When I argued for the promotion of grass-fed beef at European level, the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Creed, sitting in the chair now occupied by the Minister, told me Bord Bia had stated there was not a resonance with the European consumer with regard to grass-fed beef. Is it not the case that, as I have advocated in the past, we have a unique product in Ireland and that is suckler-reared grass-fed beef? It is a unique product on the European market. Will the Minister, even at this eleventh hour, consider revisi…

I will furnish the Minister with a copy of the Dáil record.

Yes. It meets the PGI criteria.

The Government is expecting to run a surplus of €10 billion in the public finances this year and a further surplus of €16.2 billion next year. This money should not be locked away into a long-term fund serving the strategic interests of other countries. Part of this surplus should be invested in infrastructure that unlocks the massive economic potential that we have in our offshore renewable electricity sector. For example, by 2037 it is estimated that there could be 5,400 jobs supported in the Atlantic region thro…

If it is a good investment for the private sector, which I believe it is, it is a good investment for our money also, rather than investing it in other countries. Last Saturday Germany stopped producing electricity from its nuclear power plants, leaving it highly dependent on fossil fuels, much of which are imported. At the same time, Ireland has great untapped potential off the west coast to meet this demand. We have an indigenous Irish company, Supernode, that wants to develop a transmission network across Europe…

When I secured the introduction of the sheep welfare scheme alongside Councillor Laurence Fallon in 2016 at a payment of €10 per breeding ewe, it was always the intention to see that increased over time. The payment was put in place so farmers could go beyond the relevant mandatory standards in place to enhanced standards of animal welfare in the sheep flock. Disappointingly, over the past six years, not one additional penny has been provided for that scheme until now, despite the pressure that has been put on shee…

In view of the country's well-established international reputation in the life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors and with almost 90% of staff employed in these industries working on patent medicines, the new EU Unified Patent Court will be of huge benefit to Ireland. However, a referendum is required for it to have jurisdictional powers. Will the Taoiseach give a commitment to run this referendum in tandem with the other referendum planned for November? Will he also give a commitment that Ireland will submit a bi…

I welcome these technical amendments. More than 11 years ago, I published Private Members' legislation in this House to close off a number of anomalies in the monitoring of sex offenders following their release from prison. Here we are 11 years later. That legislation is being enacted and I hope it goes to Áras an Uachtaráin and is signed by the President, that each of the provisions in this are applied and implemented as quickly as possible by the Department of Justice, and that there is no time lag from the enact…

An expert committee has been set up to look into the whole area of firearms. It is important the committee is allowed to do its work in as expeditious a manner as possible and that, once that is completed, there is proper engagement. I think every Member of this House has received correspondence from various games councils. We are talking about licensed firearms holders. Many of them are the only ones keeping vermin under control. We all from a farming background have experience of the damage caused at the moment b…

I move amendment No. 4: In page 18, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “(7A) Where the person has previously been convicted of an offence against the other person or a person connected with the other person was in a court case held in camera, these proceedings, and any subsequent proceedings shall also be held in camera.”. During an earlier debate on the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill, which was passed by the House earlier this afternoon, I moved amendment No. 27 concerning the harassment of victims …

It is a bit like the curate's egg. The Minister is right: there is a general provision in law that the public may be excluded. However, the difficulty is that victims are being retraumatised by having to go back to court in the first place. Irrespective of whether it is in camera , they are being retraumatised by having to go back in, give statements to the Garda, provide evidence to the Garda, have witnesses and so forth in order to actually take this. A victim must pass a huge threshold in order for this to come …

Reluctantly.

I move amendment No. 5: In page 18, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “(10A) Where the person has previously been convicted of a sexual crime against the person or a person connected with the other person and the person is on the sex offenders register for the previous crime, the term of the sentence should run concurrent to the period of time that the person remains on the sex offenders register.”. The "person connected with the other person" could be a relative of the person who has been the victi…

To clarify, is the Minister indicating that he is likely to revert to the Dáil on this particular matter or on the Bill in general, in which respect he has given an indication? I flagged this issue on Committee Stage with the then Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. She gave an assurance to revert to the House after giving full consideration to the matter. The Minister, Deputy Harris, knows where I am coming from on this matter. I do not want the victims to have to go through a second or third legal process and t…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 8, line 8, after “provisions” to insert “and will continue in operation until 2 March 2024”. This is a simple, self-explanatory amendment. It provides for a sunset clause in the legislation, stipulating that it can only remain in operation until 12 months after its publication. The Government has waived pre-legislative scrutiny. Unfortunately, it was waived through a vote at committee, which is not good practice. We are waiving the existing provisions with regard to licensing, which …

I will pick up from where my colleague, Deputy Whitmore, left off. We have been told this is an emergency measure. If it is an emergency measure, there should be a sunset clause. We are waiving the environmental laws in this country to facilitate this. It should be a once-off and the only way we can ensure this is a once-off, is if a sunset clause is put into it. I wish to know what winter 2023-24 is. Does it go by the calendar in the context of 1 February marking the beginning of spring? Is it the meteorological s…

The Minister has come into the Chamber and is twisting and turning, in fairness. He said this provision only relates to two designated sites and no others, but then something else was brought to his attention. This matter was brought to our attention when we asked these very questions during the week. We have not had a lot of time to deal with this. We are asking simple, basic questions and when putting these same questions to the Minister, we are getting a different answer in the Chamber. I have asked the Minister…

The Minister has just read into the record that the 450 MW is on the Shannonbridge site.

It is on Shannonbridge and Tarbert.

It is not a bad team, in fairness.