I thank the Minister for his response. I wish to raise two issues. I ask him to comment on the Meth-Abate project whereby methane is set to be reduced by the addition of seaweed additives. I ask him for his views on its effectiveness and potential. What is his Department doing to support research in this area? The last time we were here, I spoke about the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, grant. It is not possible for farmers who use TAMS money to put up solar panels to sell the electricity back to …

I thank the Minister for that. I understand in some instances methane reductions of 67% have been observed. The Minister is right in what he is saying and I encourage his Department to move on that one. I again ask the Minister to comment on the planning restrictions with respect to solar panels on farm buildings. In some countries such restrictions do not exist and people can simply install solar panels on buildings and they also get paid for the electricity that comes back on to the grid.

I thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue, and the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, for being here to respond to it. Last Friday, I attended a seminar in Cobh organised by Cobh and Harbour Chamber. There were some serious people there representing the energy sector. The focus was on renewables and the great potential that exists in Cork Harbour in particular for renewables such as offshore wind and so forth. Several of those present expressed concern, however, in respect of the State…

We could probably have a longer debate on this issue. Is there a signed agreement between the UK and Ireland in respect of Ireland's interconnectors and the flow of gas to which the Minister of State referred? It is all very fine stating there is excellent co-operation but what is the nature of that co-operation? Is it a signed agreement between the two countries? As all present are aware, the UK is no longer in the EU. The Minister of State noted in his response that we have no storage for LNG. There is no gas sto…

Many schools have enrolled students from Ukraine. They are happy to do so, but there are issues regarding the need for interpreters, the need for more hours for English as an additional language and more special needs assistants and special education teachers. Can anything be done to assist?

My questions relate to the technical review of the farm assist scheme, which I understand was finalised last October and which the Minister published in April. It contains a number of interesting recommendations, facts and figures. Will the Minister outline the recommendations? What are her views on them, six months after they were finalised? What action does she intend to take?

I thank the Minister for her response. I welcome the fact that she is bringing forward some of the payments to next month, which will make a difference for some. In respect of the other recommendations she outlined, when does she expect to bring those forward? I acknowledge there are budgetary constraints and so forth but I encourage her to get those on the table. I ask her to comment on the fact that, in 2011, there were 11,000 recipients of farm assist whereas now there are 4,864 recipients, while the amount bein…

I agree with the Minister's last point. It is extremely complicated and if she could simplify it, that would certainly be very helpful. I again ask her to comment on the fact that the number availing of the scheme between 2011 and 2022 has reduced by almost two thirds. If the Teagasc national farm survey for 2021 is saying that 33% of farms are vulnerable, then there is some mismatch. Either the scheme is too complicated, people do not know about it or the disregards are wrong. Finally, can the Minister give an est…

It was a bit of a shock to learn that the Courts Service office in Youghal is to close. I was disappointed that we were not briefed on this by the service. We have had a number of items of correspondence on this matter. One has to do with women who use the Courts Service to get protection orders. I got an email from one particular lady on this recently which I would like to mention for the record. She asked what the woman who cannot afford petrol because her husband controls all of the money is to do. If the Courts…

The Minister of State referred to the Courts Service identifying a space in Youghal Town Council to which people can go on any Friday if they need assistance. Reference was made to court users preferring to have their issues dealt with at a main centre rather than locally. However, people are being asked to go to a very public place to deal with a most intimate matter. The woman who contacted me said she was in no fit state to get a bus and try to navigate around the city. When her relationship ended, she was in so…

I acknowledge the work the Minister of State is doing in this area. In respect of the NCSE and its appeal system, is the Minister of State aware of the length of time it takes for appeals to be heard? Furthermore, very often when appeals are upheld, nothing happens and schools are told they must go through the whole process again. I suggest the NCSE may not be fit for purpose any more and may need to be overhauled. I also ask the Minister of State to comment on the need for special schools, especially in my area of…

The decision to use the second-nearest school for these purposes was an inspired one. I agree with the Minister that it has made a huge difference. Will the Minister clarify if it is in place again this year? Perhaps she is familiar with the route between Carrigtwohill and Cobh. Can girls from Cobh now get transport to the school in Carrigtwohill, which would be their second-nearest school? Would this measure apply in those instances? As the Minister is aware, children going to St. Aloysius College from Cobh must p…

The Tánaiste is making very welcome job announcements almost every other day. Will he comment on the employment permit waiting lists? When will the employment permits (consolidation and amendment) Bill be published?

I thank the office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter. I hope the Minister of State has put in for overtime, because he is putting in long hours today. We are lucky in east Cork, because Youghal has a good secondary school, Cobh has two, Midleton has four and Carrigtwohill has two, although one is in temporary accommodation. They have extraordinary staff and professional and caring principals. The education and training board, ETB, does a good job. The difficulty is that, every year, all of these scho…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, and the Department of Education for a very comprehensive reply. I note that the letter of intent was issued on 15 February by the Department for the school in Carrigtwohill. That is almost three months ago. I would expect that this would be sorted pretty soon. The Minister is already on record stating that she wants this school to be opened by September 2023. I do not believe this is going to happen now. The Minister of State, Deputy Burke, is aware of the plans to build…

I acknowledge the great work that the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, is doing in the area of credit unions, for example by updating and modernising them and creating community banking. What are his further plans to support credit unions in the expansion of services to encourage community development?

I thank the Minister of State for his response and acknowledge the work he has been doing on this. I hope he will manage to finish his work on the area because the targets are very laudable. The credit unions tell me they see themselves as being punished for taking on members' savings by having to put aside at least 10% of all savings in reserves. They maintain that this can only be funded by making a surplus and putting it into reserves. They say that this is money that should be given back to members through divi…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I am quite interested in what he said about only two credit unions in the country being at that point. I have met one of them and its management are concerned about this. Perhaps I was just unfortunate to have met with the one that is in that position but its management maintains it was limiting its ability to expand, grow and take on more. I wish to put something else to the Minister of State. In many of our towns and villages An Post is finding it difficult to get p…

Could I ask one more question? It has to do with the levies.

Have I? I am sorry about that.