Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit.

I ask that the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs come before the House at some point to discuss the competitiveness funding that the European Commission is proposing and, in particular, the loss of the EU life projects. There is a proposal on the table to have life funding subsumed into the EU Competitiveness Fund. That would be a retrograde step. If people look at the Corncrake LIFE project, LIFE on Machair and the Wild Atlantic Nature project, which have all been successful, they will see…

Go raibh maith agat. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I continue to wish him good fortune in his Ministry. For me, as outgoing Minister of State, it has been fantastic to see that Deputy O'Sullivan has hit the ground running and is a Minister of State who cares for nature. To get it in two Government cycles is good for biodiversity, I have to say, and I wish the Minister of State continued success. In the 93 years since our first national park was founded when the Muckross estate was handed over to the people of …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This is our first engagement since his appointment, so he is very welcome to the House. The 2020 programme for Government committed to delivering on our global commitment to protect 30% of our marine area through marine protected areas. This was in line with the Montreal Declaration on the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities, with the EU biodiversity strategy, with what would be our fourth national biodiversity action plan and with objectives in the mar…

I welcome that update. The word "codesign" is critically important here. It is not to say that we had not made significant progress. Notwithstanding the legislative piece, we got close to the 10% strict protection through the east coast and seas off Wexford special protection areas, SPAs, for marine birds. That was hugely important. Separately, the two ObSERVE programmes in mapping the ocean and marine biodiversity have been hugely significant, so I welcome the update. I am not sure if it is the correct approach, b…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire, an Teachta Calleary.

I welcome to the Public Gallery members of the Belgium-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Ireland. They are very welcome. They are here as guests of Deputy Barry Ward. Fáilte romhaibh.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. This is the Cross-Party Group's fourth piece of legislation. On every occasion, we have used our Private Members' time to bring forward legislation that I think is progressive. We are trying to bring in progressive legislation. The last Bill we brought in was also subject to a timed amendment. It related to vacancy and dereliction. This Bill is far more urgent. I have seen it from the other side. I have been in government. I saw very good legislation coming from the Opposition only for …

In the minute I have I want to focus, unsurprisingly, on nature, heritage and cultural institutions. I am just back from Geneva with some of the representatives of the Children and Young People's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss where we presented at the human rights, democracy and rule of law forum. I appreciate the support the Taoiseach gave to me as Minister of State with responsibility for nature and heritage, but the budget for 2026 is static. When we strip out the capital funding, the budget for heritage and nat…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire.

I thank the Minister. It is always great to have a senior Minister in with us. We appreciate it.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I reiterate the point made by my colleague about the cut in the VAT rate to 9%. I would question giving a handout to Starbucks when many of our small, independent businesses are in real trouble. A targeted scheme such as a rates rebate for smaller businesses would have been more effective. I welcome the commitment to make the basic income scheme a permanent one. It was introduced by my colleague the then Minister, Catherine Martin. I wish to speak briefly to the areas within my re…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit.

I want to raise two issues. I am not sure, but perhaps we have discussed the United Nations at 80. We have had a number of discussions this morning in relation to the UN roll. I would welcome an opportunity to have debate on the United Nations at 80 in light of the fact that this is a significant milestone in the organisation's evolution. As the UN plenary concluded, it is particularly pertinent that we have that discussion. My father played a very active role as a member of the Defence Forces and served on the ear…

We welcome the additional briefing material that has been supplied by the Department regarding this. Is é sin deireadh an chláir. The House stands suspended until 11 o'clock.

I join others in wishing Martin Groves all the very best. I also wish Martin Hughes the very best in his new role. I want to raise an issue that was brought forward throughout the summer and particularly highlighted by the fish kill of up to 40,000 fish in the River Blackwater. It is an incident over which the EPA and everybody else seems to be wringing their hands, yet they are unable to determine the source of the fish kill. It was a serious incident of environmental pollution to add to the many others across the…

Before I ask the Minister of State to respond, I ask the Senator to be careful about naming individuals in his contribution. A Aire, tá fáilte romhat.

I remind the Senator to make general comments in relation to electoral form. As the Minister of State has outlined, it is not appropriate for him to reference specific cases.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit.

As the EU prepares the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, for the period 2028 to 2035, there are growing concerns that the European Commission is aligning itself with a far-right agenda. The shift threatens to divert financial resources away from the EU’s long-standing commitments to environmental protection, social progress and international development within Europe and globally. While strengthening Europe’s competitiveness and defence capacity is important, and we all agree with that, it must not come at the…