There are lots of international examples in other states.

Other countries have managed to find a way around that.

I ask the Minister if he will establish an inquiry to independently review the structural governance, management and organisational culture at the Irish Coast Guard and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I welcome that news and I take from it an acknowledgement. A number of members of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications are in the Chamber. The committee held a series of hearings last year with representatives from the Department, senior management at the Irish Coast Guard and representatives of the Coastal Unit Advisory Group, CUAG, and the Irish Coast Guard Volunteers Representative Association, ICGVRA. A range of issues was raised that were of concern to all of us. It is a job of work the committe…

I thank the Minister of State. It is important that the ICGVRA is afforded the opportunity to make a submission to the review and is fully engaged, as well as CUAG and other interested parties. I encourage the Minister of State to meet representatives of the association. I take a positive from what the Minister of State said, that there is an opportunity to address the range of issues in the Coast Guard and place the organisation on the strongest possible footing. On a matter related to the legislation we are deali…

I am disappointed the senior Minister is not here. It is not the first time this has happened. I think he has ten advisers at this stage and he does not seem to be able to line up his diary. We can reschedule these questions. They are rescheduled regularly. I am disappointed that he is not here and that neither he nor his ten advisers gave us the courtesy of telling us he would not be here. I wanted to ask the Minister the measures being taken to ensure that energy companies reduce their prices for customers to ref…

That is an incredible response. People will endure and will get on with it but they hate this idea of "we are all in it together". The truth is that we are not all in it together. People hate a double standard and they hate inequity and unfairness. The price of energy is being hiked, but at the same time energy company profits are going through the roof. Energy companies are reporting record profits, and what do we hear from the Government? We have heard it from the Minister of State, as the latest spokesperson for…

I want to ask the Minister of State a straight question and I hope he will give me a straight answer. When will the windfall tax be legislated for, when will it be introduced, what period will it apply for and how much will it bring in? I noticed that initial estimates were in the region of €1.9 billion and the lower estimates are in the region of €200 million to €300 million, which is a significant difference. I will ask another straight question. Has the Minister or the Minister of State met the energy companies?…