The Northern Ireland peace process has always been very fragile. As we have seen so often, the stability of the Northern Ireland institutions cannot be taken for granted. In the immediate future, we need to ensure that a First Minister and a deputy First Minister are in place and that the current Assembly continues until the scheduled elections next year. We also need to ensure that the North-South and east-west structures provided for in the Good Friday Agreement meet regularly, with a full complement of Ministers…

I will begin by referring to the previous meeting of the European Council, which was held in May. It is regrettable that this summit did not reach any substantial conclusions with regard to climate change and reductions in carbon emissions. The EU agreed last year to reduce carbon emissions by 55% by 2030, having regard to the 1990 levels, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. However, no agreement was reached as to mechanisms to be used to reach these targets. It is reported that Poland in particular put forwa…

Are there plans in place to introduce a part-time TaxSaver commuter ticket in the wake of the Covid pandemic? I also wish to ask the Minister whether customers who purchased an annual commuter TaxSaver ticket for 2020 and who were subsequently provided with an extension of it to the middle of 2021 will now be provided with an extension to the end of 2021 in view of the fact that many of them, if they have followed public health advice, will have been working from home since the start of 2021.

I thank the Minister. The Minister will be aware of customers who purchased an annual commuter TaxSaver ticket for 2020 and were subsequently provided with an extension of it to the middle of 2021. As I understand it, no further extension is being provided in 2021. Many of those commuters have continued working from home to date in 2021 and have not availed of the six-month extension. I know of one person, for example, who paid for a full 2020 ticket, availed of the extension when it was offered last August clearly…

I welcome what the Minister said in relation to a part-time scheme and I hope that the discussions between the Department of Finance and the National Transport Authority can be concluded as soon as possible. We need to be imaginative about this. Covid was a challenge but it also presents opportunities as we come out of the lockdown situation. In relation to the other question and the refund, there was an option of a refund last year if you did not choose the extension for the first half of 2021. At the time the opt…

The state-sponsored hijacking of a civilian aircraft, Ryanair flight FR4978, travelling from Athens to Lithuania on Sunday last, 23 May, was outrageous. As we know, the plane was forced to land in Minsk under false pretences. This has been correctly described as state-sponsored piracy. The dispatch of a Belarusian fighter jet to the scene reinforces this view. In this case, we had EU citizens travelling between two EU states on board an EU-registered airline. Belarusian journalist and opposition activist Roman Prot…

I understood I was sharing time with Deputy McAuliffe.

That is okay.

The world is shocked and horrified at the events taking place in the Middle East in the last 11 days. The response of Israel to peaceful protests across the West Bank and in East Jerusalem has been confrontational. It is unacceptable. The air strikes by Israel on Gaza are brutal and disproportionate. Many innocent civilians, including children, have been killed. The air strikes by Israeli defence forces on Gaza and the rocket attacks by Hamas from Gaza on Israel have to stop. There is an urgent need for a ceasefire…

I am conscious of the fact that today, 11 May, is the 50th anniversary of the death of my grandfather, former Taoiseach Seán Lemass. He was a man who did so much to open up this country and lay the groundwork for accession to the EEC in 1973, as the Taoiseach stated. In that way, it is entirely appropriate that we are having this debate today. I note that there was a European Council meeting in Portugal last weekend. Under discussion were EU social policies in a post-Covid world. The Council pledged, among other th…

I am sharing time with Deputy Richmond. I fully support this Bill. By any standards this is comprehensive legislation with far-reaching implications and involving many challenges. We have no choice but to enact it if we are to avoid a global catastrophe. The Covid-19 pandemic represented a major global threat to humanity. It has inflicted death and serious illness on thousands of people worldwide. It has given us an insight into just how fragile life is on this planet. I suggest that climate change represents a gre…

A new wave of Covid-19 cases is evident on the Continent of Europe, particularly in central Europe, the Balkans and the Baltic states. The B117 UK variant, which is extremely contagious, is now the dominant strain. This is a matter of concern and, as the Taoiseach stated, it was considered in detail at the European Council meeting last week. As I have stated previously, the Commission’s handling of the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out has been less than sure-footed. The sharp, public exchanges between the Commission and t…

I have said in the House before that Ireland, as a small country, had no choice but to be part of the EU vaccination process. However, it has to be said the Commission's handling of this matter has been less than sure-footed. Its approach from the start was slow and bureaucratic in terms of concluding pragmatic contracts and getting approvals for vaccines. Maybe this is the necessary modus operandi for an EU comprising 27 states. However, it is now apparent that the Commission should have been tougher with vaccine …

It is fair to say that Irish people are very anxious at this time. Tolerance levels are low. Since the pandemic was declared and the first death in Ireland was declared this day last year, like many other Deputies, I have received many queries in regard to Covid-19, most of which related to financial supports for individuals and businesses but also in regard to the reopening of schools and childcare and, in particular, the leaving certificate examination. It is clear there is huge interest in the vaccines issue amo…

I welcome the Bill and the publication of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020. Separately, I take this opportunity to welcome the establishment by the Minister of the working group to examine the issue of defective housing, which is an issue in my constituency. As we all know, housing was a big issue in the general election held this time last year, particularly the provision of social and affordable housing. The measures proposed in this Bill and the Affordable Housing Bill 2020 will ensure the provision of homes for…

I am glad that this Bill has reached Second Stage in the Dáil. The proposed provisions of the Bill were the subject of prelegislative scrutiny in the last Dáil. I am aware that the relevant stakeholders are anxious to have the Bill enacted as soon as possible. This Bill is a reforming one, as has been said, and is a consequence of the national aviation policy, published in 2015, which included a commitment to restructure the regulatory functions of the Irish Aviation Authority and the Commission for Aviation Regula…

I will make a few introductory comments and I have three specific questions which I will ask together. It has to be said that new customs and regulatory checks have caused a few problems so far. There are some empty shelves in some supermarkets like Marks & Spencer, which is supplied by British supermarket chains, and there is a possibility that some of those supermarket chains will simply not bother bringing in their goods to Ireland. Difficulties have been reported with online shopping, where new charges have bee…

The talks on a free trade agreement between the EU and the UK continue. As we have heard, the President of the European Commission stated this morning that there is now a path to an agreement. The path may be very narrow but it is there, and it is therefore our responsibility to continue trying. The British Prime Minister also told the House of Commons this morning that he hopes the EU bloc will "see sense" and do a deal. We would say the same about him. In the past few days all sorts of new issues have arisen. We …

We are reaching the endgame on Brexit. A landing zone is in sight and we hope the UK and the EU will land on it either by the end of this week or by next week. For some time now, we have been told that the contentious issues are fisheries, level playing field competition issues and governance. I hope a deal can be agreed. It is in the interests of Ireland and the EU and it certainly is in the interests of the UK, whether the British Prime Minister knows it or not. I want to raise a number of issues in connection wi…

I wish to refer to the European arrest warrant. I raised this issue on Second Stage. Will the Minister for Justice confirm that the European Commission has issued Ireland a legal warning over delays in extraditing criminal suspects? It is my understanding that suspects wanted in other EU states should be extradited within two to three months. In 2019, 59 suspects were not extradited within the required timeframe. The explanation for this could be that the Garda needs more resources for extradition cases or the High…