Has the Minister raised concerns with the DAA in respect of the high volume of security staff who were let go over the past two years? Has she expressed concern that letting staff go during this period was unfair and opportunistic? Has she raised the likely scenario that this would affect Dublin Airport's ability to deal with a full return to aviation activity?

It is quite clear with the benefit of hindsight, at least, that the DAA cut too deep. I would argue that it should have been better informed and prepared and have had better foresight of what the prospective return to aviation would look like. There is a clear charge, which I think is a logical and substantiated one, that this was opportunistic. The nature of the cuts by the DAA was not haphazard but deliberately targeted at the highest earners with the most experience. That had a direct impact on the ability of th…

When we had representatives of the DAA before us, they said they were relying on information from the best sources they could get, including the Minister of State's Department. Therefore, I will ask my question again: did the Minister of State agree with the DAA's analysis of the nature of the recovery? If so and if she was relying on the same evidence from her Department, does it mean its mechanism or market analysis needs to be reviewed? The other question I asked was on Deputy Naughton's oversight, as Minister o…

I ask the Minister the degree to which household electricity bills here are more expensive than the European Union average and the reason for this, the measures he will take in advance of winter 2022 to address electricity costs, and energy and electricity security supply challenges, and if he will make a statement on the matter.

There were price rises again yesterday and we can expect the future to look the same. The Minister knows better than most that the price of a therm of gas was approximately 40 cent for a long time but there is a new normal upon us now, and estimations are that it will level off somewhere in the region of €2.50. There is a huge difference between 40 cent and €2.50. While there are mitigations, for the foreseeable future we are going to live in a reality where the price of gas is at €2.50 a therm or higher. That is t…

I agree entirely on the transition we need to make. There is huge opportunity and I am sure some of it will be covered later today in terms of what the Government can do to achieve our transition to renewables more speedily. However, this winter, families will be facing increases of over 30% in electricity and gas prices. That is on top of the increases we saw for dual fuel users of €800 in January 2022 when compared to January 2021. Families will not be able to cope. When we meet representatives of the Society of …

I do not mind conceding time to Deputy Gannon if it is useful. What way does the Minister plan to address the high cost of renewable energy here in view of provisional renewable energy support scheme, RESS, 2 results? Does he intend to establish a high-level cross-government task force to work with stakeholders in industry and State agencies with the aim of bringing forward policy recommendations within six months?

The Minister knows as well as I do that when these figures came out, there were wide eyes and people were whispering, such was the shock about them. We want to transition to renewables and they are cheaper than the gas alternative but if the suggestion is we are going to move from, relatively speaking, super-high gas and electricity prices in Ireland to, relatively speaking, super-high renewables prices, we will have a major problem. In the first instance the Minister must look at being aggressive at every pinch po…

I welcome that but we need to see action. The Minister touched on one of the points, which relates to index-linking. Is he going to reassess the position on that? It is something we do differently here than in other places. Is there an overall benefit and will that be reassessed? In advance of budget negotiations, which I assume will get under way quite soon, there was a report from the Environmental Protection Agency yesterday and a report from the Climate Change Advisory Council at the back end of last year. They…

Has the attention of the Minister been drawn to the fact that some households in multi-unit complexes have not received the full electricity credit because there is only one shared meter point reference number, MPRN, in the complex? Will he address this anomaly in order to ensure that each household benefits from the full payment support? This issue was raised during discussions on the relevant legislation. It has now become a reality for some people.

I am not entirely sure that is the avenue but perhaps it is. This is an issue that has been raised by residents of multi-unit apartment blocks. In one case, my colleague, Deputy Mythen, a representative for Wexford, raised the issue about council apartments on George's Street in Wexford. In that case, Wexford County Council confirmed that because there is only one ESB MPRN in the property, the eight apartments have to share the €200 credit. That leaves each household with just €25 in support. Do we have an indicati…

I thank the Minister for that. Obviously, people are experiencing huge frustration. In the cases to which I refer, they are getting €25 rather than €200. Elsewhere, people are getting multiple payments of €200. There is a deep inequity there. I do not think this is the only such example. I take it from this exchange that the spirit and intent is that the payment of €200 would be made to people who receive energy bills. If they can take the issue to their local authority, such as, for example, Wexford County Council…

Report after report highlights the escalating reality of global warming and stresses the urgent need for action to try and mitigate climate change. Shifting our energy sector away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives will be key to reducing our carbon emissions. In addition to major investment in offshore and offshore wind and solar, microgeneration will play an important role in our energy transition. We have thousands of State-owned schools and community buildings across the country that are perfectly plac…

I thank Deputies Whitmore and Cairns for bringing forward these amendments, which I support. They are consistent with attempts made by the Opposition at various stages, including in the debate on the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and on earlier Stages of this Bill, to enshrine the principles of just transition in legislation in Ireland. We look towards other jurisdictions - Scotland, for example - where this has been done. It makes a difference because it enshrines a commitment in t…

I also acknowledge the changes the Minister and the Minister of State have made on foot of the Committee Stage debate. They have taken on board some of what the Opposition and some Government Members said during that debate. That said, there is an opportunity to go further and I share concerns that it does not adequately capture the potential of the circular economy. At the moment, perversely, the limited plastics recycling facilities that we have on the island cannot source plastics from this State because it is m…

I acknowledge the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, for their inclusion of these amendments, which were discussed on Committee Stage. This is a long-standing issue with regard to supports for people with medical-associated additional waste needs. It is very unfair and is one of those things that frustrates people. It affects a small number of people, is cruel and needs to be resolved. Looking at parliamentary questions, this issue comes up across the political spectrum. Everybody seems to agr…

I will support both amendments regarding PFAS for the reasons outlined by Deputy Smith. I welcome the fact the Minister has brought forward amendment No. 19 on foot of discussions on Committee Stage. We raised previously the prospect of taking an initiative such as that which was taken in France. The Department indicated there were considerations in the Irish market that differed from those in the French market, such as longer supply chains, but I welcome the commitment to preparing a report and assessing the prosp…

I welcome the discussion and debate on each Stage of this legislation and acknowledge the Minister has taken on board some of the recommendations. There will be further discussion in the Seanad and colleagues of mine will bring forward amendments, as I am sure others will as well. I am disappointed there were not amendments on CCTV and the need for caution with it. Significantly more needs to be done in the area of product obsolescence. I would, given the opportunity, have supported the amendment from the Labour Pa…

These statements have been flagged since last week after the meeting of the Business Committee and the working title was "Statements on Transport" up until 6.30 p.m. yesterday. It was only at 12.20 p.m. today that the title was changed to "Statements on Transport, Accelerating Sustainable Mobility". I do not have a lot to say on accelerating sustainable mobility, but I have a lot to say on the topic in general. I find it incredible that the Minister would spend 20 minutes contributing to a debate on transport and n…

Regardless of that, the Minister has responsibility for transport and he is accused of being missing in action, of not supporting the aviation industry-----