I thank the House for facilitating this debate. One of the nicest things to hear is Deputies who are not directly from Dublin saying that they feel it is their city too. That is very important. I am incredibly proud of Dublin. It has been the honour of my life to represent the constituency of Dublin Central and, in particular, the north inner city, which is such a unique part of our country. The people who grew up in the communities in my area, those who choose to make their homes there and those who come there for…

As the Minister of State will appreciate, one of the strongest elements of our democracy is the energy and commitment of our community and activist groups. These are ordinary citizens who band together to enter into debate, to bring attention to injustice and to lift up their voices. I have had positive experiences with these groups and these people, even when we disagree. That is why I am so disheartened to see a shadow cast over this community over the past few weeks. As the Minister of State will no doubt be awa…

I thank the Minister of State. As I have said, I welcome the Government's work on this. I am particularly happy to hear an answer that flags the issue in respect of journalists in particular because I am aware of a number of journalists who are experiencing what I described in my previous contribution. Everyone is entitled to his or her good name. I would not argue that for a second. No one should have to deal with abuse in any form, whether online or in person. All of us in this Chamber know that people of promine…

I ask the Minister to provide an update on the Department's engagements with Dublin City Council regarding financial pressures as a consequence of inflation and higher energy costs.

I thank the Minister of State. Dublin City Council is facing particular budgetary difficulties due to general inflation, higher energy costs and, as the Minister of State said, the public sector pay increases, which increase the pressure. I welcome the details the Minister of State provided about the funding allocation. Dublin City Council has particular pressures relating to homelessness and the provision of related services. As we move towards that decision-making process for Dublin City Council in the next coupl…

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome his acknowledgement of the councillors' ability to retain the local property tax. A decision on that is due on Monday. As we know, Dublin City Council, including the parties in this coalition and beyond, votes every year to decrease the rate by as much as 15% and actively impoverish Dublin City Council. I think it is unfair for councillors to have to make this decision without clear information about what central funding is available to them. We know that energy price inflat…

What steps can the Minister's Department take to ease the gas price increases that are being experienced by residents of Custom House Square, Dublin 1, who, as a result of a district heating system, are paying commercial rates?

I thank the Minister for his answer. I am interested in the differentiation we are making between local heating systems and district heating systems. It is not one with which I am familiar. In the case of the situation in the Custom House Square, there is a gas-based district heating system operated by Frontline Energy. Those residents are paying four times the higher end of the rates available to residential customers. We are all talking about the cost of living now, but this is causing considerable strain. Deputy…

In both cases, residents are paying prices that are just through the roof. We are now into the summer months and, hopefully, people will be able to make choices to reduce their heating costs. I take the point that there is a steering group on the regulation of district heating systems. We are also, though, on a timeline here in respect of autumn and people then heading into months of high energy use. I flag this point to the Minister.

I see the differentiation being made by the Minister. To be honest, I do not know enough about Carlinn Hall to say what the situation is there either way. It is incredibly important, however, that we get this right. I am glad there is a steering committee, and I agree district heating must be a major source and option in respect of providing power. I very much hope to see the steering group examine options such as combined heat and power, CHP, systems. I know from a previous portion of my life that such systems wor…

I am going to use my time today to make an argument for the inclusion of two particular groups as primary parts of just transition. Before I do, however, I wish to make the point that it is fantastic to have the chance today to talk about just transition and there are many good things to talk about, including the EU just transition fund and the €180 million in funding committed to Bord na Móna's bog restoration. There are actions afoot, which is so positive. I am concerned, however, that we have not yet legislated …

I will touch on that issue again, so the Minister may have a chance to come back to it. Those of us who have been on the health committee and who have looked at these documents at length and considered the matter yesterday and again today have had the time this incredibly complex agreement requires. I hope we will have a little more time because one of the things I want to do is talk to a legal or governance expert from St. Vincent's Hospital to ask why it would not consider giving the land to the State. Considerin…

I would like to ask the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, his views on how quickly the food sector will be enabled to remove single-use plastics and if the circular economy Bill can be strengthened further in relation to different types and uses of plastics.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Single-use plastics represent one of our biggest environmental challenges and their rapid increase in production has overwhelmed our world's ability to recognise the problem. The price we now pay for whatever small convenience single-use plastics provided to us by the food sector has led to a throwaway culture where we now see plastic everywhere, on our streets and in our rivers and seas. Single-use plastics account for nearly half of all the plastic we produce every …

As an inner city representative, I would like to touch on a related but very important topic, which is the privatisation of waste collection services. It simply has not worked and I would like to see the re-municipalisation of waste collection services. In my constituency of Dublin Central, this would mean bringing waste collection back under the control of Dublin City Council, with the aim of providing a much-improved service. I am thinking in particular about terraced housing and streets that are quite constraine…

The Minister touched on this issue in some of his replies to previous questions, but I will ask him about the steps he is taking to ensure Ireland delivers on its 5 GW target for offshore wind energy. Should we be even more ambitious to support Europe in weaning itself off of fossil fuels?

I thank the Minister for his reply. It is encouraging to hear of the volumes we are now generating in the context of what our European neighbours are doing. Ireland is well positioned in Europe to be a leading light in this regard. Of course, we should have been moving on this years ago and ramping up over the last decade. Our offshore wind resources are by far enough to comfortably satisfy our electricity needs. The Minister will be aware of several industry insiders who have argued that we should increase our amb…

I will touch on the issue of LNG. As a source of energy, it is not particularly cost-effective and it would be economically short-sighted to introduce it. We should also consider the impacts on communities of unconventional gas extraction methods such as fracking and the impacts on communities where LNG terminals are located, which is an issue we very rarely talk about in this country. The industry is very dangerous and polluting to the local area. Multiple studies, including studies by Gas Networks Ireland and Eir…

Given the various high-profile issues we have seen with certain construction projects, from mica in Donegal to the dangerously constructed schools that the Department of Education is dealing with, it is clear we need better control over construction projects. The Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2022 and Deputy Duffy's Defective Dwellings Bill 2021 are a good start, but what steps have been taken to meet the programme for Government commitment on the creation of an ind…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the amendment of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in order to restrict developments in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) infrastructure and to remove LNG infrastructure from listing as strategic development infrastructure projects. I want to introduce this Bill today by quoting the Tánaiste in his speech in this House last week. He said: "Even if it was not for the climate crisis, for economic and security reasons, we need to wean ourse…