I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Tá mé cinnte go mbeidh spéis ag an Leas-Cheann Comhairle san ábhar seo. Go minic, bíonn muid ag tabhairt faoin taobh mícheart d’fhadhbanna. Seachas mealladh a thabhairt do dhaoine, leagaimid an dlí anuas ar dhaoine nach bhfuil mórán rogha acu. The recent controversy about smoky coal, fuel and turf has focused almost totally on the distribution and sale of these fuels. The question that does not seem to have been asked, however, is who are the people who predominantly buy these fuels and why do they do it? I would l…

The Minister of State was given a pre-prepared answer and it is the same cut-and-paste I got when I put down the parliamentary question. It does not address my first question, that is, whether we are going to ascertain how many houses in local authority ownership are fuelled mainly by solid fuel. It is a "Yes" or "No" question. On the second issue, the Minister of State said, "Their homes will be warmer, easier to heat and more comfortable, it will enhance the air quality in the home, and those currently using oil …

-----that the State put its money where its mouth was. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle ach tá mé cinnte go bhfuil sé seo chomh gar dá croí is atá sé do mo chroí agus go dtacóidh sí go hiomlán liom.

There have been many announcements about quite significant expenditure. I have to give the Minister great credit for that because lots of things have happened that many of us would have liked to happen in the past, but he will know better than I do that we cannot keep writing the cheques forever. In view of the war in Ukraine, what will the likely outcome be in respect of expenditure at the end of the year? Significant extra costs are being borne and we are told the economy and growth this year will not be as robus…

The answer is very comprehensive. There has been an extraordinary response to the Covid pandemic over the past few years. As free money was available from Europe, we were able to spend our way out of it, which was very positive. I have no difficulty with that, but it entailed borrowing large amounts of money. That was fine when that money was coming at virtually zero cost but we know that due to high inflation central banks worldwide and the European Central Bank are now talking about putting interest rates up. It …

I welcome that. We talk about sustainability on so many fronts but this is about financial sustainability. The Minister has been doing an extraordinary job because, as I said, the Government has been making money available, aside from Covid and the crisis issues, for other things that needed to be done in our economy, especially in respect of capital expenditure because we have a massive deficit in that regard. I take it a big factor in budgeting for 2023 - as Covid, please God, becomes less and less of a feature -…

The Minister might outline when the various contracts to the Aran Islands and Inishbofin and, more important, the planned improvements that she intends to introduce to these services, will come to a conclusion. I say this because they do need improvements. They were brought forward about ten or 15 years ago. However, they have remained static or, in case of the Aer Arann service, regressed terribly in the last ten years.

Can the Minister tell me if there will be increased frequency of PSO flights to the island under the new island Aer Arann contract? Second, is she planning to have increased frequency of ferry services to the islands? As I said in my original question, it is the way it was 15 years ago when we brought it up very rapidly to that level of service. However, it was never intended that it would stay at that level forever. This is because there are increased demands all the time. Third, is there a proposal to provide an …

In improving the services, can the Minister confirm whether the islanders benefit from a 20% reduction in air and ferry fares, like the rest of the country did for internal public transport from 1 April? As the Minister knows, they pay some of the most expensive fares. They have no option but to take public transport to get in and out of the islands. Can the Minister confirm to me whether they did or did not benefit from the 20% decrease in public transport fares that apply to all rail and buses that were publicly …

What about buses? I mean no disrespect but buses and trains are subsidised and there seems to be no problem with public procurement in that regard.

Lá mór a bhí ann ar an 1 Feabhra, Lá Fhéile Bríde, tús an earraigh, nuair a tháinig an tAire go Ros an Mhíl agus nuair a d'fhógair sé go raibh sé i gceist aige cead a thabhairt dul ar aghaidh le forbairt na céibhe domhainmhara i Ros an Mhíl. Mar is eol dó, ritheann an cead pleanála amach an bhliain seo chugainn. Is í an cheist atá agam don Aire inniu ná cén dul chun cinn atá déanta ó shin? The Minister made a big announcement about this on 1 February. The matter is now in the hands of departmental officials. What p…

That is great progress. I understand the processes that have to be gone through, so I am pleased that now, at the end of March, a successful tenderer has been chosen and, please God, the process will proceed smoothly. I understand there are two elements of this, namely, the dredging and the building of the harbour wall. I understand there are no design issues for the dredging and that could go forward immediately whereas the construction of the pier will require detailed design, etc. Will it be let off in two tende…

The vision we all have of Ros an Mhíl is a multi-use port. The Minister saw for himself the fantastic space around it that is probably incomparable to any other port in the country. There is a lot of land in State ownership in a secluded area at the port. The vision we would have is: leisure, which is in the inner harbour; the ferry boats, which the Minister knows use it to great effect bringing cargo out to the islands - certain types of cargo go from there and the main cargo goes from Galway; the major issue of f…

This goes right back to the old problem that faced us. With small groups starting off, which comes first - the chicken or the egg? Basically, the European Union recognised that small fishing producer organisations, POs, being set up to go forward with their production and marketing plan, PMP, would need cash upfront and it provided for that in the European regulation. I understand the Department has not been willing or able for whatever reason to make that funding available. As the Minister will be aware, the lates…

I understand the Article 66 derogation allows for advance payment. Europe foresaw this but this was not included in the scheme for whatever reason previously. I understand the Minister is developing a new scheme for the new period. Would it be possible to include the advance in it? As the Minister will be aware, it is common across Departments where new organisations are starting to give them an advance. It is repayable if what is meant to be done is not done but it is not uncommon. I cannot imagine that the Depart…

I understood from the Minister's initial reply that a PO could get it while developing the programme and trying to achieve recognition. It could then get a second grant for implementation. I believe he stated that the organisation we are referring to did not apply for it for the first part, so it has developed a programme and achieved recognition. Presumably it has a PMP, so we know the costings. There is precedent across the State system of upfront payments being made to allow new groups to get off the ground. I s…

I will speak on this question on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Murnane O'Connor. The question relates to support for the establishment of a women's refuge in Carlow. Carlow's refuge was deemed a priority by Tusla in its emergency accommodation review in February. The review supports an inter-agency approach to the planning and delivery of accommodation for victims of domestic violence. The question relates to what has been done by the Department to provide refuges in the counties that do not have a refuge at prese…

I welcome the Minister's reply. Many issues need to be addressed. Some of them are easier than others. Domestic violence support services and places of refuge must be easily accessible. At present there is no phone line or office for help during weekends and after hours. As the Minister knows, domestic violence does not happen only between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Often it happens at other times of the day and night. In many cases it happens at weekends and at night. Is there a plan to establish an on-call service and wra…

I thank the Minister. As she will be aware and has recognised, Deputy Murnane O'Connor has been deeply involved in bringing stakeholders together and has engaged with such stakeholders, including victims and the local authority. However, they have not yet received any contact from the Department. A site has been identified for refurbishment and another has been identified for purchase. Again, there has been very little progress even in assessing the sites. What is going to happen on that? Does the Minister agree th…