While I have the floor, I beg the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's indulgence on a small matter of etiquette and good manners. I noticed over the summer period the number of Ministers - Fianna Fáil Ministers in particular - who have been traversing the country and availing of opportunities to visit constituencies. A number of them visited my constituency and I was happy to see them there, but they did not extend the courtesy of notifying all Members of the Oireachtas when they visited constituencies. I would not call it a p…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I welcome that the new regulatory body, MARA, will be set up in Wexford town. It will be a fine location for the regulatory body and key personnel. I would like to make the case for Cork in terms of the servicing of offshore renewable energy. The deepwater port of the lower harbour would be an excellent key national reference point for such servicing. There are many points along the Atlantic seaboard that would be appropriate for that purpose and we can all work and coalesce with …

We are very conscious that the EU strategy on offshore renewable energy has key targets and there is a massive opportunity in that. We know we will need 27 GW of offshore wind to meet our zero-carbon targets by 2050. Putting that into perspective, Moneypoint power station generates approximately 850 MW. The opportunity is there in terms of offshore generation. There are questions inherent in this legislation that have yet to be answered in regard to the offshore opportunity. We know that wind will provide a source …

On the same theme, I merely wish to ask the Minister the exact status of the proposed public tendering of local employment schemes.

Does the Minister acknowledge that there are still concerns, particularly on the part of the people who have been working in the system? One person I know has been working in the system for over 25 years. I share the concerns raised. It has been expressed to me that if a person who is a client of the service does not reach a certain metric or if there is not a certain output in that person's case, perhaps the attainment of a full-time or part-time job or whatever that output might be, a punitive economic measure or…

We are yet to be convinced. I say that respectfully. The Minister has acknowledged that her predecessor attended the Irish Local Development Network, ILDN, conference in 2018. I request that the Minister consider meeting the ILDN and trade union representatives following the outcome of the first request for tender process and before the second request for tender process begins. I am making that request because I believe there will be learnings from the first request for tender process. The Minister stated previousl…

I share the concerns Deputy Calleary outlined about the risk that we feel is inherent in this that the outcome of the negotiations will be such that the amount paid to retirees would be derisory, rendering the process almost null and void in the context of the pound of flesh that supervisors have given through their years of service. The Government should not at the end of this process be levelled with the charge that it was a token process. The process has to be such that the amount of moneys that will be awarded …

We know these people. They live within our communities and we know the work they do. We deal with them every day of the week. They are of us and our neighbours. The work they do cannot be measured easily in metrics but we all know instinctively its value, sometimes over decades in the case of some supervisors. I reiterate the call that has been made that the process and outcome have to be meaningful in terms of financial recognition of that service. All of us in the political landscape openly acknowledge the role o…

The Labour Party is supporting the Bill. We wonder why it is being kicked to touch for the period of time that is proposed by the Government, which is unnecessary. There is ample time to deal with all of the sections in the Bill through Committee Stage. Any of the concerns that have been raised by the Government, through the Minister of State, Deputy English, could be dealt with through the parliamentary process. This could be done in the normal course of events. The Bill is worthy of support. It is measured and it…

The Labour Party supports the motion. I want to raise some issues in respect of the Pensions Commission, which the Minister of State has spoken extensively about. We are struck by the IBEC submission. One of its key recommendations calls on the Government to remove the necessity to objectively justify a post-retirement fixed-term contract. We believe that this is a retrograde step that would give employers the green light to discriminate against workers on the grounds of age. While plenty of sticks and stones are t…

The Labour Party is very disappointed that the Government has sought to defer the Second Reading of the Bill for 12 months. We are disappointed because for thousands of people throughout the State the acquisition of a home is urgent in the here and now. Dressing up the deferment of this legislation, which arises from a report issued 48 years ago, and calling it premature because it is at variance with the Law Reform Commission's consideration of the Acquisition of Development Land (Assessment of Compensation) Bill …

I thank the Acting Chairman. How much time do I have, please?

I thank the Acting Chairman very much. I am grateful for the half. I will start by aligning the issue of the CAP negotiations to the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021, which we will vote upon tonight. I want to align the two because I believe they are absolutely and utterly complementary. I want to get a sense of the Minister's perspective on what climate action measures or types of schemes he envisages will be put in place arising from a new CAP. What kind of funding mechanisms will b…

I genuinely do not wish to put the Minister on the hook but all those of us who will support the climate action Bill tonight still feel strongly that not enough time was given to explore issues such as how biogenic methane would be dealt with, regardless of which side of the argument one is on. There is, however, a genuine concern on the part of farming organisations that the Bill does not sufficiently address the issue of biogenic methane in respect of issues like sequestration. The Labour Party, for example, prop…

I do not think so.

He is giving out to the-----.

The Deputy should be a gentleman and acknowledge that he misquoted Deputy Cairns.

Acknowledge that now.

It was Deputy Cairns you misquoted. You should take it back, address it to the Deputy and be a gentleman about it.

I rise to support amendment No. 20, which I understand is in this grouping. The reason we are so exercised about the just transition is that we all, from our various perspectives, feel strongly that, for workers in the sectors where there is a transition to be made, that transition must be a just and fair one. The State should recognise that by ensuring a funding line into it and supporting it using all the mechanisms of the State that can be employed to ensure the transition takes place in a fair manner. I refer t…