I understand the Minister of State, who has special responsibility for nature, heritage and biodiversity, has particular interests and b'fhéidir grá, even, for biodiversity. As Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy I really hope we can work together to ensure our habitats can be protected and the tools and mechanisms that delivered those protections for them can be strengthened. This week provides us with a unique opportunity to appreciate all aspects of nature around our areas. I am …

I wish the Aire the very best with his brief. It is an important and challenging one. The way that window was opened in responding to a storm was very welcome. Storm Éowyn showed how vulnerable rural communities in particular are in the face of extreme weather events. The Minister mentioned the grants to redo roofs. It would be a good time to look at the solar capital investment scheme, SCIS, which is very welcome. It allows farmers to build resilience into energy supply. They can meet their daily energy needs and …

I was reading about the scheme. There is just one little wrinkle, which is that there does not seem to be support for microgeneration. A farmer cannot put panels on the roof and put excess power back into the grid. It seems a little unfair, given that you can in a residence. If there are panels on the roof of a home, excess power can be put back into the grid. That feels like a missed opportunity. Maybe it could be looked at in future.

I will ask about e-scooter speeds. E-scooters are a welcome part of any mobility strategy but those who speed on them are a danger to themselves and everybody else, including pedestrians and cyclists on the road. There is a 20 km/h speed limit but it is difficult to enforce in reality. I understand it from An Garda Síochána that it is a statutory limit. Will the Taoiseach consider giving An Garda Síochána the power and technology to seize e-scooters, to test them to make sure limiters are on and operational and, if…

When it comes to driver testing wait times, the story in Dublin Bay North is no different from anywhere else. In February 2025, Raheny had a wait time of 33 weeks, up from 14 weeks in February 2024. The pass rate in Raheny is 55.1%. The number of tests done in Raheny in April 2025 was 468, which was down from 642 in April 2024. This is a reduction of almost 30%. There is a similar story in Killester, with a wait time of 28 weeks. The RSA target, as colleagues mentioned, is ten weeks. The pass rate in Killester was …

I will bring the Minister of State back to the completion of the review of the model of care for eating disorders. Will she make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Minister of State for the update. As she said, it is a complex area. The disease has been misunderstood for years. It affects girls and young women, in particular, in difficult circumstances. We regularly get the opportunity to attend briefings. I attended the Cared Ireland briefing, which was really powerful. It included testimonies from people who have suffered from eating disorders in the past, ongoing sufferers and family members. Everybody here probably has a family member or friend who is sufferin…

That is probably the best setting. It is best to do it in a community or distributed setting. The capital plan will require funding for beds. Does the Minister of State envisage that happening in the short term or will that be a three- to five-year part of the capital plan?

I ask the Minister the ways in which his Department will work with officials throughout Government ensure that the vital tourism industry is supported across all regions and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire. Ní raibh seans agam comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis as a phost nua sa Rialtas. I wish to raise a number of items, the first of which is the quality of tourism statistics. Good quality data is really important for tourism policy planning and for making progress in determining where Government resources should go in tourism. There has been an issue, as highlighted in the media recently, in this regard. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, does good work in this area but there is a bit…

On the tourism tax, I understand the Minister's point which, as he said, is moot but from my perspective, if I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to a European capital, the fact that I am paying a tourism tax in that city to help with its infrastructure does not deter me.

We should be looking to do both. We have a report to be implemented which needs new sources of revenue. A tourism tax and other options should all be on the table because it is important for the city.

I thank Deputy Heneghan, who is a former teacher, for raising this matter. This club has really deep roots in Raheny and Clontarf and further afield. It is well known throughout the country for its excellence but at its core, it has very strong community roots and really deserves our support. We look forward to seeing the Minister of State visit it. I hope we can work together to progress the club's case.

I ask for an update on the national roll-out of standardised labelling of alcohol products. I understand that in 2023 the then Minister for Health signed the regulations into law and that the labelling is due to come into effect a year from now, in May 2026. Could the Tánaiste confirm that we are on target for the labels to be on all drinks one year from now and whether there are any implementation issues remaining to be resolved?

I ask the Minister for Social Protection to confirm that his Department will be the lead for the introduction of a permanent annual cost of disability support payment and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I am delighted to hear that. It is a welcome commitment in the programme for Government. Those who are living with a disability, as the Minister rightly says, have many additional challenges, including healthcare, transport costs and other challenges. The least we can do is to look to support them where we can. Those living with a disability and their representative organisations will be happy with progress in this area. I look forward to hearing of further progress in due course on negotiations about the annual bu…

I ask about the steps being taken to develop a career path in the childcare sector in view of the high staff turnover rate and whether the Minister will make a statement on the matter.

We heard earlier that 30% of childcare managers are struggling to find new staff. Would she consider adding childcare to the critical skills list, which would make it easier for that sector to attract skilled and qualified personnel, especially, of course, from countries outside the European Economic Area such as New Zealand, Brazil and Australia? Skilled people from these countries, obviously with the appropriate qualifications, would then qualify. The Minister mentioned staff turnover of 24.5% with a third of tho…

The blackout yesterday in Spain and Portugal was a jarring but very real reminder of the vulnerability of our energy systems. In five seconds, the Iberian power network lost 15 GW. That is about 60% of normal consumer demand there. By way of comparison, the peak that has been recorded in Ireland is 6 GW, so two and a half times the full consumption of Ireland went off that grid in five seconds. It is incredible that that happened. Rail and metro services stopped, traffic systems stopped, lights were not working and…

I appreciate the Minister of State's comments. I welcome the news that temporary emergency generation capacity has got to four power stations, two in Dublin and two down the country. I also welcome the IEA’s study of our electricity security with regard to energy transition. The one point I want to repeat concerns the European experience. We were very happy to welcome, and it was great to see, crews coming in from France, Germany, Austria and the UK during Storm Éowyn as a response to that incident and the clean-up…