I thank Deputies for contributing to the debate this evening. At COP26 in Glasgow, it was interesting to note that there was not a single country represented that did not recognise the absolute urgency and need for us to meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement to try to keep the increase in global temperatures below 1.5 degrees. As Mary Robinson said during the course of the proceedings, we cannot negotiate with science. That target or limit was set for a very good reason because going above it risks us reachin…

This council was appointed exactly as is set out in the law. It was appointed in the same way that the previous Climate Change Advisory Council was established. It was appointed after going through all the proper Government procedures, going to the Cabinet, giving advance notice and discussing it with colleagues both within the Department and within the Government. To my mind, this council has that correct mix of skills which not everyone has. They are very specific skills. As the Deputy mentions, these individuals…

I said in that process that the way that we had previously appointed the Climate Change Advisory Council was the correct way. There are some instances-----

-----wherein a Government Department and a Minister are best placed to be able to set up this advisory board. It is a very specific board, very different from any of the other commercial or semi-State boards all being appointed at the one time, and it required that a chair and a board be put in place very quickly in order for us to be able to meet our climate advisory targets. To my mind, the process that had been followed previously had worked and should be followed again, which is what we did. It was a process wh…

I work with the Public Appointments Service all of the time.

In this particular instance, the way we legislated for this was the right way to do it. It was about getting the right mix and blend of talent. I believe we have done that as, I think, the Deputy has recognised. Let us sit down and work with them now and deal with the real issue. This is not a stroke; this is to the letter of the law under the Cabinet handbook. This was done with all due, proper timelines.

It absolutely was within the-----

I will conclude.

The Deputy is correct that it is best when we have worked collectively and collegially. That is recognised. It has helped us in the last year and ten months of managing this Covid pandemic and we should keep doing that. The Deputy is also correct that it is important that we keep all of our education establishments open, including at third level as well as primary and post-primary levels because they all have a critical role. The Deputy is correct in saying that our schools are under pressure, particularly in terms…

We cannot go back to that situation where our schools were closed for a prolonged time and our leaving cert students were in a state of uncertainty. I do not believe we will. We are in a very different place now. As difficult as the situation is at the moment, it is completely different from where we were last January, last October or any other period where our hospital system really was exposed. It is less so now because of the vaccination programme. The addition of a booster programme will give us real ability to…

I am aware that the Deputy attended the meeting of the transport committee yesterday at which we looked at some of these issues, but he was not able to ask these particular questions. I am glad he can avail of the chance to do so today. As he heard yesterday, we have some €5.1 billion allocated to national roads under the NDP between now and 2030. The reality is that a large proportion of that, amounting to some €4 billion, will be spent in the latter half of the decade. A large number of public transport projects …

Engagement with the task force could be timed in a number of different ways. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, is involved in developing the town centre first strategy, which I understand is close to being ready for publication. The task force could work with him on that. It could also build on what the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, has done in implementing an historic change in terms of identifying vacant sites and lands that are not being developed and including them in the zoned land tax proposa…

This climate challenge belongs to everyone. I do not believe there are deniers in this House. The science is so clear. However, we need to become climate supporters. I was thinking in advance about what the Deputy might ask today. I thought about that issue of being close to the ground. I spent most of my time, prior to coming in here, working with the good people down in County Kerry. In going green, Kerry could be the lead on and centre of this. Rather than just not being deniers, it could be the top and the best…

In 60 seconds, I will give the Deputy three reasons the farmers of Kerry will be better off by going green. Critically, it is about getting paid, which is what they are really concerned about, for the key role they will have in forestry. We will introduce new agroforestry systems. Farmers can keep farming. They do not have to blanket the whole hill with coniferous, single species, clear-fell forest, but agroforestry, where the skill of the farmer is used to know how to put the right trees in the right place and get…

I have two points on that. First, the key recourse for those workers is the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, which was designed for exactly these circumstances when businesses are not able to operate as normal. Businesses are able to make sure that they can continue to pay the workers through that scheme. On the Deputy's earlier point about antigen testing and the Oireachtas, we all know that that proposal came from the Houses of the Oireachtas Service. My understanding is that the Whips will be in communicati…

I agree with the Deputy that we should shift towards a health-centred, rather than criminal justice-centred, approach to the drugs problem we have in this country. I also agree that a citizens’ assembly would be a good vehicle to consider some of the complicated issues around that. The real question, from the experience of previous citizens’ assemblies, is the question to be put to the assemblies, as well as how one structures the information that will inform the decisions that they need to make. There is a queue, …

My understanding is 500,000 antigen tests have been distributed across a range different sectors, which have been targeted because those sectors are at the greatest risk, including the likes of nursing homes-----

Agreed. We have been involved in opposition initially and then in government. I do not think I have ever heard throughout this whole process someone argue that the economics of us addressing Covid-19 is the biggest constraint. There has been no lack of willingness to provide funding either for the health system, or for the economic and social supports that need to be put in place. Some tens of billions-----

Regarding the exact mechanisms of delivering antigen tests, the main concern has been a health issue, because of the risks that would come with false negatives, and a range of other issues with regard to that. I think they are being overcome. The exact mechanism for delivery and the exact cost is something that the Minister for Health has to decide upon-----

He has to decide what some of that money could be used in other elements-----