I thank Deputy Nolan for her recognition of the work of the just transition commissioner, which is very valuable. As I indicated when the Government considered that report, we have implemented some immediate proposals, including the €11 million fund, which is now open for allocation. We have the €31 million that was agreed in the budget being rolled out in the midlands. Some of that work, such as retrofitting, is held up by Covid-19. As I indicated to Deputy Naughten, we will consider ways of funding accelerated re…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. These are truly extraordinary circumstances. I know he is used to it at this stage but even though I think I am jointly the longest serving Deputy in the House at the moment, I am certainly not used to these circumstances. However, I am glad to have the opportunity to account for my stewardship as a caretaker Minister. I want first to thank my officials and the agencies under my remit for their work during the Covid-19 crisis because they have literally kept the lights on, kept our comm…

The just transition fund has just been opened for applications. Interested groups can register under an arrangement that is already in place with the councils. We will publish the final criteria in about three weeks and we will have the selection thereafter. The contract has already been awarded for the first tranche of bog restoration. Bord na Móna won that contract and it is being rolled out. The retrofit programme is at a very advanced stage of preparation in terms of identifying how the tenders will be delivere…

I do not have the number of jobs affected by the closure of the two plants. Roughly 180 workers who are directly involved in the plants' operations will not be retained. Unfortunately there have been other requirements on Bord na Móna as a result of Covid-19. There has been a decline in electricity demand, which has resulted in less use of the higher-cost solid fuel elements Bord na Móna provides. That has resulted in the company having to put people on temporary-----

The Deputy can either ask the questions and let me answer them or he can provide both the question and the answer himself.

I will deal with the Deputy's first question. The National Parks and Wildlife Service's bog restoration programme will create 40 jobs. Bord na Móna has won that tender. The advanced rehabilitation of Bord na Móna's bogs will create more than 200 jobs. The company intends to start that work before the end of the year. The retrofitting of homes in the midlands will provide 400 jobs. We are taking definite steps to ensure that workers in Bord na Móna have the opportunity to reskill to obtain those jobs. We are seeking…

I outlined 650 job opportunities we are seeking to create in the midlands, which will be important as the transition occurs. Bord na Móna has topped up the temporary wage subsidy, so people are retaining their full basic wage. I understand that seasonal workers are eligible for the pandemic unemployment payment. They are not part of the full-time staff. On the other issues the Deputy raised in respect of industrial relations matters, the company has responsibility and trade unions are involved. I do not get involve…

The position on the national broadband plan is as I outlined. I am now seeking to accelerate it so that people in the sixth and seventh year could be brought forward. My officials are in discussions with the company to see if we can accelerate the roll-out from the end of the second half of next year. Regarding this year, 80 of the broadband contact connection points will be rolled out by the end of summer with the rest of them, some 298, to be done by the end of the year. These will be flagship projects which will…

I thank the Deputy for acknowledging the work of Kieran Mulvey. He did an exceptional job. He is a man of great experience who comes from the midlands and he worked with everyone. It shows the value of appointing an independent commissioner to pull those strands together. His work is very valuable. We are honouring all those pledges, including providing €36 million this year to support the midlands. Of course, it will be for another Government to work on the implementation of Mr. Mulvey's other recommendations, but…

I thank the Deputy for his kind comments, which are not common in this House. I see huge potential in this area. As the Deputy probably knows, we have pencilled in offshore wind for 3.5 GW in the period up to 2030 and hope that we will exceed that. That is our ambition and we are consulting on what sort of a grid network would be appropriate to try and do that in a quick way. Should it be done by the State, creating a platform, or should it be done by individual connectors? That is something that would certainly ac…

I thank the Deputy for those questions. I agree absolutely that the climate challenge is the greatest challenge humanity faces. It will preoccupy this House for the next ten years and for the 20 years thereafter. We are seeking to reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide over the next ten years and to eliminate them entirely over the following 20. That will mean a dramatic change in the way we live our lives. It will require investment on the part of the Government but it will also require the mobilisation of conside…

I thank Deputy Whitmore for her questions. She is absolutely right in commending An Post. That organisation has been imaginative in recognising a very good commercial opportunity for itself while also helping companies to migrate their business to a more successful platform. An Post has been remarkably successful when one considers that, a couple of years ago, it was facing into very dark financial circumstances. The company has been completely turned around and remade and it continues to be very innovative. That s…

The Deputy made a very impassioned plea for local newspapers. There is no doubt that they have been very severely impacted, obviously by the collapse in their advertising revenue, the greater difficulties in circulation, and I suppose by the migration to online media sources. That has certainly been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Government has stepped in. Many of those newspapers are receiving the temporary wage support scheme, which has helped them to keep their staff together and be in a position to re…

I am glad to say a new Bill has been created that will deal with the gaps in the foreshore problem to which the Deputy refers. We also have developed a unified planning system, which as the Deputy noted is not under my Department, and the Minister of State, Deputy English, has made an announcement in respect of that. There will now be an integrated planning process, which will be regarded by the offshore sector as a significant step forward. That infrastructure is being put in place but it will have to be passed by…

The idea of the broadband plan is to connect every premises with high-speed fibre broadband. There may be a small cohort, of between 2% and 5%, that will not get fibre and will have to have alternative solutions. This plan will ensure every premises in Ireland has the service. It is not a question of picking one ness or little corner that might be disadvantaged. We are delivering to every-----

It was an issue over a seven-year period but, as I said, we are trying to bring that back and accelerate it. We will work to try to deliver that. The only element that has nodes picked out is the interim offering we are making in the course of this year. It is a flavour of what is to come. We will light up, not with fibre, but with high-speed broadband 150 Mbps capacity and some 270 broadband connection points. Those points have been selected by local authorities and are in every county. They have been designed and…