I welcome the Minister of State's response. I would also welcome the opportunity to attend the meeting. I will contact the company and ask representatives to reach out to the Minister of State directly to set up that meeting. In relation to the duty of care legislation, I ask the Minister of State to expedite it because there is a real risk that companies will go under while these reforms are taking place. County Wicklow really prides itself on being a recreational centre for the east coast. It is a key element of …

It has been reported in the media that there are potential delays to both the MetroLink and the DART+ schemes. There is not a lot of clarity around this but there is an awful lot of concern because these two projects are major infrastructure projects that have been promised by successive Governments over very many years. Can the Minister tell me, in regard to the new national development plan, NDP, that he will be bringing forward in the next number of weeks, what is the start and end date of both of those projects…

I would like to ask the Minister what analysis his Department has carried out to date on the use of energy by data centres, including their effect on energy prices and the impact their energy demand will have on Ireland's capacity to reach our renewable energy targets.

The Minister referenced the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation's 2018 strategy. My fear is we have two arms of Government that are pulling against each other when it comes to this policy. We have the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment that is promoting data centres from an economic perspective, despite the fact it does not collect any information on the number of jobs created by these data centres, and the Minister's Department, which obviously has obligations, as does the entire Governme…

I must, respectfully, disagree with the Minister. Climate is not coming first in this regard. While it is positive the CRU and other agencies are looking at the issue, coming up with questions and looking at potential solutions such as the geographical distribution or conditions being placed on data centres, they are not there yet. In the absence of those rules being determined and put in place, the data centres are applying for and getting planning permission. They will be entitled to operate under the planning pe…

Has the attention of the Minister of State been drawn to the lengthy application process for end-of-waste licences and will he make a statement on the matter?

This is an important initiative and it is where we need to be going with a lot of our products. I am pleased that the Minister of State met the company and contacted the EPA in this regard. My understanding is there are currently 34 applications on its desk. The time taken to assess these applications varies from five months to more than two years, and in some instances the timeframe has exceeded four years. These are companies that are required to get these determinations so they need clarity and certainty as they…

I agree that, hopefully, this Bill will address any future issues but there are a considerable number of applications and companies waiting for an assessment currently. This is impeding them from operating properly and impeding them from actually reusing their waste in a sustainable manner. Will the Minister of State tell me what he will do to ensure those companies have their applications assessed as quickly as possible? The company I am dealing with is probably the company the Minister of State also met. It has n…

Earlier, the Tánaiste said that it was Government policy that the maternity restrictions are essentially lifted but that he recognised the right of individual hospitals to make their own decisions, which essentially leaves us with the status quo whereby maternity restrictions will remain in place. This begs the question as to who is in charge of our health service. Is the Government in a position to actively direct the hospitals to follow Government policy in this matter? There is little point in Government having …

The CMO has said there is no reason-----

The CMO has said there is no reason for the restrictions.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the establishment of a body to be known as An Coimisiún Náisiúnta um Thrasdul Cóir or, in the English language, the National Just Transition Commission to oversee the bringing together of workers, communities, employers and government in social dialogue to drive the plans, policies and investments needed for a fair transformation to a low-carbon economy; to require the preparation, by certain prescribed bodies, of just transition plans…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

This Bill, in principle, is welcome as an important step to provide a legislative basis for marine-based activities and development. However, it needs to be done sustainably in tandem with our international climate action and biodiversity obligations. Looking out over the sea from my constituency in County Wicklow, you can see the changes on the horizon. From small developments to large-scale offshore renewable energy proposals, our relationship with the sea is changing, and rapidly, as we enter a more intense phas…

It is safe to say that many of us were very surprised when we saw these amendments coming from the Seanad. After spending weeks and months, hundreds of hours of work, listening to advice, listening to the experts and trying to work as collaboratively as possible on this Bill, to see these amendments come in at the last minute with no real notice was incredibly disappointing. In my opinion, and that of many others, including Professor John Sweeney, it has undermined the work that has gone into this Bill. It is a ver…

I am aware that this will probably be the only opportunity I will get to discuss this.

In general, with the climate justice amendment and all the subsequent amendments that have come through, the Minister is weakening the Bill, which is probably the most important Bill that we will pass in this Dáil. I urge the Minister to take this final opportunity to do the right thing with this Bill – the right thing for future generations and for society.

Might I speak? I am not sure what the procedure or protocol is, but I wish to comment. A personal statement was made about me and Deputy Bríd Smith in relation to-----

There was an untruth said that we have no experience of the fisheries or agriculture sectors.

I worked for many years in the fisheries sector.