I acknowledge the contributions from those present. I reiterate the Government appreciates the intention behind this Private Member's Bill and the contributions that have been made. We are all in agreement that increasing the participation rates within the national screening service is something we recognise as vital to our public health priorities. Early detection saves lives and the commitment of the Bill is to supporting better health outcomes and ensuring people live a lot longer and that is very clear. However…

I thank the Senator for his amendment. I appreciate his intent and explanation in making sure the Bill works for sole trader employers. I know he was talking to some of our officials earlier. I assure the Senator that this amendment is unnecessary. The Bill itself already fully implements all the recommendations of the interdepartmental working group's report. That includes recommendation No. 4, which proposes a modified test for sole trader employers. Indeed, the test applied is that the sole trader must have ceas…

I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government's new updated national digital and AI strategy was published last week. It sets out the Government's ambition and vision to 2030 to ensure Ireland remains a digital leader in an increasingly competitive global environment. It aims to secure Ireland as a global hub for applied AI innovation, strengthening our profile as a location for investment. It will ensure our economy reaps the benefit of digital and AI for growth and competitiveness, enhance our public servic…

I do not agree with the Deputy's assessment on where we are in regard to ensuring that we meet our climate commitments, which are enshrined in law. They are very much part of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act. They set binding carbon budgets and sectoral ceilings. That means no sector is left off the hook, and that includes AI and digital infrastructure. Neither of these can expand without regard to emissions footprints. The Department has developed a threefold policy response to this. The planning …

Let me be clear, as will the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. The Government has very clear objectives. It has twin objectives around decarbonisation, but also around digitalisation. That is very much what we are focused on. We have the policy regimes to back this up. We are looking to harness Ireland as an AI innovation hub. That presents huge opportunities for economic growth. Along with that, we are providing significant investment into our energy systems. Some €3.5 billion in equity will go into EirGrid and ESB Networ…

Addressing energy affordability for businesses is a priority for this Government. We are committed to supporting businesses to become more energy-efficient, thereby strengthening competitiveness through reduced energy costs. In budget 2026, the Government extended the accelerated capital allowance scheme for energy-efficient equipment until 31 December 2030. It also approved the extension of the 9% VAT rate currently applied to gas and electricity to December 2030. This encourages investment in energy efficiency an…

I again thank the Deputy for raising these important matters. I am someone who has a dual role within the Department of enterprise, with responsibility for small businesses. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has engaged with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to undertake an independent review into the speed and level of wholesale to retail price pass-through. That is really important because we need to ensure that there is transparency and fairness, but also that there is fair competition in pricing. We have h…

I thank the Deputy for his remarks. I certainly hear that. During the engagements at the cost of doing business advisory forum. That is very much looking at the structural needs within the energy system, but also how businesses analyse and interpret their bills. We are looking to get more details in regard to how bills are calculated. I will point to empowering businesses to control the controllables. That is exactly why we have a suite of measures through the SEAI. They are readily accessible, be it the business e…

I thank the Deputy for his question. Onshore wind is the largest contributor to renewable energy generation capacity in Ireland, with approximately 5.1 GW of wind generation capacity installed. The Government is committed to achieving 9 GW of installed onshore wind capacity. Onshore wind remains Ireland’s dominant source of renewable electricity and is second only to natural gas for overall electricity generation. In fact, we are among the world leaders for installed onshore wind capacity per capita and get a great…

Our immediate focus is to get these projects into construction. That is why we have established the accelerating renewable energy task force, alongside the Taoiseach's clearing house. That will provide inter-agency oversight to remove any barriers to grid planning or ports. We have very ambitious targets. In one sense, we are trying to put the resources in place financially, technically and institutionally because we need private investment, and significant amounts of it, to support connections on both the onshore …

I thank the Deputy for his comments. Confidence is growing within the sector. The Lí Ban project was the only project across Europe that was awarded last year. We are ramping up our investment, from the State's perspective, to try to ensure the key enablers are in place. While many of these projects are currently in planning, we hope many will go to construction before the end of the decade. Our responsibility is to guide and support many of these companies. Each phase 1 project is responsible itself for the constr…

The Government is committed to increasing support for offshore wind infrastructure in coastal communities. This is being done in ongoing consultation with all stakeholders in the development of offshore wind energy generation. This includes our local coastal communities and our valued fishing sector, which the Department recognises as crucial to the enduring success of offshore wind energy. The Department is committed to ongoing engagement with the fisheries sector under Ireland’s plan-led approach to offshore rene…

I thank the Deputy for his comments. I agree on the challenge faced by many communities dealing with the prospect of planning consent for large offshore projects. In the Department, my fellow Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, is looking at the national DMAP ORE element. The development of that, using the ecosystem-based approach, is really important. It is important that it is informative as to what impact it will have not just on the environment but also on the habitat and the fisheries. There is a job of work as …

Again, I agree with some of the Deputy's comments. It is an important piece that we need to get right. MARA can play an important role as to how it engages with those who are being supported through the community benefit fund and those in the locality who may not sit on the committee that manages the development fund but who have a role to play as to how we look at these types of projects. That approach would be very important in looking at the ecology piece and the benefit through the fund in order that it serves …

In addition to our efforts to mitigate climate change, it is critically important that we plan ahead for a climate-resilient future. Over the past number of years this has become even more evident as powerful storms including Babet, Darragh, Éowyn and most recently Chandra have significantly impacted Irish people, our infrastructure and our economy. Ireland's whole-of-government adaptation policy response to the impacts of climate change is set out in the second national adaptation framework, NAF, published in 2024…

I can give a full response in writing but I agree that nature-based solutions are increasingly central to Ireland's adaptation policy. From my own experience, I know that examples are under way such as the wetland rehabilitation in the Shannon and Moy catchments. They are creating national flooding storage zones. I know we are under time constraints but I can send the Deputy the rest of the reply.

My Department has responsibility for the National Minimum Wage Act 2000. The Act prescribes the minimum hourly rate of pay for the majority of employees in Ireland subject to a small number of exemptions. Apprentices are excluded from the Act and from the right to receive the national minimum wage. Apprentices are excluded from the National Minimum Wage Act in recognition of the unique nature of apprenticeships and the fact that a long-established practice for determining rates, which adequately protects apprentice…

The Government is taking important steps with regard to supporting the apprenticeship programme. We have seen huge investment in recent years. In budget 2026, we allocated over €78 million to the apprenticeship programme. This investment is delivering significant results. We have seen annual apprenticeship registrations increase from 5,326 in 2020 to 9,352 at the end of 2024. We are very ambitious to drive that to 12,500 by 2030 and, indeed, we have worked with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Resear…

We are all in agreement that we need to address the construction skills gap and that is very much central to the Government's strategy. We do not want to price young people or employers out of the system and that is important to reflect on. We are investing in career pathways, educational access and targeted incentives. We are very much focused on building confidence in careers within the construction sector through apprenticeships and we want to do that. As I said earlier, apprentices are not at the bottom of the …

I thank the Deputy for her question. The programme for Government sets out a strong enterprise and fiscal framework that prioritises economic and employment growth, with a target of creating 300,000 extra jobs by 2030. I am pleased to report that the Irish labour market saw sustained employment growth, rising labour force participation and record job numbers last year, indicative of a resilient performance. In total, over 2.8 million people are now employed in Ireland. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.…