Does the Minister of State want to respond to the question?

I just think it is important to hear the response.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The health of the citizens of the EU is much better today because of the restrictions that we have put on smoking and tobacco products over the last 20 years. Credit where credit is due; this State led the way when it introduced a ban on smoking in certain places to protect people’s health. At an EU level, my colleague, Martina Anderson, was one of the rapporteurs on the tobacco products directive to heavily regulate the packaging, labelling, advertising and taxation of tobacco pr…

-----without bringing forward this legislation, but again I welcome the fact that Fine Gael is at least bringing forward a motion on it. We are happy to support the motion.

I too offer my condolences to Vicky Phelan's family. The State is mourning her loss but mná na hÉireann are really feeling her loss today. I thank Senator Paul Daly for calling for a debate on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine report on dog welfare issues. I echo the call. A debate on those issues is very urgent. I will raise the annual crisis we face with regard to dog shelters at Christmas. We tell people not to give dogs as Christmas presents and to adopt rather than to shop but …

I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. Tá áthas orm go bhfuil an deis agam labhairt sa díospóireacht seo. There was quite a bit of media fanfare about the new forestry strategy and while I welcome its publication, it amounted to only a single page dealing with payment rates. The previous strategy amounted to almost 150 pages and it will likely be the new year before that is available. The draft plan is open for consultation until the end of the month. We are all on the same page o…

I want to say a few words about the Save Moore Street Campaign. As I am sure everybody is aware, a large development is proposed for a large site in Dublin city centre that is bordered by Moore Street, Henry Street, O'Rahilly Parade and the other laneways in the area. Most importantly, the site covers the escape route, final battles and surrender of the men and women of the 1916 Easter Rising after they retreated from the GPO. It is rather unfortunate that Dublin City Council has already granted planning for part o…

Hear, hear.

Tá áthas orm go bhfuil an deis agam labhairt mar chuid den díospóireacht seo. The Sinn Féin Deputy for Kildare South, Deputy Patricia Ryan, has been raising the issue of the impact of the short-hop zones on people in her constituency for a long time. People are driving to Sallins in north County Kildare, as we have heard, to use more affordable public transport. We all know that as part of our climate targets and emissions reductions, one of the key ways we can address those in transport is to reduce the number of …

Nobody is saying you are not. It is about the effective use of time.

There are many things the Senators could bring forward.

I add my endorsement to the comments around the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar and to offer solidarity to the LGBT community as that country should never have gotten the World Cup. I also raise an issue around another country that is well-known for its human rights violations, namely, Egypt. As somebody who has gone to Egypt, has been in an Egyptian prison, and has spoken to members of families of the thousands of political prisoners who are there, it is unfortunate to see world leaders descend on Sharm el-Shei…

It is deeply regrettable that emergency legislation is being rushed through the House again. We made that clear to the Minister when he proposed that the committee wave pre-legislative scrutiny. The Government’s attempt to get a handle on supply and demand is a fiasco at this stage, as is the fact that more emergency legislation is having to be passed by the Houses. We all know our planning laws are fundamental to the protection of citizens and the environment against poor development, and we know what happens when…

The officials had not met the European Commission prior to drafting the legislation. We have serious concerns about whether it is compliant with the EU directive.

I move amendment No. 1: "In page 4, line 15, to delete “or at alternative appropriate sites”." This is to make sure that we are in compliance with our obligations under the environmental impact assessment, EIA, directive because I know that we are seeking an exemption. What amendment No. 1 proposes is to delete the phrase “or at alternative appropriate sites” from section 2(1). This is because the explanatory memorandum cites article 2(4) of the EIA directive as the legal basis for the exemption of the development …

Two sites have been identified. Clearly, criteria were used in the assessment of the sites that could possibly be used for such a project. The two that made it through the assessment made it for a reason. The question is why the other sites did not make it. Is it the case that they did not make the selection relevant to the EIA and the planning criteria? That is our concern. If two sites were above all the others as being most appropriate, yet we are now leaving it open to some of the other sites that were not judg…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 7, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “Report on the implementation 11. (1) The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas following a post-enactment review. (2) Within one month of the laying of the report before both Houses of the Oireachtas, the Minister and EirGrid shall account for the performance of their functions to the Joint Committee for the Environment and Climate Action and shall have regard…

I will respond only briefly. The Minister of State is probably very much aware of the tensions between EirGrid and the CRU. They are hardly speaking to each other. It is not easy for the committee to get answers when both parties disagree about how we got to this point. If we cannot include in legislation the provision of a post-enactment review after six months, we should at least have a debate, some sort of conversation or even a report back to the joint committee on how effective this legislation is and whether …

I will speak briefly in favour of the amendment. I have raised the need to prioritise battery storage a couple of times at meetings of the joint committee. In Britain, battery storage is now displacing gas-powered generation. One of the concerns is about hybrid power plants for which we do not have the legislative framework, although it is part of the programme for Government. I would like to see that progressed so that battery storage can replace fossil-fuel generated electricity capacity. Another area of concern …

I welcome the Minister of State but I am disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is not here to take this Commencement matter, particularly given that her constituency contains many dog breeding establishments. I look forward to hearing the official response because for too long, Ireland has had the unfortunate title of being the puppy farm capital of Europe. Government after Government has failed to get to grips with the situation and the dog-breeding establishment, DBE, guidelines are just that - guidel…