Over the past week we have seen devastating scenes from the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos in Greece. We have seen very distressing images of thousands of children and unaccompanied minors sleeping rough with no access to water or sanitation. The Immigrant Council of Ireland has called it a humanitarian crisis. Germany and France have committed to taking some of the minors in as asylum seekers. Has Ireland also committed to doing so? How many unaccompanied minors will we take in and when will it happen?…

How many?

I would like to ask a quick question about the Covid-19 plan which I am not sure is allowable. There are now restrictions on people living in Dublin. They must limit their travel outside of County Dublin. I come from Wicklow. A huge number of my constituents commute to Dublin, as do many others from Meath and Kildare. Are there any restrictions on people entering Dublin or does the plan only place limits on people leaving it?

The programme for Government "seeks to move beyond division and discord and find shared solutions". The Social Democrats have committed to providing a constructive Opposition in this Dáil term. It beggars belief that the Government has come together as one with Sinn Féin to exclude voices of the Social Democrats, Solidarity-People Before Profit and Independent groupings from the speaking times.

It is undemocratic and unfair. It is very disappointing that Sinn Féin has joined the Government on this front.

It is important that we can all represent our constituents. We cannot be squeezed out of our speaking time. I ask that the Tánaiste and Sinn Féin reconsider this decision because it does not bode well for the future of this term if dissenting or Opposition voices will be squeezed out of the discussion.

The Department highlighted and confirmed to me this week that there have been several confirmed additional cases of rabbit haemorrhagic disease identified in hares in Wexford and Kildare and in rabbits in Clare and Cork. In light of this, will the Minister of State suspend the issuing of the hare coursing licences as a precautionary measure until further information on the disease is available?

I do not think the Minister of State quite answered the question. Will he suspend the licences? We have seen further instances. I am unsure how many hares were found in Wexford and Kildare but there have been confirmed instances. It appears from the response from the Department that the research work promised has not been carried out. The Department has said that it is working with colleagues and that it will sample rabbits from hunting bags at different locations. In the absence of that scientific data we need to …

It is disappointing that the Minister of State will not say "Yes" or "No". This area is within the remit of the Minister of State. I would like to see a ban on hare coursing but that is not within the remit of the Minister of State. However, this is within the remit of the Minister of State. From a conservation perspective, we should take the precautionary approach and decide to protect and conserve our species. We must have the scientific data to do that. We do not have it in this instance. I appeal to the Ministe…

We are five weeks away from schools opening and one week away from taking our recess, yet there is still no certainty about how the schools are going to open. Children do not know whether they will be in with their school friends for an entire week or part of a week, parents do not know whether they will have to source childcare for part of the week, and schools, principals and teachers do not know what level of support and funding they will get. When will the Government publish a clear plan for schools to reopen a…

I thank Deputy Funchion for introducing the motion. I would like to address two issues relating to childcare. The first issue is the short-term needs of the sector post Covid and the second is the long-term reforms that are required. I think we are all in agreement that significant reforms are required in the sector to meet the needs of families and providers. On the short-term issue, many parents, providers and staff are worried that they do not have any certainty about what will happen after 24 August. I know tha…

This is my first time doing this so I may need some guidance on the wording. Do I move the amendment now?

I have a series of amendments. The theme is essentially that we need to incorporate nature-based solutions into our climate change adaptation and mitigation policies. There has been a real gap to date and that gap is reflected in this Bill as well. It is a wasted opportunity because it fails to recognise the value of nature-based solutions and what they can add not only from a climate mitigation and adaptation perspective but also in the sense of the bang for our buck we get with it. Essentially, it will also provi…

Are we dealing with Deputy Naughten's amendments?

I am quite disappointed that none of these amendments will be incorporated into the Bill. The Social Democrats said all along that we would be very constructive in opposition and that if there was an opportunity to work with the Government to get things done, we would be more than happy to do that. This is the first time I have put forward an amendment. The amendments I am putting forward are simple ideas that are internationally recognised. As it would appear that the Minister also recognises the need for them, I …

I move amendment No. 6: In page 11, to delete lines 38 and 39 and substitute the following: "(4) The Climate Action Fund shall consist of the following accounts and any other accounts as the Minister may determine: (a) just transition climate action account; (b) biodiversity climate action account; (c) circular economy climate action account; (d) local authority climate action account; (e) community energy action account; and (f) primary and post-primary education climate action account.". This comes back to the ge…

I wish the Minister well in his new role. I look forward to working with him. We have many of the same goals and I hope we can progress those during this Dáil. The NECP was due to be submitted to the EU at the end of 2019 but was delayed because of the general election and the Government formation process. When will the Minister work with the European Commission to advance a stronger national energy and climate plan for 2030? When will the Department submit the NECP, which was previously on hold due to having an in…

I thank the Minister. Can I take it that the existing NECP will be submitted and then the Minister will work on a new version of it that will strengthen aspects of it? During the consultation process, many environmental groups raised a number of issues such as the need for: an overall economy-wide carbon budget to be included in the document; a plan for the cessation of offshore fossil fuel exploration; a formal revision of the national mitigation plan; and nature-based solutions to be incorporated into it, which I…

It will be very important to bring people along on this journey with us. What does the Minister propose for engagement and consultation over the coming year? It seems there will be a considerable body of work to be done in that regard. How will the Minister involve our community and expert involvement in that? How will the Minister ensure that this document becomes, essentially, a living document? Scientific knowledge and technological advances are happening all the time. How do we make sure to incorporate those ad…

Will the Minister incorporate the specific targets set out in the EU green deal, that is, a cut of at least a 40% in greenhouse gas emissions in the EU below 1990 levels by 2030, at least a 32% share for renewable energy and at least a 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency, in the climate Bill?