I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue. As numerous Deputies have said, there is barely a household breast cancer has not affected, not to mention their extended families. I worked in cancer diagnostics for years. There is no screening programme for many cancers but there is one for breast cancer because we have a very good diagnostic tool and an effective treatment in many cases. That provides us with a great opportunity and we must make the most of that opportunity. Numerous Deputies spoke abo…

School transport for secondary students is operating at a loading limit of 50%. Thousands of children were excluded from the scheme due to the infamous concessionary ticket classification. We were promised that this would be kept under review. Parents and Bus Éireann were looking towards 22 October for the possible reintroduction of 100% refunds, which would ordinarily have been issued, but they have been held back. Will the school transport system return to 100% after the mid-term break or, if not, are there plans…

What I am hearing from the Minister is that he is not happy with the way these changes are being implemented. He said it is not acceptable for the changes to happen in the manner reported but ultimately what I am hearing is that the destination is the same. The accident and emergency department and ICU in Navan are going to close. It is only a matter of when. We might have the opportunity now, on the back of the Minister's intervention, to do a bit of talking about it but we will stand before clinical leaders and t…

Ten years ago, Deputies Naughten and Feighan were in the same place having the same conversation about Roscommon hospital. Two weeks ago the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Deputy Connolly, had a Topical Issue debate with the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, about the failures at the accident and emergency department in Galway. That is what the people in Navan and County Meath are faced with now. I worked in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. I have council colleagues who work in Connolly Hospital. They were on the picket line…

In the time available to me, I want to contest the argument made by various Government representatives in support of the claim by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform yesterday that: "Households in the bottom four income deciles will see all of the cost of the carbon tax increase offset, with the bottom three deciles being better off...". I heard George Lee make the same statement yesterday on "Six One News". It is my understanding that this claim is made on the back of an Economic and Social Research Ins…

The aviation sector was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic and it was recognised from the outset, and again here today, that it will take much longer to recover compared with others. The industry employs, directly and indirectly, over 140,000 people and it is vital to our economy and society as an island nation. Many of these workers faced savage cuts over the past 18 months and the vast majority are still not on their full wages or working hours. There are real concerns about their prospects of getting bac…

I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for tabling this motion. This year, workers and families will be facing extraordinarily high energy costs at a time when most can least afford them. There have been over 30 price hike announcements from Irish energy suppliers since the start of the year, with some suppliers raising prices on multiple occasions. This is on top of other spiralling costs that the Government has completely failed to regulate, including rent, childcare, insurance and the basket of shopping; the li…

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, and Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, IPBES, reports leave us in no doubt about the twin climate and biodiversity crises we face and that we will have even more devastating consequences if urgent action is not taken now. Unfortunately, successive governments have failed to do enough in this area and, as a result, they have left us with a mountain to climb. While it will be a challenge to meet our carbon reduc…

I believe I have ten and half minutes.

Is it up? I apologise. This is an important area. We are committed to achieving our 2030 targets. We believe fundamentally that this will require bringing people with us. We need to engage with people at every step of the way. That is a call I will be making of the Minister. I will think every step of the way in terms of eco-austerity. With the greatest of respect to Amazon and Google, which have their own businesses to conduct, how do we compare our treatment of them with that of the old age pensioner who gets up …

I thank Deputy Bríd Smith for bringing forward this Bill. It gives us an opportunity to debate two really important issues. In terms of data centres, this week we heard from experts at the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action about the impact they are having, we have the EirGrid All-Island Generation Capacity Statement 2019-2028 and we heard the Government outline its totally unsustainable, unrealistic and unbelievable position. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications has stated th…

I thank Deputy Whitmore and the Social Democrats for bringing forward this timely and necessary motion. What we have unfolding before us, particularly in recent months, is a picture of abject failure on behalf of successive Governments to prepare and manage energy and electricity policy, and supply and demand, adequately. Amber alerts are now a common feature, electricity outages are increasingly common and avoiding blackouts cannot be guaranteed. At the same time, this Government will bend over backwards to facili…

It is significant that no Minister, including the Taoiseach, can assure the people that we will not have blackouts during the winter. That is significant and a clear case of mismanagement. The red carpet is rolled out on the demand side and the Government dithers on the supply side. Renewable energy support scheme, RESS, auctions have been postponed. Wind Energy Ireland maintains that offshore projects under the watch of this Government have been delayed due to the lack of a framework and the microgeneration scheme…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this incredibly important issue. I can say on behalf of the staff of Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, that there is serious concern about the future of critical and emergency care services at the hospital and that concern is matched by the local community and the population of County Meath. The rumour mill is rife with stories of impending cuts to hours, staff and services in the emergency department and to critical care services. Is this the case? That is the question we want answer…

I thank the Minister of State for her forthright response, which is appreciated. However, I cannot understand how she can say there is no change in policy and then read that script. As far as I can see, the writing is on the wall. I have read enough from the HSE and enough health service policy down the years to know that. I have seen this before in the cases of Roscommon, Monaghan, Dundalk and Ennis hospitals. This is what it looks like. This is the language that is used to refer to change that is coming, includin…

Can the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, as Minister with responsibility for energy and electricity, provide assurances that the State will not face blackouts this winter as a result of demands on the electricity generation and transmission network, including demands from data centres. Will he outline the steps he is taking to address the increasing number of amber alerts and supply and demand challenges? Will he make a statement on the matter?

The prospect of blackouts is quite incredible. In my area, County Meath, and in Dublin West, there are particular pressures. I am aware of this from having spoken to people in the sector. We have noticed a significant increase in outages. Whether they are related to the issues under discussion is a separate matter but there is certainly a coincidence, at the very least. We are hearing from a range of people about the prospect of blackouts. This is in the public discourse. I heard Professor John FitzGerald on the ra…

I might get the Minister to expand on his point on how data centres will be factored in. He will appreciate that there are those who would use this opportunity to try to make the case for increasing our existing dependency on fossil fuels. The Government needs to be very clear on its position on that. In that regard, I would make reference to the existing planning permission application by Shannon LNG, among others. The point I want to raise is on the impact of the challenges on the cost of electricity. We are faci…

In light of the recent IPCC report, can the Minister provide an update on the process and timeline for the introduction and implementation of carbon budgets? Will he make a statement on the matter?

In response to my previous question, the Minister mentioned the price of electricity and the issue of wholesale prices. I would also make the point that the public service obligation, PSO, levy and the carbon tax have direct implications for the cost of electricity for households. The Minister has an ability to address at least those measures. I will ask about the timeline in respect of this question. I heard from the Minister earlier in the week that the new climate action plan will be announced in the coming week…