Likely that.

I will not be accepting these amendments. Amendment No. 11 relates to activities that are inherently international and require international solutions, and I do not believe it is appropriate to provide for mandatory targets in this section in the Bill. In respect of amendment No. 12, the text in the Bill in regard to public procurement is sufficient. With regard to adding requirements for public procurement for reuse, it would be best managed through circulars, frameworks and public procurement strategies. We can c…

I would not usually come back in. The first thing to say is that the regulation of aviation and shipping is very important from the point of view of equity. People will not want to comply with climate action requirements if they think that shipping and aviation are getting a free ride. Traditionally and for a long time the fuels used for aviation and shipping have been virtually free of tax because if a tax is imposed in one country, those providers will refill in another. The way to sort out that problem is throug…

I thank Senators for their contributions. I agree with the objective of amendment No. 64 and, in general terms, the way in which it attempts to address the problem of new consumer goods being disposed of by either merchants or Internet vendors. Reference was made to the French law, which is given careful consideration. It is important when writing legislation to look at other jurisdictions to see what has worked and what works within the framework of European law. The French law is scheduled to come into effect in …

I do not accept amendments Nos. 60 to 62, inclusive. On amendment No. 62, the development of a national food waste prevention roadmap is included as a commitment in Ireland’s waste action plan for a circular economy and the Government’s 2021 climate action plan. While the national food waste prevention roadmap will include information on food losses, the principal focus of the roadmap will be to set out a series of actions to deliver the reductions necessary to halve our food waste by 2030. This takes into account …

The big problem we are trying to address in this part of the Bill is the problem of illegal dumping and littering and the fact it has become nearly impossible in recent years for local authorities to prosecute people for carrying out those crimes. We all suffer as a result. As we move around the countryside or walk on the streets, we see litter, sofas dumped in fields and so on. It has become very hard to obtain a prosecution for such offences. Public awareness campaigns are all very well but they do not work on pe…

The Government’s overall policy on mineral exploration and mining is under review at the moment and is currently the subject of an ongoing process of engagement with stakeholders and this will all be examined in detail. The policy statement on mineral exploration and mining is being finalised. That follows a public consultation. This policy statement proposes that the legislative schedule of minerals for which exploration and mining is permitted should be reviewed. I can confirm that an advisory group will be conve…

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The Minister for Defence welcomed the publication of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces in February of this year. The establishment of a commission on the Defence Forces was set out in the programme for Government and was a key priority for the Minister, Deputy Coveney. The members of the commission were drawn from a wide range of national and international experts. The publication of the report represents the culmination of 13 months of work and is testa…

The first question is whether the Minister for Defence will come back on this before the summer recess. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has said he will shortly revert to the Government and I cannot go beyond that. That is his guarantee. He has said he will respond to the report but he will also bring an action plan to the Government. That deals with the Senator's other question. The Senator mentioned that the Army, the Naval Service and the Air Corps are the three branches of the Defence Forces but we must also thin…

I am here on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy Helen McEntee, and her Department. I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. The Minister is aware that this is an issue on which he is engaged. She, too, is keen to see a resolution to the matter as soon as possible. By way of background, the Senator will be aware that many immigration permissions include the condition that the permission holder must have private health insurance; this does not just apply to international students. The rationale …

On the question of quantification, I believe 30,000 international students would be affected by this, so that is the number being looked at. There is a concern in the Department of Health that this could lead to calls from other groups for similar arrangements on the basis of fairness and, therefore, it would go beyond students and other people on international visas would request the same treatment, which could lead to a higher cost or higher burden on the State through the Department. The Minister for Justice sai…

I thank the Senator. Addressing vacancy and dereliction, and maximising the use of the existing housing stock, is a priority objective of the Government. Housing For All outlines a suite of measures aimed at addressing vacancy in a co-ordinated and robust manner, and specifically includes an action for the Department of Finance to collect data on vacancy with a view to introducing a vacant property tax. In considering the case for such a tax, it is important to have a sound understanding of the quantity, locations …

I thank the Senator. The report will be published as soon as possible. She has a point that there are still a significant number of vacant properties in Dublin and that the Department is doing the groundwork for introducing a vacant property tax. With regard to dereliction, I am advised that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage continues to liaise with local authorities on the implementation of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 with a view to improving its effectiveness. The Department initiated a rev…

I thank Senator Dolan for raising this matter. I will answer on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to whom the NPWS reports. SACs are prime wildlife conservation areas in the country that are considered to be important on a European level as well as an Irish level. The legal basis on which SACs are selected and designated is the EU habitats directive, which was transposed into Irish law by SI 477 of 2011, as amended. Turloughs are semi-natural habitats that are virtually unique to Ireland. They general…

Geological Survey Ireland has stated that the problem at Lough Funshinagh is caused by rainfall and poor drainage, and that the recent problems were caused by increases in rainfall. I understand that there are strong feelings locally and I am aware the Senator attended a meeting with other representatives to which a large number of people turned out. I know as a politician that this is significant and means there is considerable concern about the issue. I will seek to arrange a meeting between the Senator and the M…

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, I thank the Cathaoirleach for facilitating this motion. Senators will be aware the prior approval of the Oireachtas is required, under Article 29.4.7° of the Constitution, if Ireland wishes to take part in an EU measure whose legal base falls under Part 3, Title V of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, TFEU. The proposed measure before members today has its legal base under Title V and therefore requires such approval. The proposal is for an EU…

I thank the Senators. I listened carefully to their comments. I thank them very much considering what we are doing. We are trying to prevent people abusing the law to intimidate or bully individuals who engage in public participation. If we have a public consultation or a forum open to the public they should not be threatened with defamation actions, the power of expensive lawyers or threats of being made insolvent. This is so that we can have a fair procedure. As one Senator pointed out, if this type of situation …

I am very glad to be here to introduce this Bill. It is an important part of the Government's response to increasing concerns with regard to security of electricity supply, with particular regard to the identified generation capacity gap over the coming winters. It is in this regard that we produced the Bill. I am glad to be opening the debate today and to be able to set the context for the actions to be taken on foot of this Bill. I will describe the sections of the Bill and, having regard to its main provisions, …

I will respond to some of the interesting, insightful and valuable comments of Senators, for which I thank them. Senator Murphy referred to Shannonbridge and Lanesborough and stressed the importance of taking local communities into account. One aspect of those locations is that they have very valuable grid connections, which could be used for renewable energy connections, storage or other energy infrastructure. There has been a history of jobs in energy, whether in Bord na Móna or the ESB, in the midlands. I hope t…

Yes, it is the demand-side strategy. We have smart meters being rolled out around the country and that is part of demand-side strategy but I will see if there is a specific document on that. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is working with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on a biomethane strategy at the moment and the green hydrogen strategy is due to be published very soon. Senator Boylan asked about the source of fu…