I thank the Deputy. The only person who is interested in class warfare in this House is probably him and maybe some of the colleagues around him, and he is interested in it because he hopes to benefit from it politically and electorally, and that is his choice. What we are interested in on this side of the House is saving businesses and saving jobs and that includes Aer Lingus. That is why we have done what we have done. The subsidy the Deputy referred to, the employment wage subsidy scheme, is helping to keep peop…

I thank the Deputy. He is absolutely right. We have all seen it in the past couple of weeks, with the prices ticking up at the forecourts and going up every other day. We see it in the cost of home heating oil. As I mentioned earlier, it was €450 to fill a tank this time last year and it is closer to €700 now. We see it, of course, in the rising price of electricity. We also all understand in this House that when it comes to fuel prices, we, as a nation, are price takers. It is governed by the international price o…

I thank the Deputy. We would be genuinely happy to consider any proposals the Rural Independent Group has for the forthcoming budget. To be clear, these high energy prices will last, unfortunately. We do not know for how long but it could be six months or longer and that is during the winter period when energy demand is at its highest. In relation to energy efficiency, which the Deputy mentioned, the budget for the SEAI's residential and community retrofit programmes was increased to more than €109 million in 2021 …

The Government would welcome a debate on Housing for All, giving the Minister an opportunity to present it to the House and to hear views on it. Perhaps time could be found next week or thereafter for us to give it the airing it deserves and to hear Members' views. I imagine that is something that the Business Committee can discuss. Our programme for this week is already busy. We talked about aviation - there are aviation agreements to be ratified. We talked about crime - there is the Prüm DNA profiles motion. Ther…

I acknowledge that. I know the enormous difficulties that people are facing in getting licences to fell trees. It has been discussed a great deal in the House in recent weeks.

The Minister of State, Senator Hackett, is on the case. I am sure that we can find time for a debate, but the Government would like to stick to the order before us. I have not yet heard anyone say which of the other debates should be cut or deprioritised.

My understanding is that the Minister has clarified that.

It has been discussed. On the other questions, I will have to ask the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to confirm his actions in that regard. I would imagine the answer is "Yes", but I do not want to speak for him.

I have no detail on this because it is not agreed yet, but the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, is working on the issue. All of us in this House acknowledge that front-line workers who put in an extra effort and made extra sacrifices during the pandemic, and continue to do so, should be rewarded in some way. Whether that is a financial bonus or additional annual leave needs to be discussed but I would have a strong view as well that it should not be limited to front-line workers i…

I am afraid I do not have an up-to-date briefing on that. I will let the Minister for Justice know the matter was raised and get back to the Deputy later in the week.

The mechanism by which the Government can intervene in an industrial relations dispute is through the Workplace Relations Commission or the Labour Court. Both are offices of my Department and both are available to the workers and the company involved if there is a willingness to engage.

One of the advantages of the regions designation is that we can positively discriminate in a region's favour. Thus, when it comes to employment grants from my Department for new industry, we can offer grants in the west and north west that cannot be offered in Dublin and Cork. We are absolutely prepared to do that in order to secure jobs and investment for the region. Then there is what we might call the broader, more traditional part of the national development plan, that is, investing in roads, railways and broad…

I very much hear the Deputy's concerns. One of the many things the pandemic has taught us is the extent to which we are dependent on people coming from central and eastern Europe who are willing to work here. They are often willing to work in jobs Irish people do not want to do. Britain, which has left the Single Market, is really learning that because it will not see these people return. Thankfully, we will see people from eastern Europe come back to Ireland to take up those jobs. I anticipate that return of migra…

I thank Deputy Harkin for raising this issue again. I know that she has raised it before. The Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, has raised with me as well. Sligo Airport is a licensed European Union Aviation Safety Agency, EASA, aerodrome. It was directed in 2019 by the Irish Aviation Authority to upgrade the aerodrome. This would allow it to update to air and navigation safety standards. The mandatory works required include groundworks in the runway and safety areas, moving of runway thresholds, extensive runway …

First, I join the Deputy in welcoming the fact that the Shannon to London Heathrow route is operating again. That route opens Shannon and the midwest to the world. It is important that that is happening again. I welcome President Biden's announcement that fully vaccinated people from Europe will be able to travel to the United States again. That allows us to get routes from Dublin and from Shannon to the United States up and running again. While I cannot go into any details around discussions with individual airlin…

I am happy to use this opportunity to restate the Government's commitment both to MetroLink and DART west. They are really important transport projects for Dublin. I read the story to which the Deputy referred and while I do not know if it is true, I can say that no Government decision has been taken to delay these projects, nor am I aware of any proposal to delay them. However, they will take time. They require railway orders and An Bord Pleanála hearings if and when there is a railway order. The project then has …

We will look at those matters in the context of the budget. We are all very aware of the increasing cost of fuel and how it is impacting on families, consumers and businesses. The fuel allowance kicks in again from next week. In the context of the budget, we will look at the rate and the issue of widening eligibility to cover more people. We did that in relation to the pandemic unemployment payment last year so it would not be unprecedented to do so. I have not heard of the suggestion before of a discretionary fund…

I agree with the Deputy's initial comment that those who are hit hardest by inflation are those on the lowest incomes, namely, people on social welfare and pensioners. They do not have much discretionary spend. They are rarely able to save money and they know where every euro goes. They will be most effected by the rising cost of living. The Deputy and I worked together some years ago in a previous Government to make sure there was a welfare package and that it was for everyone, not just pensioners. The Government …

I thank the Deputy. As I indicated to Deputy McAuliffe earlier, if there was a Government decision to defer or postpone the MetroLink project I would know about it. There has not been. We will have a new national development plan agreed in early October and that will answer the question in respect of major infrastructural projects. I do want to say, however, that we need to take these things one step at a time. There is not yet even a railway order for this project.

We do not know the route and we do not know the stations. It has not gone to tender.