I welcome that the Minister of State indicated the stage 2b process is in its final stages. However, he knows as well as I do that the critical next step is moving to a tender so that a contractor will be appointed. With the best will in the world, even if the Minister of State announced tonight that stage 2b was complete and it was moving to tender, we would still probably be looking at more than two years by the time the new school was completed. The neighbouring town of Gorey, my home town, has three schools, th…

On 10 September 2024, the Cabinet in the previous Government agreed to a Bill that would provide for further regulation of nicotine inhaling products, particularly with regard to a ban on disposable vapes and restrictions on advertising, colours, flavours and imagery used on nicotine inhaling products. It is also in the programme for Government. This is a public health emergency. It has been an active campaign by Wexford Comhairle na nÓg since 2023. In 2022, two students from FCJ Secondary School in Bunclody, Leann…

Is there a timeline for the Bill?

I warmly welcome Ireland's decision to apply for associate membership of CERN and want to see a strategy of us moving towards full membership. I commend the Minister personally. He has been a big supporter of this. Indeed, he and I laboured in the last Oireachtas to ensure that this got over the line. I also commend his departmental officials on the work done to join the world's largest and possibly most important scientific research centre. I also want to mention the fact that a lot of the campaigning here was led…

I thank the Taoiseach for his comprehensive outline of what happened at the European Council. He indicated we will have initial sight of the next multi-annual financial framework this month. It is critical that we see a fully funded EU budget. From Ireland's point of view, it is critical that the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, is fully funded and is not just there to meet current requirements. While it is essential and correct that we support Ukraine's path to membership, CAP must be sufficient to meet the needs …

Shame.

On Ukrainian accession-----

Hear, hear.

I thank the Leas Cheann-Comhairle for the indulgence, and I welcome the fact that there are members of Sinn Féin present although I notice that members of "performance before policy" are not present or, rather, the bourgeois wing of the party who, since the split happened, seem to be cosying up to Sinn Féin, according to other Members. It marks the fundamental difference between Government and Opposition in many ways. My party has always supported the aspiration to own a home. It is a very legitimate aspiration and…

Are the Minister and his Department sufficiently ambitious to ensure that Ireland will generate sufficient energy to meet housing needs and the requirements of the digital economy?

I am glad the Minister has clarified how the ambition of the Government is to meet those future needs. The future is both green and digital. It is wrong that the debate has been presented by some as a choice between one and the other. The critical issue is that we have a sufficient supply, particularly of clean energy, to meet our future needs. On the new economy, data centres often get a very bad reputation. I want to highlight the recent €3.5 billion investment by Echelon in Arklow. This was the first grid connec…

I welcome what the Minister is saying. The Secretary General might wish to reflect on some of her words because the Minister's Department is responsible for ensuring we have a sufficient level of energy. My frustration, as I know is the Minister's, is about the delays, particularly when it comes to offshore renewables. We are talking about 5 GW of offshore wind energy being generated by 2030. Our target then will be to get up to 20 GW by 2040. We need to start thinking at that level. I do not like it being presente…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I entirely agree with Deputy Ó Murchú on the importance of district heating systems, but a very successful model to examine is the one operated by South Dublin County Council which heats facilities of TU Dublin and the council. It was opened by the previous Minister, Eamon Ryan. It provides a sufficient level of low-carbon heating to a number of connected buildings in the area. Where does that heat come from? It is generated by data centres operated in south Dublin…

I thank Deputy Ó Muirí for raising this matter. I express concern about the remarks reported in the Irish Independent today by the Secretary General of the Department of energy. It is not about a choice between housing and AI. We need to build housing but we also need to prepare for our tech future. This is also, by the way, the same Department that is responsible for the development of renewable energy, particularly offshore, and has continued to fail to meet the targets in this regard. I am really concerned about…

My next question will not be reached but it is related to this one as it concerns the efficient use of public moneys. I welcome the launch by the Department of guidelines on the responsible use in public services of artificial intelligence, AI. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, and the Minister both launched that document and I commend the Department on it. The use of AI can lead to greater efficiencies in decision-making and the use of predictive analytics is central to data-driven policy making. I am sure, i…

I strongly agree with the importance of maintaining our friendship with the United States and that our engagements with Congress must be conducted on a bipartisan basis, notwithstanding the concerns we have about the Trump Administration. I am particularly concerned about recent decisions by President Trump to deny access to international students to Harvard University. I hope that in the plans of the further and higher education Minister, Deputy Lawless, to extend opportunities to international students to come to…

I thank the Taoiseach. Ireland's economic success should not be taken for granted. It is critical that we continue to prioritise trade and competitiveness. With this in mind, the Taoiseach might indicate to the House when we intend to fully ratify the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada. Trade and services between Ireland and Canada amount to €10 billion and it is a significant deal we need to ratify. The Taoiseach might also indicate for our inventors and creators in this country when Ireland wi…

What about the unified patent court system?

With others in this House, and I am quite certain people right across the entire country, we share the horror of what we have been seeing going on in Gaza and across the Middle East. The denial of humanitarian aid to citizens is, as the Taoiseach rightly said, a war crime. The fact that we are now hearing evidence, as Deputy Duncan Smith has said, from a number of trusted humanitarian organisations which this country has always stood by shows the sheer depravity of what is going on within Gaza. As Deputy Sheehan ha…

I am happy this debate is taking place. As previous speakers said, nobody is in this House more committed to protecting our biodiversity and natural heritage than the Minister of State. I am appreciative of the work he does personally but I know he is committed to action and not just words. The decision by former Minister Michael McGrath to establish the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund will be seen as very significant, particularly to ensure resourcing of our commitments to the natural environment. With the…