Mar is eol don Teachta, tá deacrachtaí againn daoine a aimsiú a bhfuil Gaeilge líofa acu. I accept we are not at 20% yet. We are still at the initial stages. The Minister, Deputy Martin, is setting up that committee. My Department will collaborate with her and we will do everything we can to meet what has recently been agreed in the Official Languages (Amendment) Act. If the Deputy has suggestions on how we could do it better, I am open to them.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: notes that: - the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future sets out a clear pathway towards less reliance on fossil fuels across every sector of our society, and it specifically contains a commitment to end the issuing of new licences for the exploration and extraction of gas on the same basis as the decision taken in 2019 by the previous Government in relation to oil exploration and extraction; - this commitment was m…

I am pleased to have the opportunity 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. I am pleased to present this annual transition statement as provided for under section 14(1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015. This is the fifth annual transition stateme…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and all of the Members for their contributions to this debate. I will address some of the points raised, starting with Deputy O’Rourke who is the last survivor in the Chamber. The Deputy said he wanted to see this debate done on a non-party political basis and some other Deputies also raised that issue. The Deputy's contribution was very constructive and he made a number of suggestions to make matters better. He is correct that we need to go further. The next climate action plan, which w…

I wish Senators a good afternoon. Today's throwaway take-make-waste culture is neither economically nor environmentally sustainable. A circular economy would produce less waste and retain more value in our economy for longer. What does the circular economy mean in practice? It is easy to say we want a less wasteful economy but what steps do we need to take to make the transition from a wasteful linear economy to a circular economy a reality? Those next steps are the substance of this Bill, which provides a legislat…

I thank Senators. I will not do justice to their contributions in the seven minutes allocated to me. I will have more time on Committee Stage to discuss issues, and I can also discuss them in the meantime with Senators. I welcome the general tone of the contributions from everybody. They were very constructive. People were genuinely trying to think of ways to make the Bill better. Although the Bill is progressive, it also harks back to a time when society was less wasteful. The point was made that the circular econ…

The Minister is at a Cabinet meeting.

He is at a Cabinet meeting.

I thank all Members for their contributions. It is clear we are all committed to improving and increasing sustainable mobility throughout the country. Transport is central to Ireland's decarbonisation efforts. In 2020, road transport alone accounted for 94% of transport emissions. Road transport also contributes to increased levels of noise, collisions, congestion and pollutants that can have a negative impact on people's health and the environment. To garner permanent reductions in our emissions, we must make chan…

I am pleased to present the Bill to the House. This Bill provides for significant enhancements to the statutory framework for the protection of whistleblowers in Ireland. It updates the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 to provide for the transposition of the EU whistleblowing directive into Irish law, the establishment of a new office of the protected disclosures commissioner and to strengthen and clarify a number of areas of the 2014 Act where issues have arisen since enactment. There can be no dispute about the imp…

That is absolutely fine.

I thank all Senators for their contributions. I will continue my contribution where I left off by describing some of the main provisions of the Bill. I had been discussing Chapter 3, section 14, which inserts the new sections 10C and 10D into the principal Act. These sections concern the handling of disclosures made or transmitted to the commissioner. In the first instance, the commissioner shall attempt to identify either a prescribed person or another suitable person with the competence to follow up on the matter…

I thank the Deputy. The Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill has passed Committee Stage in the Dáil and will be going to Fourth Stage on 1 June. It will introduce the power for local authorities to gather evidence of people who are carrying out illegal dumping. It will allow the use of drones, body cams, CCTV and so on to gather that evidence, which up to now has been precluded by GDPR considerations.

I thank the Deputy for asking this important question. Ireland imports approximately three quarters of its natural gas from the UK, with the remainder coming from the Corrib field. The UK has a diverse supply of gas, including indigenous UK gas, Norwegian gas, liquefied natural gas and via interconnectors with Belgium and the Netherlands. The UK and, by extension, Ireland are not heavily reliant on Russian gas, although the actions by Russia have placed upward pressure on gas and, consequently, electricity prices. …

The first question is the nature of the legal agreement between Ireland and the UK on the supply of gas. I will have to consult the Civil Service to give Deputy Stanton an exact answer on that. I do not, however, think it is a gentlemen’s agreement between the two countries. The next question was about the form of liquid back-up for the gas supply plans. I believe it is gas oil and liquid distillate, so it is between those two fuel sources. In regard to how much is available, the National Oil Reserve Agency, NORA, …

I thank Deputy Connolly and all the other Deputies for their contributions on the review and strategic action plan for the National Parks and Wildlife Service. This is a €55 million plan that fulfils an important commitment in the programme for Government and it will be a very positive result for Irish nature. I want to turn to some of the contributions. Deputy Whitmore’s love of nature and biodiversity shines through in many conversations I have had with her in the House and in committee. She mentioned wildlife cr…

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí Ní Fhearghail, Ní Chearáin agus Ó Dochartaigh as an gceist thábhachtach seo a chur chugam. An bhliain seo caite, bhí clár LEADER ag ceiliúradh 30 bliain ar an bhfód in Éirinn. Bhí tionchar ollmhór ag an gclár seo ar fhorbairt tuaithe in Éirinn, ina measc na hoileáin amach ó chósta na hÉireann. Tá clár LEADER ar cheann de na hidirghabhálacha faoi Bheartas Forbartha Tuaithe 2021-2025 - Todhchaí Cheantair Thuaithe na hÉireann, an beartas Rialtais um fhorbairt tuaithe, a foilsíodh an b…

Táim ag éisteacht leis na Teachtaí agus tuigim go bhfuil deacrachtaí faoi leith ag na hoileáin. I understand that this is mixed up with other funding under the LAGs. I am stating here that there will be a two-step process now. It is possible for eligible groups to apply for approval to form an LAG before the CAP strategic plan is decided. After this strategic plan has been approved, that is the point at which the different local action groups will be named. I know that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, understands th…

The passport service is a unified service composed of three constituent offices located in Lower Mount Street in Dublin 2, in Balbriggan and on the South Mall in Cork. Passport applications from all citizens, whether at home or abroad, are distributed for processing across these three passport offices based on the type of application rather than on the place of residence of the applicant. The passport service provides a range of channels to Irish citizens wishing to apply for a passport. These include a postal appl…

The Deputy made several points. He suggested there should be a better early warning system if there are errors with a passport application and the date is not going to be met. I will communicate this point to the Passport Office. Deputy McHugh also pointed out that "Passport Express" might be the wrong name if the other method is in fact the express method and that perhaps we should examine this aspect. It was, however, the faster method of securing a passport when it was introduced, but we may look at the branding…