I will focus on my supplementary questions on the haulage sector. One of the potential significant opportunities with hydrogen is to decarbonise the heavy goods sector. With regard to the current schemes the Minister has in place, I met with the haulage industry in the past couple of days and it points towards a deep frustration within the sector in terms of the engagement with the Minister and the Department to manage the transition. It points to the heavy duty vehicle grant scheme, which was oversubscribed. In th…

Will the Minister look at the current scheme?

We now face significant gas price increases. Much has been rumoured in recent hours and while we hope it will not come to pass it looks as though it will if some of the people I have been talking to are anything to go by. Deputy Ó Murchú outlined the specific circumstances in regard to this case but I wish to make a broader point regarding the national heat study, which was published during the week. Carlinn Hall is a poor example of the opportunity that exists for district heating, but the report makes clear the n…

On the opportunity arising from district heating, I return to the national heat study. We have seen the example of Codema and the data centre in Tallaght. In the past, there have been town gas and other communal systems. There is an opportunity in that regard but it has to be done right and embedded appropriately. My local authority is setting up an energy agency in co-operation with Kildare County Council and Wicklow County Council. There is opportunity but it will need to be co-ordinated. There is potential for a…

The Minister must know where Sinn Féin stands on this Bill. We have articulated the position repeatedly over recent months and days. I am disappointed that our amendments have been ruled out of order, but so be it. I am more disappointed that the Minister did not table similar amendments. We firmly believe that now is the opportunity to get the area of marine casualty investigations right. There is a long and sorry history of missed opportunities, whether it be in the 1998 report, the 2010 Róisín Lacey report, or t…

I welcome the commitment to a citizens' assembly on the biodiversity crisis. Campaigners have been calling for the assembly to be convened as a matter of priority to address the growing biodiversity crisis that has been caused by habitat loss, overexploitation and climate change. These factors have caused a rapid acceleration of animals and plants becoming extinct. Measures to restore biodiversity could have a significant impact if implemented properly. The State's record is not good. For example, almost half of Ir…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. I will deal with the issue of the carbon tax as a mechanism for delivering on our climate obligations. Listening to Government spokespersons, we would be led to believe that the carbon tax is the be-all and end-all; no carbon tax, no climate action. However, we have had carbon taxes for 13 years now and emissions have increased year on year. Sinn Féin is firmly of the opinion that tinkering with markets or creating new ones will not deliver the type of systemic cha…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the recently launched national retrofit plan. The plan restates the 2019 Climate Action Plan target of 500,000 deep retrofits and 400,000 heat pumps by 2030. It directs a majority of State supports to those with private means. Delivery since 2019 has been miserably slow. The Government's new, redesigned programme recognises something we have been saying for years, that the deep retrofitting scheme is way out of the financial reach of most individuals and families. The Governmen…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and I thank the Regional Group for bringing it forward. It is a motion about inclusion and ensuring the right to mobility and the associated independence for people with disabilities, and ensuring that people with disabilities can live full and active lives in our communities. The motion is welcome and necessary, and it should be supported. Government policy under successive governments has failed to deliver. It has failed people with disabilities and impeded them. …

I raise the case of the murder of Una Lynskey in 1971 at Porterstown Lane outside Ratoath in County Meath in my constituency. It was the first and oldest case covered in the recent RTÉ "Crimes and Confessions" programme. The case destroyed a number of families. Ms Lynskey was 19 years old when she was murdered. The case remains unresolved. The Garda investigation into the murder of Ms Lynskey did not deliver justice; it delivered a miscarriage of justice in the case of Martin Conmey and Dick Donnelly, who had his c…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It outlines a series of updates on what is different now from all those years ago. It outlines what the route forward is not, but it does not outline what the route forward is. The option of a statutory investigation needs to be on the table and it should be actively explored. If it is not a tribunal of inquiry, it needs to be something that will provide a resolution to these matters.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to require the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to draft and publish a hydrogen strategy within six months of the passing of this Act. I welcome the opportunity to introduce the Bill, along with my colleagues Deputies Réada Cronin, Johnny Guirke and Maurice Quinlivan. Hydrogen generated from renewable energy sources through electrolysis of water is emerging as a sustainable solution for the decarbonisation of many sectors. It …

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I move amendment No. 3: In page 4, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following: “(e) The Minister shall make provision in the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Scheme to identify those who own holiday homes or multiple properties and put in place a mechanism to ensure such individuals do not receive more than one electricity costs emergency benefit payments. (f) The Minister shall make provision in the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Scheme to identify those who are renting, to ensure renters receive the…

I will be taking eight minutes. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. People are facing real hardship in their day-to-day lives with inflation and runaway living costs The Government has sat on its hands and allowed the cost-of-living crisis to grow, and indeed it has contributed to it. Rents have been spiralling out of control for years and the Government has done nothing. The Government has failed to address high childcare costs for parents and inflation is outpacing wage growth to no end. Each year th…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to require pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment suppliers and their servants or agents, to declare payments, gifts, donations or other transfers of values provided to healthcare professionals or health care organisations on an annual basis. I am happy to introduce the Healthcare (Transparent Payments) Bill with my colleagues, Deputies Cullinane and Seán Crowe. We know that payments to healthcare professionals and organisations can create confl…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I will follow on from the query on financing. The Minister of State gave some details which seemed to contradict some of the information in the public domain. I ask the Minister of State why NBI's investors were permitted to fund the company through high-cost loans on which they will earn significant interest, instead of through the purchase of shares. It is reported that there was a €223 million investors' contribution and that it would be made by way of equity investment. In fact, it is reported that it was almos…

It was reported that NBI investors, largely David McCourt, were allowed to take approximately €38 million in fees out of NBI in 2020 to cover the costs incurred in the bidding process. That is reported. I ask the Minister of State whether that is the case and if so, whether it runs contrary to the project information memorandum, which clearly states on page 110 that bidders had to foot their own costs.

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this legislation, which is very important because there is a real need for oversight and accountability. The Bill commits to the establishment of a robust mandatory statutory register to develop and promote a culture of competence, good practice and compliance with building regulations within the building community and construction sector. Deputies Ó Broin and Gould have outlined Sinn Féin's concerns and the range of amendments that will be submitted, and those are important to…