The uncertainty that we can have drought followed by flood is what is of such concern. That is why it is key to this Government's approach that we put that at the very centre of everything we do. Deputy Bacik is concerned that some of the comments of the new Taoiseach about people speaking down to farmers might possibly have been referring to someone from the Government side. That is impossible, because we are never going to do that. We have to listen and ask for help rather than tell people what to do.

The truth is that in the detailed surveys we have carried out, 85% of the Irish people have indicated that they understand this climate risk and want it addressed. Less than 5% are what we would describe as sceptics. The truth is there is no difference between rural and urban, young and old or rich and poor, because it is an existential threat to all of us.

The role we have for farmers is by the €1.3 billion agri-forestry programme and other programmes which we have agreed already in government.

We have been going around the country. I have visited every single county and every single council. I listened to what people think we can do. Government supports that. In two weeks' time, I expect to bring a memo to Government which sets out how we develop our just transition and that came from the farming organisations as well as the unions, employers, environmental NGOs and social justice organisations. In the next month, we will bring to Government a new proposal to create a new bioeconomy around biomethane whi…

We have rural bus services taking off incredibly, particularly in Kerry.

We have agreed only two weeks ago that the new measures we need to deliver in terms of active travel have to be decided-----

A Cheann Comhairle, if you would stop the clock.

We have agreed a first principle in the other change in transport. Everything has to change because of the scale of the challenge. The principle is that it comes from the bottom up. The local authorities will have to decide, and they are starting. Dublin City Council is to change the city this summer. Dún Laoghaire is doing the same. I will be encouraging every single councillor in the local elections to declare where they stand on this question of our day. Similarly, it was not just the energy credits and transpor…

It is not just an economy we need; it is a society. That comes with spending on the arts and sport, as well as on education and health. I want to welcome the three new Ministers named today. To Deputy Peter Burke in enterprise, if you talk to your predecessor, Deputy Coveney, and to your Secretary General, they will say it is clear, certain and true that the future economy has to be green. The foreign direct investment that raises so many of the taxes and other benefits for this country is also equally going green.…

Published in December 2021, the Government’s road safety strategy 2021–2030 has the target of reducing road deaths and serious injuries by 50% this decade and achieving Vision Zero by 2050. Vision Zero has been adopted across the EU and aims to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our roads. The second annual review of the road safety strategy took place on 18 January, where road safety partners and agencies reviewed progress in the context of reversing the alarming trend of an increase in road fatalities. In a…

I agree with the Deputy. It is about engineering, enforcement and education, but we need to lower the speed limits. Many speed limits give the wrong message to motorists and are too high for the real condition of the roads. It is important we bring down the speed limits. In most urban areas the speed limit should be brought down to 30 km/h from 50 km/h, in many of the non-secondary national roads from 100 km/h to 80 km/h and, on the quieter roads, down to 60 km/h. That is important. As the Deputy said, however, tha…

I agree with the Deputy. That is why in last year's budget we allocated additional funding of €12 million to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, to specifically look at areas, particularly on the national road network, where there might be sections of carriageway that are not optimal or not up to standard, and to try to address the real black spots. That is just part of it and is in addition to an existing significant budget. We will continue to put safety first. The direction to TII, and in our local roads prog…

I thank the Deputy. There are four test centres in County Tipperary. Throughout the county at the end of February, 600 tests were scheduled and a further 1,605 applicants were waiting to receive an invitation to book their test. As of the most recent figures for the end of February, the average wait time to be invited to sit tests was 27 weeks in Clonmel, 19 in Nenagh, ten in Thurles and seven in Tipperary town. As the Deputy will be aware, in many locations across the country, including Tipperary, the average wait…

It is not satisfactory that two of the centres in Tipperary are outside of the service level agreement. To clarify, in both Thurles and Tipperary town, we are within that SLA target, which is ten weeks in the case of Thurles and seven weeks in the case of Tipperary town. Obviously, if there is a long period where a service provider is not able to meet the standards, my Department, and it is primarily the RSA which has responsibility for this, will take action to ensure that we get within our limits. The backlog, wh…

I absolutely agree with the Deputy. The Government aspires to an open government data regime where we provide that information. It should not have to require letters in many instances; we should be looking to provide information on a readily accessible basis. This might reduce the amount of work which we as representatives or they as administrators have to do. I fully accept the Deputy's point. Our public administrative system needs to be quick in response to queries from public representatives and, in many ways, t…

Aviation plays a crucial role in our economy and society. The National Aviation Policy, NAP, published in August 2015, established a policy framework for the development of the aviation sector. It was designed to create an environment that would encourage the sector to enhance Ireland's connectivity, foster the growth of aviation enterprise and maximise the contribution of aviation to Ireland's sustainable economic growth and development. Many of the goals have been progressed in Dublin Airport and our regional Sta…

I agree with the Deputy that rail connectivity in particular will be a critical issue for the sustainable development of airports. A rail connection to Shannon Airport, as part of a wider investment in the Limerick-Shannon region, the reopening of the Shannon-Foynes line and the building of new stations in the likes of Moyross and elsewhere, would not just benefit the airport but also the industrial estate, which is very significant, beside it and the town of Shannon itself and the surrounding area. That is a very …

-----but we certainly need the metro.

First, regarding the metro, I have to be careful. I do not intervene directly in the planning system or try to change planning conditions, which some people were looking for me to do when it came to Dublin Airport. They were saying to ignore An Bord Pleanála and thrash its conditions. We cannot do that. As Minister for Transport, I can say a decision will be made on the metro. It is going through the planning process at the moment. I expect a decision will be reached this year and that this or the next Government w…

I would like to reassure the Deputy that both my Department and the National Transport Authority, NTA, are aware of Aircoach’s decision to withdraw its 706 Galway to Dublin Airport service from 8 April. While the majority of public transport in Ireland is Exchequer-funded through the PSO programme, a critical part of the national public transport system is comprised of bus services run on a commercial basis throughout the country. The Galway to Dublin Airport service provided by Aircoach falls into the latter categ…