-----the Government will exhaust the carbon budget.

Whatever target it has, the Government will surpass it.

The Government will surpass it. It has missed every climate target it sets.

It has missed.

We have set them out and spelled out for the Government. We are debating them here tonight and we have debated them before.

To be clear, this is a bad deal for Ireland. It is spelled out. It is a bad deal for Ireland because it will increase the price of land. More importantly, it reflects a complete lack of vision on behalf of the Government. There is no strategy. Forget about strategy; there is a lack of vision. There is an opportunity here to bring communities with us and what is the Government doing instead? It is isolating them and alienating them. It is completely unacceptable but it is no surprise at all, given there is a coaliti…

I want to ask about the delays for people awaiting the NCT and about the backlog. How are they being addressed in terms of staffing, recruitment hours, overtime and in the proposed changes to work practices, which have been overwhelmingly opposed by workers? I extend my best wishes to the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, in his new role and I ask him to outline how these backlogs will be addressed.

We have those figures of 595 inspectors and seven in training. The backlog is getting longer, as reported. For mid-January it is 26.5 days and for mid-September and October time it was 24.1 days. The backlog is getting longer and I can see that in the next available test in Greenhills being at the end of August. The next available test in Drogheda is on 18 September and in Kells it is 1 August. That is way off into the distance. I want to ask about the efficient use of the available slots. This priority waiting lis…

On existing capacity, there are 595 inspectors and seven in training. Does the Department have a clear workforce plan for recruitment for this year, for example? The Minister of State mentioned overtime but NCT workers are contacting me and saying there is overtime available but that the NCTS is not paying overtime rates. It is not giving time and a half, so very few inspectors are taking up the overtime. Is that something the Minister of State is aware of? I am sure the Minister of State is aware of the outcome of…

I ask the Minister the measures he will take to ensure the safety of public transport workers and passengers; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

People will be familiar with the bus routes in Tallaght - 27, 65B and 77A - that were curtailed in recent days because of the antisocial behaviour, intimidation and threatening behaviour of, in some cases, mobs against other passengers and transport workers. There have been some very graphic accounts given by individual bus drivers. In one case, a lady going by the pseudonym of Debbie feared she would be raped or killed by a mob. She said she still sees the person when she closes her eyes. It is clear that what the…

The Minister is aware that party colleagues have raised this repeatedly. I want to point towards the private security spend of our bus and rail operators and the impact this has on driver recruitment. It is a huge challenge in deterring people from using public transport. The Minister points towards CCTV, which is an after-the-fact matter. It is clear it is not having the impact. When the State wants to respond it is too reactionary, but when it does respond, it puts gardaí on bus services. That is what it did in w…

I am sharing time with Deputy Cronin. I will take ten minutes and she will take five. I welcome the opportunity afforded by these statements. I ask the Minister to reflect on the fact that this is a new project, coming on the back of the sectoral emissions ceilings and the first climate action plan. It is based on documents published a couple of days before Christmas. We have not yet got the annex of actions. I ask the Minister to consider whether there is a better way to bring this forward or a better timeline in …

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill this afternoon. I will share time with my colleagues. It is a 20-minute slot. I will take ten minutes and allow five minutes each for Deputies Cronin and Martin Browne. I regret that the Minister is ushering through yet another Bill at breakneck speed without sufficient parliamentary scrutiny. This method is becoming the norm for the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. For example, the Marine Casualty Investigation Board Bill was rushed through, as was the Development (Emerg…

I ask the Minister for his views on the upcoming climate action plan and invite him to make a statement on the matter.

It is clear the climate action plan is going to need to deliver a step change. We and others in the Opposition have been critical about the approach the Government has taken, particularly in respect of the design of schemes. Many of the retrofitting and electric vehicle schemes are unfair because they are inaccessible to many people. At root, it is clear we are on the wrong trajectory. The Energy in Ireland report stated that, last year, emissions increased by 5.4% instead of reducing by 4.8%. The same is likely if…

Let us get real. I have heard that a few times from the Minister. Deputy Ryan is the Minister with responsibility to deliver on this and he said we are going to meet our budgets. We are not going to meet our first carbon budget. It is very clear that we are not. I am not saying that in order to score political points. Of course there is a need for significant movement in local government. We know that in regard to delivery of active travel. However, there needs to be a recognition that the Government’s approach is …

We have a fair idea.

What action has the Minister taken since the publication of the energy security review to improve Ireland's energy security? I am particularly interested in the area of gas storage and the emergency backup that is due for delivery next year. With regard to the scheduled capacity that is due to come on stream, I understand there is a challenge in delivering that.

I will afford the Minister 30 seconds of my time for that. There is the storage piece and there was also a question mark over the viability of projects that were to be delivered next year and in the years ahead, related to the January auction by EirGrid. The last time we spoke here, the Minister said the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, was looking at it. I ask for an update as to whether those projects are going to be delivered.