In yesterday's Irish Independent newspaper, a headline read Ireland should seriously look at the option of nuclear power, says the Taoiseach. He said in Yerevan, and I quote the Taoiseach directly, "we certainly should look at and examine options like nuclear power seriously." I asked the Taoiseach the exact same question in the Chamber two weeks ago. His answer was that "the direction of travel has to be in the renewables area". He dismissed the Barryroe oil field. He defended the 2021 ban on oil and gas explorati…

So has the Taoiseach.

I thank the Taoiseach. What he has done in this Chamber is exactly what he did in Armenia, namely he said a great deal while committing to nothing. Within the past hour, the Taoiseach has twice referenced renewables and connecting to Spain. It is worth putting this on the record of the House because people hold up Spain as the great renewable energy country. Renewable energy in Spain is at 21% while its nuclear energy is at 20%. If we connect to Spain, which is the Taoiseach's plan, we will take nuclear energy from…

I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State for further and higher education on the Government side. The Minister of State is a very fine Minister of State but I find it rather upsetting that we do not have the senior Minister in the House.

This is a very serious debate and some very serious questions need to be answered on what we are discussing here. I commend my colleagues in Sinn Féin on bringing this to the House and I welcome those people to the Visitors Gallery. I say to tenants in Dublin that they are not alone in what is happening in their properties. We have exactly the same thing in Cork city and county. I received a copy of an email from Councillor Noel O'Flynn, a former Member of this House and member of Independent Ireland. He informed m…

In Cork city, tenants in Mary Aikenhead Place are living in flats that were built in the 1960s. They are cold, damp and affected by mould. Surrounding units in the residential area have already been retrofitted. The Government retrofit plan aims for a B2 standard by 2050, with only 25% to be completed by 2030. For many of these tenants, the timeline of waiting for 25 years to have their flats retrofitted is simply too long. Let me be precise. Will the Government commit to prioritising older flats such as Mary Aiken…

In my constituency a family have already buried one child due to Friedreich's ataxia and their second child is now in a wheelchair due to the same disease, which is advancing. A treatment called SkyClarys is clinically approved and has been shown to slow the progress and the State refuses to reimburse it. Let me be clear: this is not about science or availability; this is about a decision not to fund. What does the Taoiseach say to parents watching their child's disease progress in real time while a treatment exist…

At a time when the Minister for communications, Deputy O'Donovan, was calling for a review of RTÉ's coverage of the public protests, it is reported that he also approved a €20,000 pay increase for the CEO of RTÉ. This raises legitimate concerns around Government transparency and the potential of undue influence. In a separate matter, the former Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, approved an additional €10 million for the International Monetary Fund, IMF, prior to subsequently taking a role with the organisation…

This has given rise to the question of conflicts of interest.

Will the Tánaiste confirm whether the matter has been referred to the Standards in Public Office Commission for examination for potential breaches of ethics? If not-----

Please do not heckle me. If not, does the Government intend to make such a referral in order to ensure accountability and maintain confidence in the ethics and standards of public office?

They were questions, not comments.

It was not a comment-----

No, I will not. That is not true.

And the other question? The Tánaiste did not answer the rest of the question.

You are missing the first part of my question, Tánaiste.

I correct that.

Last week, the Taoiseach told Radio Teilifís Éireann that he was open to all forms of energy supply. He also acknowledged the fragility of Irish dependence on imported fuels. That admission is important - and it is important to the House - because Ireland imports approximately 86% of its energy, which is one of the highest dependence rates in Europe. At the same time, the Government made a deliberate decision in 2021 to ban oil and gas exploration. This was not a forced decision or an inevitable decision; it was a …

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply but he is in contradiction with exactly what he said on RTÉ over one week ago when he said he was open to all forms of energy supply. I asked him quite clearly whether he is willing to look at the policy where the Government said in 1999 that we are going to ban nuclear. The Taoiseach has come to the House and told me. I assume he has read the independent analysis and independent report in Barryroe as well because I did not realise, along with the other expertise he has, that he …

I have invested enough of it. It is all very well to talk about renewable energy, and I do see the importance of renewable energy. I witnessed renewable energy when the grid in Spain took out Portugal, all of Spain and most of France just up to Paris, if the Taoiseach remembers that. That was an oversupply, and we never got to the end of that.