How will the Minister address it?

I welcome the recent visit by the Minister of State to Shabra plastics facility in my own constituency. Regardless of the constituency it is in, I am sure from his engagement, as local Oireachtas Members will have heard, that he is bound to have been astounded by the facts as they are. A company that is in Ireland has to import PET plastics in order to remain viable, while Irish waste collectors are exporting significant tonnes of that same product even though they are subsidised by the Irish taxpayer through Repak…

In a previous written response to me back in May, the Minister of State indicated that the data relating to the quantities of PET plastic that are recycled domestically and exported were not collated by his Department. Will he indicate as a first step that this has now changed and that he plans to provide the data? We are having a debate in the abstract if we do not know precisely how big of a problem we are dealing with. In respect of the levy on virgin plastic, it appears to be a no-brainer in terms of the langua…

Monaghan.

That was a disaster.

An absolute disaster.

The Taoiseach is defending the removal of services again.

Accident and emergency services-----

Drogheda-----

The Taoiseach is still defending the removal of services.

What are the Department's proposals to increase the land associated with growing crops in the coming years to reach targets?

I thank the Minister for that response. The context of this conversation has changed dramatically because the Russian invasion of Ukraine has exposed fault lines in global, EU and domestic policy on food security. Of course, Sinn Féin recognises that the Government is limited in its ability to respond to geopolitical events and global commodity markets and, therefore, any response, while needing the immediacy the Minister has mentioned for this year and next year, also needs to be long term. One area in which the G…

I acknowledge that tillage production did increase by 6.1% so far this year, which I think was 78% of the objective. Approximately 13,000 ha of that related to cereal, which was just an increase of 4.5%. This is a crucially important area as I am sure the Minister recognises, including for other sectors that need feed. It makes sense if we can produce it in Ireland. It also makes sense from the perspective of reaching our climate action obligations. This is win-win if it is a win for the farmers. Many farmers moved…

Does the Minister intend to request further financial measures from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, BAR, to provide direct support for farmers?

The Minister will recall that during the Brexit negotiations, stories of Irish farming, fishing and rural communities were at the forefront not only of the Irish political approach, but also the EU's deliberations. Those stories ensured that Ireland was allocated €1 billion from the BAR. I do not believe they have received the benefit of that. I welcome that the fishing sector received a large allocation. I also welcome the €3 million allocated to the seed potato sector, something I advocated for. As the Minister s…

The Minister is aware that I sent my ideas to him in March in respect of the sectors that could benefit from this reserve. The difficulty is that farmers are told that there is a pot of €1 billion to support those who are impacted by Brexit, and although their sector is potentially most impacted, they have not got a fair share as of yet. We know that there are significant challenges facing the sector, in particular as a result of input costs soaring in the past year or so. Unfortunately, the European crisis reserve…

I sent them to the Minister.

I commend my colleague Deputy O'Rourke, along with Deputies Quinlivan and Cronin, on tabling this Bill. I thank the Minister for being here and for the response. I commend the fact that we are finally moving towards having a hydrogen strategy for the State. I would argue forcefully that it needs to be an all-Ireland strategy insofar as is possible. I am sure many will be surprised to hear that we do not actually have a hydrogen strategy. It is telling that we have all the debates about climate action, that we know …

The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, told the Dáil last week that, out of respect for the House, he planned to publish before the summer break the regulations banning the sale of turf. We still have not seen those regulations. We are told the Cabinet has approved the new restrictions. Are we going to see them before the break? Will we have an opportunity to debate them? Have Fianna Fáil backbenchers seen them? Does the Taoiseach's party intend to support this proposition?…

I asked a question.