I thank the Minister of State for his response and for saying he will look into the issue of the tanker. It is a small thing but it would make quite a bit of difference for the people in Barndarrig. I am also pleased to see it looks as though it could be just a matter of weeks before the notice can be lifted. That is a positive statement. A continuous biochemistry monitor was to be put on the system. Does the Minister of State know when that will happen, or is that equipment part of what is going on at present? The…

I thank the Regional Group for bringing this most important motion forward. It reflects the underinvestment in this important sector over the lifetime of many governments and over generations. In 2019, the European Court of Justice found that Ireland had failed to uphold EU law in respect of almost 30 wastewater treatment schemes across the country, including in Arklow in my home county of Wicklow. A report by the EPA in 2019 found that raw sewage was flowing into rivers and seas in 33 places across Ireland. That i…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Wildlife Act, 1976 to include the Basking Shark ( Cetorhinus maximus ) in the Fifth Schedule to that Act; to amend section 23 of that Act to make illegal the intentional or reckless injuring, disturbance or harassment of any protected wild animal other than for the purposes of hunting; and to provide for the drafting of a code of conduct by Ministerial regulation for the purposes of wildlife tourism or recreational activities. This is th…

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

I would like to thank the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, for coming to the House to reply to this issue. It is most disappointing that the Minister for Health is not present to take it, given that it concerns a health issue in Arklow in our constituency. I am disappointed and frustrated that he is not here to answer this question for the people of south Wicklow. On 15 February 2021, the Minister for Health announced that a number of vaccination centres were going to be set up across the country. Two of them wer…

I recognise this matter is not part of the Minister of State's remit and he has been left to explain this particular failing in the system. However, some of his response does not make sense. He stated the centre at the Arklow Bay Hotel was to open today but, because there are only three weeks left before the hotel returns to its usual business, it does not make logistical sense to have it operating for that period. I do not understand why the HSE is not using that particular facility for the next three weeks. The s…

The US now supports the waiver on intellectual property rights for the Covid-19 vaccine and will negotiate at the upcoming WTO negotiations on that basis. A global waiver on the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, TRIPS, is necessary if we are to fight Covid on a global basis and vaccinate the global community. Our President, Michael D. Higgins, has hailed the moved by President Biden as "a moment of ... moral significance". Will the Tánaiste commit to the Government now actively sup…

Does the Tánaiste believe the US is doing this to look good?

I will share my time with Deputy Cairns. I thank the Minister for introducing this Bill, which I understand is technical. We will support it. As the Minister will be aware, I am incredibly passionate about this area. I have spent many years working either as a scientist or internationally as a policy adviser on this issue. I am honoured to be able to talk to the Legislature about heritage and the issues that we need to focus on. When we are looking at the transfer of functions, I understand that they are necessary …

I would like to ask the Taoiseach about the Irish refugee relocation programme. Some 14 unaccompanied minors in Greece have been identified and, with the involvement of Tusla and gardaí, were to be relocated to Ireland. It now appears that the mission has been delayed. If the children are not brought to Ireland before the end of the month the relocation programme and, therefore, their access to safety and ability to come over will end. Can I get a commitment from the Taoiseach that he will ensure that the mission g…

I welcome the Bill. On a personal note, I congratulate the Minister. I know what it is taken for him to get the Bill to this point and I know it is a major milestone for him. I also acknowledge the work done by the Committee on Climate Action, chaired by Deputy Leddin. We did serious analysis and listened to the experts. I believe the work we did has strengthened the Bill. The discussions we had with the experts did not take place in private, as was stated earlier in the debate. The climate committee will continue …

I was speaking about the issue of governance and accountability when it comes to the climate Bill. This Bill is a motherboard for overall governance and accountability measures that we can apply to hold Government to account, regardless of who is in power. A huge part of the committee report recommendations focused on this issue as well. I welcome the increased accountability measures dotted throughout the Bill as a result of the Minister taking on board the suggestions of the committee. Welcome additions include r…

I thank the Rural Independent Group for bringing this motion. As we discuss Project Ireland 2040, it is important that we have a clear vision of what Ireland will look like in 20 years time. As we are all aware, the time goes quickly and we will get there a lot quicker than we think. Come 2040, we will only have ten years left to transition to a net zero-carbon economy. There are still a huge number of changes to make in terms of how we manage Irish society to meet that target. It was only with the publication of t…

I will speak to amendment No. 3, in which we outline a number of areas we think the Minister should report to the Dáil on in a number of months. It is good policy to have a review of this legislation because we need to understand how it impacts people and how it can be improved, so it is important that there is a continual review of the legislation that passes. This amendment contains a number of areas that we would appreciate the Minister considering as part of that review. The first is about policy and budgetary …

I will also be pressing my amendment. As part of the Opposition we are very limited in the amendments we can propose. We cannot, for example, make suggestions that place a charge on the Exchequer. This amendment relates only to the monitoring and assessment of legislation and policies being implemented. I have developed policies for the Australian Government and I know it is really important when developing policies and legislation to have a feedback loop built in. We need to know what we do achieves the stated aim…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 6, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “Reporting 4. (1) The Minister shall, not later than six months after the passing of this Act, carry out a review of the operation of this Act. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Minister, as part of the review, shall— (a) conduct policy and budgetary analysis on a potential further extension of leave under this Act, from five weeks to nine weeks and establish a timeline for this provision, (b) consider th…

I move amendment No. 6: In page 16, line 34, to delete “2 years” and substitute “3 years”. If a parent wants to take this leave, they have two years in which to do so. We all recognise the past year up-ended everybody's lives. Families have had to undergo huge pressures and changes within their family systems that they never expected. This amendment acknowledges that it was a year that was lost. Many families had to work from home and home school. Parents ended up taking leave that they may not have necessarily hav…

I acknowledge this is an extension of the status quo as such. By extending it from one year to two, the Minister is acknowledging that Covid has really up-ended everything and made things difficult. This leave is for early days of bonding. By moving it to two years, the Minister is acknowledging that families need that flexibility, not necessarily for that initial bonding time but that they can manage their family life. We have had a year of Covid. We do not know how much longer this is going to be. We do not know …

I would like to follow on from the contribution of the leader of the Labour Party on vaccine distribution. We run a real risk of increasing competition between countries and countries' nationalism when it comes to the vaccination programme. We are not safe in this country until every country is safe, and we will not be free from Covid until every country in the world is free from Covid. We can see the new variants coming into play and that will always be a risk for us, no matter how many people we get vaccinated in…

Will the Taoiseach raise that with the EU and push for it at an EU level? It is important we show leadership and we ensure every country in the world, whether wealthy or not, has an opportunity to access vaccine.