I welcome the Land Development Agency Bill. There is a great deal of cynical opposition to this Bill in the House, however. Sinn Féin's housing policy offers simplistic solutions. When those solutions do not emerge, it blames conspiracies or looks for people to blame, whether it be bankers or developers or whoever. The reality is that Sinn Féin's policy involves blocking rezoning, which is needed for supply. It involves blocking mixed developments, which the Dublin City Council put forward, for example, in my const…

Chonaiceamar radharc uafásach an tseachtain seo caite ar shráideanna Bhaile Átha Cliath. We were all appalled by the scenes on the streets in Dublin last weekend and the violent disorder targeted at the Garda, which has served us so well in this very difficult pandemic. It showed total disregard for the more than 4,000 people who have lost their lives. How can we prevent a repeat of this sort of incident? Can we look at the role of social media and the misinformation that is being spread encouraging people to join …

I commend the Government on making good progress on the vaccines. Some 45% getting a first dose by the end of April, 60% by the end of May and 80% by the end of June is very satisfactory. My question is on those under the age of 16, for whom no vaccine is approved. Yesterday, we saw the death from Covid of a person aged 16. I know there is no approved vaccine for this cohort but has the Government developed a strategy to keep those people safe? Should we consider vaccinating their own carers? When will the pharmaci…

I welcome this debate because it comes at a difficult time. As we have seen in recent weeks, tensions are high in the aftermath of Brexit. We should view Brexit not as a trap to try to confront the constitutional issue, which is so divisive in Northern Ireland, but as an opportunity to show that we can offer a practical partnership in helping people in Northern Ireland to confront some of the problems they face. Ironically, the EU's blunder may be an opportunity for Ireland to demonstrate its capacity within the EU…

On the same issue, I congratulate the Tánaiste for the vision in bringing forward this plan in the teeth of opposition from many quarters, including the party who has just spoken. These visionary projects are hard to get through. Can the Tánaiste give an indication that the NDP and new economic plan will represent a watershed where we will see a similar visionary position taken on offshore renewable energy, on land use, on forestry and on the potential ICT revolution that the broadband plan can trigger?

I do not believe my question was answered.

My question was not answered.

This system is very inadequate. On Wednesday morning, from 9.30 a.m. people were queueing around the chair of the Ceann Comhairle waiting for the opportunity to join the list. A number of hours later, they got the opportunity to speak. We need to devise a process whereby people can signal in advance their desire to raise a question and there is some selection procedure, perhaps by lottery, for them. Even from the point of view of social distancing it is not appropriate. While we are all getting used to queueing, it…

As vaccines start to take effect and we begin to see improvement in our figures, we need a credible pathway for reopening our economy. It must be made clear that it will not be a return to what had been there previously. We are now entering a period of dramatic, transformative change. That must be at the heart of it. As I said earlier, that will need the Government to sign up to some imaginative flagship projects, such as offshore energy projects and others which we could go through if we had the time. We need a cr…

I commend the Minister on her work in developing a leaving certificate for this year. Is it not time that we agreed to accelerate reform in the leaving certificate? It is a tyrannical test that serves only the interest of higher education wanting an easy way of access. It undermines vocational education and is a straitjacket on teachers who want creative learning. It is long past time that we accelerated the reform of this exam, which the OECD stated is too narrow and too rigid and does not match Ireland's needs fo…

I raise the issue of the airline industry, which is of major strategic importance to Ireland, far more so than any other EU member state. Over the coming years, I am aware there will be massive over-capacity in the airline industry. However, that does not ensure that access will be available for Ireland, which will be crucial. What goals has the Minister set for Ireland to protect our strategic interests, particularly in the event of restructuring occurring in airlines that prominently serve our airports? Has he as…

It is acceptable to get a written response, if necessary.

I thank the national immunisation advisory committee for its really important advice on vaccinations. Data from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, last week demonstrate that successfully reaching people aged over 65 would stop 93% of deaths that have occurred from Covid-19, whereas reaching those with underlying conditions would stop 87% of people having to enter intensive care units. Successful vaccination is really important but we cannot count any chickens before they hatch. Could we devote the sort of attentio…

The Ceann Comhairle will remember the old Joni Mitchell song, Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone ... That is certainly true of the case of childcare where we realised during the restrictions that have been imposed in Covid just how important childcare, early childhood education and support are. I refer to the social interaction but also the early start that many children, particularly children from disadvantaged areas, are missing at present. The State has been slow to res…

I welcome this debate, but listening to the Sinn Féin speakers, one would not get any hint that energy poverty has halved in the past three years, that is, between 2016 and 2019. The key to tackling energy poverty lies in the energy systems that families have. A less energy efficient-rated home will have heating bills ten times those of a more energy efficient home. Using an open fire to heat a home is four times more costly compared with an efficient gas system. I welcome the progress being made under the warmer h…

I understand the time allocation is four and a half minutes, four minutes and three minutes, in that order. I thank the Minister for his speech and for outlining the challenges we face. I believe the Land Development Agency is a potential game changer in addressing housing supply. The report yesterday from the surveyors shows that we will not have compact development in our city if we rely solely on the market because of the cost. I fear we will not have regional dispersion, involving the growth of Waterford, Cork …

The Covid crisis has certainly taught people the value of the natural environment. When we start to plan our recovery we need to make changes to embed better environmental approaches, particularly on climate action. I remind the Taoiseach we have lost a lot of ground on this. Only 3% of the promised electric vehicle charging points for public use have been rolled out in the past 15 months. Retrofitting has collapsed. My question to the Taoiseach is whether we can ensure some of this work is included because it is s…

On a point of order, because of the present arrangements it is not always possible for Deputies to attend on consecutive days. In making arrangements for when Questions on Promised Legislation can be raised by Deputies, the Ceann Comhairle's office could perhaps recognise people who have been on a list but may not be able to attend the following day.

I welcome this opportunity and put on record my thanks to those who are putting in superhuman effort to deal with this crisis. I include in that Ministers and their advisers and senior public servants who are making very difficult decisions in the face of this virus. One of the biggest problems, apart from the virus itself, is the fear and isolation that are taking a huge toll on many people and it is important that we seek to build public morale at this time. I am pleased that this debate has not all been about a …

I mean along the lines of those of Dr. Holohan.