In May 2017, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and I, as energy Minister, signed off on the new wind energy guidelines providing a fair and balanced planning system taking due regard of local communities and individual families within the vicinity of turbines. Even though these new standards were opposed by some vested interests, the improved guidelines would effectively mean that in line with World Health Organization standards, a turbine louder than a bird would be shut down. However, four and a half years later thes…

It also needs to be balanced with the rights of individuals who live beside them.

That is the balance that is not in place.

That comes from the World Health Organization.

In September, the public health doctors were ordered to turn their backs and walk away from the schools. As a result, schools were left on their own with regard to Covid information, hoping that parents would inform them of a confirmed case. Schools were then left with a dilemma as to who to tell and what to tell them without the support of public health. From next week, antigen tests will be offered to schoolchildren. This is very welcome. It is, again, down to the parents to inform the schools before the new test…

I welcome the publication of this legislation and the fact we are debating it here at long last. It is 13 years since the then Government committed to bringing in this Bill. The Minister's predecessor, Mr. Dermot Ahern, told me in reply to a parliamentary question on 22 April 2009 that unless we reformed the notification process here in this country in tandem with what had been done in the UK, our jurisdiction would become a safe haven for convicted sex offenders. Sadly, I believe, over the past 13 years, that has …

Some 63 days ago I said to the Taoiseach that budget 2022 must be different. I pointed out that we had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restructure our economy. Sadly, that did not happen. Budget 2022 was just a little bit for everyone. The families who are just over the income thresholds for various State supports have again been forgotten. These are the hard-working families, the so-called squeezed middle, who pay for everything and who have remained invisible when it comes to State supports because they may…

I am glad the Taoiseach mentioned the issue of energy because, this winter, increased electricity and heating costs will hit every single family hard. Working families will not only have to meet their own additional costs but they will also have to pay for the increases associated with the fuel allowance scheme. Despite this, the value of the retrofitting grant has decreased from one third of the cost to just over one quarter due to the rising cost of materials. There is genuine concern that the value of the grant …

He can start in his own constituency.

I am sharing time with Deputies Carthy and Nolan. There is a significant lack of confidence within the forestry sector at the moment. In the past five years, we have gone from 16 farmers a week planting trees to just two doing so each week. The saplings produced here are being exported to Scotland and timber is being imported into Ireland for processing here. A stark example of the current crisis is the ongoing delay in processing forestry licences which is fair on neither the applicants nor the people who are genu…

Last night I received an email from a leaving certificate student who feels completely forgotten about by the Department of Education as it is not recognising the true impact of Covid-19 on those who will sit the leaving certificate next June. I raised this specific issue with the Minister for Education in the Chamber on 13 May. The email states: "We missed a huge chunk of our in school learning due to the lockdown when we were in 5th year including the lack of group work and peer learning." Importantly, it goes on…

Deputy Crowe should not tell Senator Dooley that.

Hand in hand, socially distanced.

While science and technology are playing an ever increasing role in our lives, whether at home, at work or in our leisure activities, there has remained a poor public awareness of science, the opportunity it presents for Ireland, our economy and people. I hope the one thing that comes out of the Covid-19 pandemic is a greater appreciation of the need for independent scientific advice in policy and decision-making in this country. Science in Ireland is at a crossroads and the decisions made by the Government over th…

I support the argument made by my colleague, Deputy Connolly, and the amendment tabled by Deputy Pringle. The objective behind the amendment is to place an obligation on Garda management with regard to manpower. I will reference that issue in relation to the Roscommon district of An Garda Síochána. In the past three years, 25 gardaí have left the district through promotion, transfer and retirement and none of them has been replaced. Quite frequently, there are only three gardaí on duty in Roscommon. One has to be b…

I worked with the Minister to enact the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018. We now need to go much further and ensure the whole financial system divests from fossil fuels. A carbon tax is being charged on our citizens who, in the vast majority of instances, cannot avoid paying it. Yet we are not taxing investments in fossil fuel industries, which make it much harder for people to switch to clean solutions.

That is a very welcome and positive initiative. However, there is little point in the public making monumental efforts to meet the targets set out in the climate action plan if its investments and deposits are being used to fund further oil exploration or increased use of fossil fuels. This year, investors in coal production will have a bumper return and profits. We need to see full transparency from our banks and financial institutions in this regard and we must raise awareness among the public. Fossil fuel invest…

Part of the problem is no one knows what green finance means. If Ireland, as a key financial centre, and the Central Bank leads by example and for this to happen throughout the EU, we could provide clarity on what sustainable investment is and the powers to hold financiers to account. We could help to revolutionise this sector and lead to an exponential drive to net-zero emissions. The International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation has announced it will develop a single set of standards on sustainability di…

I echo what has been said. We need to look at this sector as a matter of urgency. The staffing situation in the childcare sector is at crisis point. The facilities cannot recruit staff. There is something fundamentally wrong when childcare staff using baby wipes are, in some instances, being paid less than the staff who pack those wipes onto supermarket shelves. The system needs to be looked at urgently. In a small county like Roscommon, some childcare facilities did not open in September. I got word today that ano…

Give him the application form.