A report today indicates that new construction in Ireland is extremely carbon intensive. This is a reminder, as we grapple with the housing crisis, that we also have very poor occupancy rates. It is not just high vacancy; it is also that 92% of people in my age bracket are in accommodation that is substantially in excess of their needs. We have not made right-sizing a serious policy issue in order to help people make the necessary changes. It creates accommodation with no carbon impact. Refurbishment, which is the …

Having 258,000 more people at work than before Covid-19 struck is an extraordinary achievement by the Government. This has brought prosperity to every region. We have record levels of work permits being issued and record levels of inward migration, with 92,000 people, gross, last year, or a net 60,000. The Minister and his Department have handled that very significant surge well, despite the emerging pressures. We must, however, take a more strategic approach to managing migration. I say this based, essentially, on…

I am saddened to hear the Rural Independent Group trying to sell snake oil to the Irish public. Its members are saying that the Government should write a blank cheque to foreign energy producers so that those exporting into our market would have their bills underwritten. That is an outrageous proposal.

We have seen the impact that has had in other countries. Furthermore, they want to ignore the impact of wholeheartedly embracing the burning of fossil fuels on the future of our planet.

That will simply damage the future of the people they represent.

I strongly advise people to ignore the sort of counsel being offered by the Rural Independent Group.

The truth is that the Government has struck the right balance in this. The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, has said that the Government's measures in the recent budget will protect people who are at risk of going into energy poverty. They will be protected from that by the measures the Government has introduced. That is a fact and not something produced by the Government. Of course, we are facing huge surges. The wholesale costs for Electric Ireland have risen from €300 million to €2 billion, a sevenf…

The Government is approaching this in a prudent way. We are making sure to protect people, while also pursuing companies that have been making excessive profits. When the Government is deciding on the appropriate tax for the so-called solidarity contribution, I suggest to the Minister of State that we should go to the high end of the permitted scale, rather than down around the 33%. The contracts for wind companies that are being underwritten by a price of €180 per megawatt-hour were at about €90 per megawatt-hour.…

In recent years there has been a sea change in support for childcare, which is a credit to both the current Minister and his predecessors. We used to have just three hours per day in term time for just two years and now we have 45 hours for up to 14 years and it is year-round. It is worth up to €63 per week. That is very important. However, our policy lab has done extensive work and there is still a long distance to go in meeting a situation where we truly value the importance of giving children a good start in the…

I join with other Deputies in saying this Bill is very welcome. I also join with other Deputies, however, in saying we need a much more activist consumer protection approach in this country, particularly at this time of rising costs but more importantly at a time of imbalance in the relationship between these large companies, which not only have access to market power but that also have an extraordinary imbalance in access to information. The data profiling they have of their consumers is completely different to th…

ComReg has a formal dispute resolution where a problem has not been resolved for 40 days but a fee of €15 has to be paid for it. I do not mind paying the fee but it should be refunded if the case finds that the company was wanting. We should not put obstacles in the way; 40 days is four times what the delivery standard for those companies should be and if ComReg has to intervene in their dispute we should recognise that at the very least we should be making it as accessible as possible. I welcome the Bill but it ne…

It is often said that sunshine is the best disinfectant. One of the things the Government has done very successfully is change the debate about insurance, which used to be conducted entirely in the dark, and there was a blame game with people pointing the finger at fraudsters, ambulance-chasing lawyers and insurance companies that did not care about what premium they set because they could always collect. The data transparency we have seen in the past couple of years is a considerable step forward. It has a long wa…

As people recount their woes in getting here on a wet morning, and I cycled in, which was grand, spare a thought for commuters on the north side of Dublin who are experiencing the growth pangs of BusConnects and the cycle network, which is of course welcome. It will, however, take a year and a half and will be a challenge. Last week, the Taoiseach told me, and it was very welcome, that the Minister is working on a national energy resilience plan. That is the context in which I ask this question about the roll-out o…

While I highly commend this programme and believe it is a great move, there is now a mood among the three quarters of schools that have not applied and the 95% of schools not currently in the programme to look seriously at how they can become safer and more sustainable. Could a lighter scheme be brought in as an immediate measure to capitalise on the fact that people are much more conscious of this matter? Shared safe walking networks and small-scale shelters for bicycles could be introduced. Things could be done t…

I welcome what the Minister has said but he needs to move this forward in some way. As Rahm Emanuel said, do not waste a crisis; it is a time to do great things. This is such an opportunity. For example, if there was a simple design manual with low-hanging fruit for schools to consider in their own contexts, that would be a step forward that would cost virtually nothing. Another option is looking to the councils to identify, for example, 50 schools in their areas in which to run seminars. Small things can be done. …

If anyone could be in any doubt about the depth and length of the crisis we are now facing, such doubts were dispelled when war crimes were discovered in areas that President Putin had been forced to abandon. He is now proposing referendums in those occupied territories and is making nuclear threats. In that context, what changes in response are possible in state aid, tax relief, new credit guarantees, new approaches to warehousing bills or taxes under EU rules?

I think the Minister. Anyone who listened to me will know I am calling for a national energy resilience campaign. I see potential state-aid obstacles standing in the way of such a scheme. In many businesses there are no supports for solar energy. The SME test which is to try to proof small businesses against some changes is not in place in Ireland. I see the potential for tax relief for retrofitting, for example, as a way of nudging people to do things now. I see smart meters which we have put in at enormous expens…

I urge that consideration be given to short-period tax concessions with limited life to look at things like downsizing, adaptation of homes and vacancy. These two are structural high use of energy. We are not good at occupying effectively. Short-term tax concessions could help people who want to make changes to make those changes. It makes a lot of sense not only because we face housing difficulties but also because of the energy difficulties at the moment.

I welcome this Bill and congratulate the Minister on making this progress. I was Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when we started this journey and it certainly took much innovation and thinking about what other countries had done and what would be most appropriate in Ireland. I know the team put a lot of work into assessing the choices that have led to the Bill that has finally been presented here. It is really important that we create obligations on these platform companies in the areas …

As there is new evidence of war crimes in previously-occupied parts of Ukraine, the response from President Putin is to hold four referenda over this weekend in the still-occupied parts of Ukraine to escalate this conflict and declare these Russian territories. Added to that is the threat of nuclear action portraying the EU as the aggressor and the conscription of 300,000 new troops, together with tougher rules on desertion. What is the Government's response to this gross escalation of this conflict?