Okay. Whatever is normal.

I have finished speaking to the Government amendment. Should the Senators now be allowed to-----

I am not accepting amendments Nos. 9 to 13, inclusive. The civic amenity sites are the major interface for dealing with recycling and for the general public getting rid of waste and they are often not consistent from one place to another. Different waste streams are accepted and it is not always entirely clear why. It is confusing. I agree with Senator Boylan that men's sheds are part of the circular economy and are often overlooked. I notice that a lot of voluntary organisations make deals with civic amenity sites…

I absolutely agree with what the Senator is trying to achieve. However, I will not be accepting amendments Nos. 14 and 74, which deal with different aspects of how we use and dispose of consumer goods. Significantly enhanced repairability and ease of maintenance of consumer goods is an essential component of the circular economy. The whole-of-government circular economy strategy recognises this and commits to the development of a circular economy for consumer goods with an enhanced focus on the repair sector in Ire…

It is a shocking practice where a commercial company, retailer or Internet retailer takes perfectly good consumer goods from a shelf and puts them straight into landfill or destroy them because they have calculated that they will get a better return on investment or a higher profit by actually destroying working consumer goods. The EU has agreed a general approach to that and an anti-dumping provision will be included in EU rules. I am not familiar with the French legislation but I will take the time to see what th…

The amendments in this group relate to the circular economy programme. The programme gives effect to the objectives set out in the circular economy strategy. The strategy is prepared by the Minister and approved by the Government. As such, the programme gives operational effect to the objectives in the strategy, which are drafted by the Minister and subject to Government approval. It is appropriate, therefore, that the new programme, which includes statements of the EPA's existing waste prevention programmes, is es…

With regard to amendment No. 49, the PFAS family of chemicals is a significant concern in the EU and globally as these chemicals can cause long-lasting environmental damage and adverse health impacts. In this regard, it is important that they are comprehensively regulated at EU level rather than through the national legislation of individual member states. In recent years, the EU has set in place several new strategies aimed at strengthening chemical legislation to ensure that chemicals are safe and sustainable by …

I thank Senator Keogan for raising this important matter. The national energy security framework published in April 2022 provided a single overarching and initial response to address Ireland’s energy security needs in the context of the war in Ukraine. It co-ordinates work connected to energy security across the electricity, gas and oil sectors and sets out a whole-of-government response to the challenges posed to energy security and energy affordability. As set out in this framework, my Department is carrying out …

I fully agree that we need to accelerate our deployment of renewable energy, and with the Ukraine war, suddenly there has been a new focus whereby other countries in Europe have said they need to accelerate theirs as well. The Council of the European Union sat down and decided we needed to bring in a new package, known as RePower EU, that will involve greater ambition on the level of renewables that can be deployed. Part of that plan will involve sourcing fossil fuel energy from countries other than Russia and to f…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Having regard to the unprecedented pressures on the energy sector, I am pleased to have the opportunity to commend the Bill to the House. I will open the debate by setting the context for the actions to be taken on foot of the Bill. Although many Members will be familiar with these issues, it is important to take this opportunity to set out the complex situation we will find ourselves in with regard to security of electricity supply and the wider pressures on the e…

I thank all the Deputies for their insightful comments on this emergency legislation. It is, indeed, emergency legislation. We are trying to address an immediate problem, the security of electricity supply, and to get more credit to people's electricity accounts for the coming winter. It is vital we deliver this legislation to enable these priorities. I appreciate the Deputies’ comments and I appreciate the widespread support from Deputies from all parties that there is a need for secure electricity supplies and fo…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for inviting me to this session to present the 2020 Annual Transition Statement. I am pleased to have the opportunity today to update the House on this matter. Climate change is one of the key challenges of this century and failure to address it effectively will result in major adverse impacts that will affect all countries. The latest climate science has observed unprecedented changes in the climate system. The challenges we face are stark. Only recently, the World Meteorological Organiza…

For which I thank the Acting Chairperson.

The Senator should not feel bad.

I thank the Senator for asking these important questions about offshore wind policy and how it affects the whole country, including her area, Mayo. Ireland has one of the best offshore renewable energy resources in the world. We have a sea area of 490,000 sq. km, which is about seven times the size of our land area. Because of Ireland's location at the edge of the Atlantic and the EU, we have more energy potential than most countries in Europe. The climate action plan of 2021 includes a suite of actions to realise …

As the Senator pointed out, the west has more wind. It has faster speeds and more regular wind and, therefore, there is more to be harvested. However, it also has deeper waters and a more environmentally sensitive coastline. There are, for example, the Cliffs of Moher and many beauty spots along the west. It is, therefore, harder to develop wind there using the conventional approach, which is to put a wind turbine in the sea and build it onto foundations. That can be done in the shallow waters of the east coast whe…

As Minister of State responsible for public procurement, I will be taking this question. The public works contract was introduced in 2007 in response to significant cost overruns on public infrastructure projects and must be used for projects that are delivered under the Exchequer-funded element of the national development plan. Contracting authorities are expected to ensure projects are comprehensively designed to enable contractors to price with greater certainty and account for any risk that is transferred under…

Two major changes have been made to counter the new problem of inflation that has arisen as a result of the Ukraine war. First, the contract template is meant to take inflation into account. That is not just the consumer price index, CPI, but the sub-indices of inflation that apply to that contract. If there is a particular material involved, such as concrete or wood, that sub-index will be taken into account. That is a risk transfer whereby some of the risk is being taken by the State rather than the contractor. I…

We have a collaborative system of working with the construction companies and their representative bodies. We want to avoid an adversarial situation; that does not work for anybody. We cannot end up in court or in disputes. With that in mind, I meet representatives of the Construction Industry Federation every quarter and I am in regular contact with people such as Sean Downey in order that I can ensure their concerns about how construction contracts with the State will be taken into account, that we will have a pr…

Ba mhaith liom Ceisteanna Uimh. 103 and 123 a fhreagairt le chéile. Mar is eol don Teachta, tá spriocanna nua earcaíochta in Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla (Leasú), 2021. Chun na spriocanna seo a bhaint amach, tá ar gach Roinn sa Rialtas comhoibriú le chéile. This is against a backdrop, in line with the July 2019 audit findings of an Coimisinéir Teanga, whereby only 0.4% of posts are designated currently by Civil Service employers as being Irish-speaking posts. The Act provides that within six months of the date of e…