This has precipitated a Government motion of confidence, as it knows it must. Where once they were constructive in their opposition, they have instead fallen to a type of panic politics, of chasing Sinn Féin seated to their left, and the Social Democrats seated to their right.

The worst part of this is that they understand the issue at hand, having recently held the housing portfolio. They must know that cheap talk and motions of confidence, causing a cycle of elections, will not solve this. They talk of new thinking and new ideas, yet when the opportunity arises to share that new thinking, it seems its big idea is to join a chorus of other populist voices.

Its other big idea last weekend was to drag a headline and pluck a million homes as its target, with no roadmap, costings or timelines for delivery. It understands that supply is key, and that supply is increasing. In 2022, 29,850 homes were completed, an increase of 45.2% on 2021. It understands that investment in social housing is showing results and progress. Funding is in place to deliver a record 11,830 homes in 2023, with significant delivery in 2022.

The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is delivering an unprecedented scale of investment and delivery in housing with a costed plan, Housing for All. The Labour Party I have known would have acknowledged the progress made since it oversaw housing and worked constructively to push Government to go further. Instead, we see something else, a party which has given up on constructive Opposition and politics.

It is a rudderless party which has decided to turn to chasing the sideline shouters and sloganeers of Sinn Féin and the hard left.

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the terms of the Convention on the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation, done at Paris on 27th January, 2021, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 14th November, 2022.

I move: That the proposal that Dáil Éireann approves the terms of the Convention on the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation, done at Paris on 27th January, 2021, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 14th November, 2022, be referred to the Select Committee on Transport and Communications, in accordance with Standing Order 95(1)(a), which, not later than 28th March, 2023, shall send a message to the Dáil in the manner prescribed in Standing Order 101, and Standing Order 100(2) shall ac…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which is continuing to affect people across the State as the National Car Testing Service, NCTS, remains under pressure. The operation of the NCTS is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority, RSA. My Department has worked closely with the RSA and the NCT contractor, Applus, to support their efforts over the past six months. I am aware of the challenges that the RSA and the NCTS face to meet the high demand for tests and the ensuing delays for veh…

The RSA advises me that it expects the service to return to the 12-day standard by the end of June 2023, although efforts will continue to achieve this earlier if possible. In the meantime, I urge motorists seeking a test when making their bookings to contact the NCTS directly to avail of the priority waiting list. The Deputy has requested the number of customers qualifying for a free test under the customer charter. The charter provides for a free test where an appointment cannot be offered within 28 days, in cert…

As the Deputy is aware, the RSA on behalf of the State provides oversight for the specific contract. I say clearly that the failure to deliver the public service according to the wait time is unacceptable. We have been clear with the RSA and, by extension, with Applus on that. That is why contract mechanisms have been triggered and why there is a process around the imposition of penalties, which are disputed. I agree the solution is around capacity and increasing recruitment, which is happening. The Department is p…

Sustainable aviation fuels, SAFs, are widely recognised as a key element in our efforts to reduce aviation-related emissions in line with our climate goals. This is reflected in the internationally endorsed basket of measures for emissions reduction, which includes increased SAF use, alongside aircraft technology, operational improvements and market-based measures. From both a production capacity and demand point of view, the SAF industry is at an early stage of development and current usage within the EU is at neg…

The SAF industry throughout Europe is at an early stage of development and, in an Irish context, Ireland is not traditionally a fuel producer. It imports more than 90% of its aviation fuel. Within national energy policy, there is a clear focus on significantly increasing the production of renewable energies and as part of this we are developing a national hydrogen strategy. It is anticipated that the aviation sector could be a significant user of hydrogen in the future, both as a feed stock for advancing SAF and to…

I share the Deputy's ambition on this and on taking the correct steps on climate action. It is clear that the scaling up of the use of SAF will be crucial in facilitating decarbonisation in the aviation sector. With regard to the next steps, the ReFuelEU aviation proposal will be a key measure in achieving this. We can continue to work with our colleagues in Europe to achieve agreement on this important file which will help us develop an overall national SAF policy. My Department has also allocated €200,000 in this…

Offshore renewable energy, ORE, is integral to achieving Ireland’s climate change ambitions with a target of achieving 7 GW of offshore energy by 2030, of which 2 GW will be dedicated solely to the production of green hydrogen. Ports will play a critical part in achieving this ambition. In December 2021, a policy paper was published on the facilitation of offshore renewable energy by commercial ports in Ireland, which identified that four to five port facilities, each capable of delivering 500 MW of renewable capac…

I was about to go into detail on that. As I have said, my Department continues to engage with ISIF and the EIB regarding the availability of funding and financing options for ports in providing the necessary ORE infrastructure. Clearly, there are challenges beyond funding to achieve our ambitions. It will require improvements to the planning process, which the Government is trying to advance, as well as the introduction of appropriate regulatory frameworks, the establishment of a cohesive supply chain and skills ca…

Irish ports are at various stages of development in advancing renewable energy, RE, infrastructural projects. It is only when the respective business cases are completed that any funding gap can then be identified. Ensuring developers and ports collaborate is of paramount importance. Current Government policy is that Irish ports receive no Exchequer funding, with the State only stepping in when there is evidence of market failure. This is in line with Article 107(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European …

Yes, but market failure has to be determined in accordance with Article 107.

The safety of aircraft and people on the ground is my primary concern relating to illegal drone use. There are EU and national rules in place around the use of drones, including an exclusion zone of 5 km around airports. The misuse of drones is an offence. In response to illegal use of drones, summary proceedings and proceedings on indictment can be brought under both civil aviation legislation and the criminal code. Significant penalties of up to life imprisonment are available and enforcement activity can be take…

We are constantly engaging with the relevant authorities - the IAA and the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA. A meeting was held as recently as last Saturday to try to make progress with the purchase of counter-drone technology for Dublin Airport, and there will be further engagements this week between the IAA, the DAA and the Garda. As part of this, we are looking at comparative examples within Europe. Obviously, counter-drone technology is at an early phase of development but we still have an obligation to respond an…

As the Deputy knows, SI 24 of 2023 is an unmanned aircraft systems order from the IAA. We have strong criminal sanctions in place and there is also a standard operating procedure to ensure that appropriate actions are taken when a drone is observed in the vicinity of the critical area. That includes how sightings and detections are reported and verified, notifications to air traffic control and the Garda, the suspension of operations and the validation or notification that the area has been cleared to enable the re…