The programme for Government contains 19 separate references and commitments to a just transition, yet when the climate Bill was published last October there was not a single reference to this critical provision in it. During pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill, the Joint Committee on Climate Action recommended that the Bill include a definition of a just transition. Members went so far as to propose wording. Legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2019 included a section dedicated to just transitio…

A few weeks ago the Dáil unanimously supported the legislation of my colleague, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, to preserve and revitalise Moore Street through the legal recognition of an ceathrú chultúr, a Moore Street cultural quarter. Throughout the debate Teachtaí Dála from every party and political group articulated a shared vision for the most important historic site in modern Irish history, as described by the National Museum of Ireland. The proposed Hammerson plan relies heavily on a huge office development and will not…

It is on your watch.

A defective Government-----

-----has neglected the inner city of Dublin.

And that is on you.

I object to poverty and dereliction and bad government, and I will continue to do that.

On your watch-----

On your watch.

I agree on the need for the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference to meet. I met the Secretary of State this morning, who is, as Deputy Richmond said, in Dublin. I echo the call for constructive leadership and that means we need to deliver on the spirit and the letter of the Good Friday Agreement. We need to remain steadfast on the need for the protocol to sort out the teething problems and to secure the protections it entails. We also need delivery on the substance of the New Decade, New Approach agreement, t…

Tomorrow the Taoiseach will announce his plan for the gradual reopening of our society and economy. There is now some light at the end of the tunnel. As more vaccines come on stream, all of us hope that we can start to catch up with others and that more people will start getting back to work. For all of us, particularly for those who have not seen a day's work in over a year, a return to working life cannot come quickly enough. However, the reality as we meet today is that there are more than 400,000 workers relyin…

I do not want to play a game of semantics with the Taoiseach at this point but the reality is that sectors of the economy have been closed down because the public health advice has been that it is not safe to go to work. All of us want the economy to reopen speedily and safely. I was not putting a question to the Taoiseach in respect of the natural reduction that will accrue as people return to work and businesses reopen. I am asking for a simple statement of assurance for those workers in sectors that have not reo…

As expected, the European Parliament has ratified the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement. Of particular note was the formal acknowledgement by MEPs of the unique circumstances of the North of Ireland and the role given to the Assembly in respect of the Irish protocol. When ratifying the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement, the Parliament also expressed the need for ongoing and enhanced dialogue with the North. It is evident, therefore, that the North needs an institutional voice within the European Union. Th…

I think the Leas-Cheann Comhairle has called me out of turn.

President Biden and Vice President Harris continue to express their unequivocal support for the Irish peace process and the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. This, of course, is very welcome. I hope we will see similar energetic political action from the Government in Dublin to press these two issues of full support and full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a bipartisan resolution last month equally expressing full support for the implemen…

I take up very little time in this section.

Very little indeed.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Well-----

I would like to raise again the issue of housing. I am very conscious that as the light at the end of the tunnel gets a little bit brighter for people, we are beginning to consider what life, and Ireland, will look like once the pandemic passes and the public emergency is over. It is very encouraging that, despite everything people have been through in the past year, they still have that sense of hope and that sense of appetite for a better and fairer Ireland. Long before the Covid emergency, people faced very many…