I thank the Minister for agreeing to take my points on board. The roll-out of fast chargers is really suited to commuters, taxi drivers and others who need a quick top-up. The mid-range 7 kW to 22 kW chargers are supposed to charge over a period of four to eight hours. They are suited to a different cohort, namely, people going to the supermarket, going to play a five-a-side game or watch a GAA match. As an EV user for the past eight years, I know home charging is the cheapest, most effective solution. Unless we en…

The policy of charging tolls on the M50 has been raised on multiple occasions. I would agree with the abolition because it has been long paid for. However, I want to take it from a slightly different angle, which is the need to stagger the tolls along the route. In my constituency, areas like Lucan are choked with traffic going through the village every evening, with people avoiding paying the tolls. It has a knock-on effect on the Strawberry Beds, Castleknock, Mulhuddart, Blanchardstown and Clonee. If people are g…

They own it.

This Bill, in essence, seeks to amend and extend the Social Welfare Acts, make consequential amendments to the Taxes Consolidation Act and provide for related matters. As noted by other Members in this discussion and in committee, the Bill will give effect to the Supreme Court decision in the O'Meara case by expanding entitlement to social welfare schemes aimed at bereaved partners and families to qualified cohabitants and their children by enabling them, for example, to access the deceased partner's pension. While…

There are many pressing national and international issues we need to discuss. In this context, given that the total Opposition time has been reduced by almost 70 minutes and Government-related time has been increased by 56 minutes, the time for the Government to be held to account is being significantly curtailed.

The Taoiseach has to acknowledge his role, and that of his party, Fine Gael and the Lowry line-up in the whole debacle of calling time for Government Independents non-Government time. Will he now push for the Dáil to sit at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays to address the time balance? Even better, he could review this plan. Abusing the Ceann Comhairle is wrong, the way the Ceann Comhairle was treated yesterday was semi-feral and as a collective, there are more dignified ways to make a Dáil protest. Still, however, the Government…

Overall time.

I do not have much time but in that very short period, I reiterate my support for this earlier introduction of the ARP. I also commend my former Green Party colleague, Deputy O'Gorman, on his work in this regard. It is hugely important that this scheme continues. I note the Minister said today that all we are doing is extending it for a year and it is not about the wider discussion, so I take that on board. I agree with certain elements of the Sinn Féin amendment. The main thing I want to oppose is a reduction to t…

Trade and security are intermingled. In an Irish context, we face many challenges. Issues relating to Brexit have not gone away but these are small issues compared with the deterioration in EU-US trade relations in areas such as tariffs, subsidies and digital trade rules. We have challenges too with China in the context of market access, intellectual property issues, etc. The supply chain disruptions from Covid-19 have not totally disappeared either. As well as that, we need to make a green transition. There is a h…

For sure.

I thank the Labour Party for bringing this very important issue onto the agenda for discussion. I note the Government side is not opposing it and thank it for that. There have been quite a number of studies carried out on this area in Ireland, but the research has not really been acted on. Family Carers Ireland has provided a wealth of information to Members here today and have provided a lot of supports for young carers. One of the studies done in University of Galway found that there was limited data on young car…

I congratulate the Taoiseach on surviving a diplomatic balancing act at the White House last Wednesday. I am sure he will agree the decision to invite a thug in a suit on our actual national day to what in effect was a rapists' convention was a gross insult to the people of Ireland and especially to the women of Ireland. In one context, we can shrug it off but at another level, this represents a deliberate if not pathetic attempt to interfere in our electoral processes given that said individual has on multiple occ…

They gave it to him, talking about him on our national holiday.

Do not forget wave, Taoiseach.

We have come to this housing debate God knows how many times now. I think we have had about six or seven debates on housing. In one sense, it recognises the importance of the issue. However, as Deputy Tóibín said, we are having a lot of statements. We are going around in circles without actually moving forward. The Housing Commission's report, for example, has been going for some time at this stage. It is supposed to be this comprehensive roadmap, but so far very little has been done regarding it. In one of my earl…

The tenant in situ acquisition scheme may have been a temporary measure initially but it is one that has proved absolutely necessary in protecting some of the most vulnerable in our society. It was by no means perfect but bureaucratic ineptitude at national and local level led to it being a lot less than it could have been. I have had multiple examples of small landlords with long-standing tenants who are extremely concerned about what will happen to the individuals and families who are facing homelessness as a res…

We import in excess of €6 billion in energy every year. From a strategic point of view, given the dangers that we are facing in the world, energy self-sufficiency is more important than ever, yet there is nothing tangible in the programme for Government and we have done very little on wave energy investment. We are lagging behind Scotland, Australia and Portugal. There are huge untapped resources. An energy company called NoviOcean estimated that there is a theoretical potential of 440 TW annually, which is about 1…

I said “significant”.

On this occasion of marking International Women's Day, I wish all the very best to mná na hÉireann, and to women across the world. Despite this being the second quarter of the 21st century, we have so many issues that still need to be resolved. It is absolutely shocking. It needs to be called out at any level. Obviously, women are well able to do it for themselves, but there is a litany of abuses in Ireland and beyond that need to be referenced, so I will refer to some of them now. We have a situation still ongoing…

Deputy Tóibín did not want to give too many examples but it is important to keep ramming the examples home. Just over the past three years, there have been several instances which have highlighted concerns regarding the mismanagement and waste of public funds by the Irish Government bodies and agencies. There was a seven-year inquiry into NAMA’s €1.6 billion Project Eagle which resulted in €14.4 million being spent primarily on legal fees and administrative costs. The new X-ray scanner at the National Gallery cost …