Or about anything. I agree what has happened is unacceptable. Everybody does. We are seeking to try to get the Israeli-EU trade association agreement suspended. More states are becoming supportive of the Spanish and Irish position. The Deputy knows damn well we advanced it two---

The Deputy keeps interrupting. We advanced it two and a half years ago. He knows we did, yet he just keeps on making false assertions about the Government's approach to this. I do not think that is fair either.

I appreciate the point the Deputy is making and I have a lot of empathy with what he is saying. They were last revised about three years ago, maybe a bit longer, and I think the threshold for qualification for social housing went up about €5,000. I know the Minister for housing is reviewing this. I have spoken to the Minister about this. There are quite a number of working people who are on incomes that would not enable them to get mortgages and so on and who are above the threshold for social housing. I believe it…

I thank the Deputy for raising this. He has a particular focus on this issue. I will speak to the Minister for justice. Generally speaking, we support what the Deputy said. The numbers are increasing of those coming through Templemore recruitment centre and college, which is good. There was an initial focus on Dublin and cities but that will change. There is now an increasing allocation to rural areas. In terms of a recruitment and dispersal strategy, I take fully on board what the Deputy is saying. I will also pic…

Work is under way between the Department of energy and climate and the Department of housing in terms of a planning statement, which has replaced the format for guidelines. Remember this same Department had to work on the planning on exempted developments, which was quite a significant piece of work, on the rural housing guidelines, which are imminent, and on short-term lets. There is a lot of work going on there. I do think we need somewhat of a conversation or debate about energy. I make this point generally. We …

I agree in terms of the appalling nature of this act. Worse is the fact that Israel is not allowing appropriate and sufficient aid into Gaza. Notwithstanding the Board of Peace and the first phase of the agreement being implemented early on, and aid was getting in-----

That has choked up again and has been restricted. This is a grievous thing to be doing. It is an appalling thing for the Israeli Government to be doing because people are still starving and do not have proper shelter in Gaza. There are quite a number of international citizens, including Irish citizens, on board the flotilla raising awareness about the injustices of what is happening in Gaza and in the West Bank itself. Ireland has been very clear on this. It is at European Union level that the greatest impact can b…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 15, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland oversees implementation of relevant programme for Government commitments and ongoing developments in relation to Northern Ireland, Irish-British relations, and the shared island initiative. It considers issues relevant to the Government’s position as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, including our role in Good Friday Agreement institutions such as the North-South Ministerial Council, the British-Irish…

I thank all Deputies for the issues they raised. Bhí an Teachta Moynihan ag caint faoi Chonradh Aoine an Chéasta agus go háirithe an cinneadh a rinneamar maidir leis an oileán comhroinnte. He spoke about the shared island initiative and the decision in respect of it. He asked if loneliness could come under that umbrella. It certainly could. We have had discussions with the Minister of Health in the North about public health interventions under shared island. We can try to get the right organisations together North …

That was on Deputy Ahern's point.

Deputy Tóibín raised the Springhill massacre. I have not seen the full outcome of the inquest but timely and proper apologies should be given in respect of the Springhill massacre and other events of a similar kind. On the legacy Bill, I have made my point to the Deputy that huge progress has been made compared with where we were in terms of the previous legacy Bill. I have confidence that if it gets through the legislature in Britain and is implemented in good faith, it will make for a defining moment in dealing o…

Here is an opportunity to try to get it over the line.

Ultimately there has to be political accountability in respect of all these matters.

I propose Parliamentary Questions Nos. 16 to 34, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy oversees implementation of the programme for Government commitments in relation to the environment, climate action, energy and emergency planning. It considers the wide range of issues that require action in Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient and sustainable future - a future in which we take full advantage of the renewable energy potential we possess, while ensu…

I thank everybody for raising a range of issues. Deputy Malcolm Byrne was first off in raising Storm Chandra. He made the very good point that there are about eight storm events a year now and that speaks to the need for greater adaptation in our broader policies across the board. We need to adapt and invest in adaptation so that we are ready for these storms. Each storm is different. Storm Éowyn was different from Storm Chandra and had different impacts. I have spoken to the Minister with responsibility for roads …

No, because there are other factors. The war in Ukraine was a huge factor. The problem with fossil fuels is that it they are coming from areas where there is conflict. We had a huge problem with Russia invading Ukraine. There was a huge energy crisis because Europe decided, correctly, to eliminate its dependency on Russian oil and gas. There is a war in the Middle East now, with a 20% reduction in world supplies. That has pushed up the price and caused huge problems for us. We need reinvestment in the grid. We have…

We have our fair share of them - I will acknowledge that - but they are important catalysts for investment too. The point is, though, that they will use up a lot of energy so we really need the offshore wind to happen. That has faced challenges because of what has happened in the United States and the undermining of the companies in the US in the wind space. We have quite a number of offshore wind projects in planning at the moment. We need to get those over the line by 2030 onwards and get a number of offshore win…

There is a review under way and work is being done by EirGrid, the Department and the ESB to work that out and understand the challenges. It is being actively pursued. As I said earlier, up to €13 billion will now be invested in the grid itself. We have given the equity to EirGrid for grid upgrades. We met with EirGrid and ESB Networks yesterday at a Cabinet subcommittee meeting, with a view to those companies presenting to us the full map of Ireland with all the various upgrades and projects. We are talking about …

In response to Deputy Ahern, I think people still need aeroplanes. The issue is fuel efficiency and the type of fuels used, but people want to fly around the world. That is the reality. However, I take the Deputy's overall point. It is about balance. Our population has increased by 52% since 1995 and we have had record economic growth over that period, yet emissions are going down. Ireland is a very good example of an island that basically has decoupled economic growth from environmental degradation and rising emis…

I did respond. I do not think it is a privatisation issue alone. I get frustrated with the regulatory frameworks at times but the more important issue is that being overly dependent on imported fossil fuels is driving up prices in Ireland and across Europe. The Minister is looking afresh at the climate action plan in terms of having a more objective-based approach. Instead of an annual 40, 50 or 100 actions, we will be asking what are the big-ticket items that can deliver emissions reduction in this country. His ap…