I welcome the opportunity to respond to some of the issues raised in the debate. I am acutely aware of recent increases in energy costs due to increases internationally and, more recently, the crisis in Ukraine. The purpose of new solid fuel regulations is to ensure better quality and more efficient fuels will be available on the market. Low smoke ovoids are a suitable cost-efficient alternative to other types of high polluting coal, peat and wood logs in terms of heat delivered per cent cost. Given recent research…

I will answer this question on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, this morning as he is attending a funeral. The works plan for 2022 is to complete grouting the external walls on the south and east of Barryscourt Castle. It is envisaged there will still be masonry repairs to the towers and wall walks at a high level, but it is thought these works will not interfere with progressing necessary internal works. The next phase of works includes the design of new mechanical and electrical systems. This ph…

I am familiar with Fota, although probably not as familiar as Deputy McGrath beside me. Barryscourt Castle has been extensively restored. A lot of work has been done. The main hall and the great hall have been completed and fittings and furnishings have been reinstated. As the Deputy has said, within the castle grounds there is a herb garden, a knot garden and an orchard. These have been restored according to the original 16th century design. The castle is extremely old and dates back to somewhere between 1392 and …

I will impress upon the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donovan, the importance of this building for local tourism. I will convey the Deputy’s sentiments to him.

I will answer this question on behalf of my colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan. I am advised that further to the Deputy’s previous questions on this matter, Galway City Council, as project sponsor and contracting authority, is leading the development of the Coirib go Cósta – Galway city flood relief scheme, with technical advice and funding being provided by the Office of Public Works. The objective of the Coirib go Cósta project is to assess, design and deliver a viable, cost-effective and environmentally s…

The Deputy's first question is whether there has been an analysis of the public consultation to date, which she believes was poorly attended as a result of it being carried out during the pandemic. I will seek an answer from the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, for her about that. The other question is whether there will be further consultations and whether those consultations will be held face-to-face rather than online. I know there will be further consultations as part of the process. Some of those are statu…

During a public consultation, objections are not made. Submissions and observations are made.

There can be positive and negative elements to them. There can be suggestions for how a scheme can be improved. It is a positive process. It is legally required but even if it were not, it improves schemes in a number of different ways. It is not only about bringing people with us and it is not just about persuading people that this is a good scheme; it is about going out to people who live in that local area or to people who have specific knowledge, whether that is technical knowledge, expertise and professional k…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann resolves that, in light of the power to impose moratoria on disconnections of electricity and gas supplies to domestic customers already being in existence and that it has and will be exercised as necessary, the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Prohibition of Winter Disconnections) Bill 2021 be deemed to be read a second time this day twelve months to allow for the development and implementation of a package of m…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(6)) (Office of the Ombudsman) Regulations 2022, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 11th March, 2022.

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and the Deputy. The national broadband plan, NBP, State-led intervention will be delivered by National Broadband Ireland, NBI, under a contract to roll out a high-speed and future-proofed broadband network within the intervention area which covers 1.1 million people living and working in the more than 554,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with some 679 schools. Despite the unprecedented challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, NBI has made st…

The Deputy is right that the project is behind where it should be at this stage, at the end of year two. The ambition, or the agreed remedial plan, is to double the output of connections in this year compared with the number last year to reach 102,000 by the end of the year. The project is not where it should be. Part of the remedial plan was to discuss the reasons for the delay. Some of those reasons are simply the fault of NBI. It can blame its contractor but it is still responsible for what its subcontractor, Ei…

The project contract includes a schedule of when things have to happen. It also includes a service level agreement, SLA, for the quality of service that has to be provided. Therefore, if NBI's network goes down for a period, it gets charged a penalty fee. If it cannot pass the number of homes it is meant to pass according to the schedule, it gets charged. Those amounts of money are deducted from the payments it gets from each home it passes.

NBI gets money only when it has passed a home. It sees deductions from those payments where there are penalties in place for what it has failed to deliver, so there are-----

The money is taken out of the payments NBI is due. In the same way money is taken out of one's salary, the payments due to NBI are taken out. If the Deputy looks at the total amount of money paid in subsidy and divides it by the number of homes connected, he will see that we have paid out only 5% or so of the total cost of this project. That is reflective of the number of homes passed. NBI gets money when it does work.

I thank Deputy Hourigan for her question. The policy document, A Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, which was published in 2020 commits to substantially reducing waste from packaging and single-use plastic items over its five-year lifetime. Steps include a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and aluminium cans; the introduction of a levy on disposable coffee cups and other measures to encourage the use of reusable cups before an eventual ban on disposable cups altogether; supports to increase the use o…

Last July, with the single-use plastics directive, ten of the most common single-use plastic items that wash up on beaches, including plastic knives, forks, plates and earbuds, were banned. That was done on an EU-wide basis. I went into a shop a week later to make sure they were not on the shelves and they were not, so these things actually work. The deposit return scheme focuses on one particular type of plastic, namely, polyethylene terephthalate, known as PET, which is the clear plastic used for bottles but it c…

I am planning to bring in a number of amendments to the Bill on Committee Stage and am absolutely open to discussing those in committee or beforehand. I am also happy to look at any suggestions from Deputy Bruton, particularly with regard to whether other Ministers or the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, should have certain requirements. Regarding the privatisation of waste collection, that issue is being discussed actively in Dublin City Council. I am not entirely sure what is going on there but I know that c…

I move: That Dáil Éireann shall approve the carbon budgets, copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 24th February, 2022, pursuant to Section 6B(7) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Acts 2015 to 2021 regarding the approval of the carbon budget. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for inviting me to discuss the proposed carbon budget programme, which, following a lengthy consultation and review process, received approval from the Cabinet in February and which is now before the Houses of the Oireachtas…

Thank you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, for inviting me to this session to discuss the proposed carbon budget programme which, following a lengthy consultation and review process, received approval from my Cabinet colleagues back in February and is now before both Houses of the Oireachtas for final approval. As part of the consultation and review process, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action undertook an extensive review of the carbon budget proposals. I greatly appreciate the work undertaken b…