I am glad to hear the Minister will be publishing it. His predecessor as Minister for the environment described it as the most important project in the previous programme for Government. It is vital that it be released. I am not quite sure why the Minister is holding on to it. It is a report designed to inform policymakers and I am not sure whether the brains trust the Minister has put together are the only ones who should be looking at it. I do not know why it has not gone to the Climate Change Advisory Council. I…

That is encouraging. There are many big decisions coming up that the report could inform. It is there to inform future climate action plans, some of which we have been looking at and reviewing recently at the climate committee. It strikes me it is also relevant to the nitrates derogation negotiations. It seems, based on leaks from the report, that there is talk of intensification of dairy farming in the south east of the country, where we already have huge water quality issues. We have previously discussed the issu…

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "2024" and substitute the following: "be deemed to be read a second time this day one month.". I commend Deputy Ó Snodaigh on bringing forward this Bill, which I and the Labour Party are firmly behind. I also pay tribute to Ailish McCarthy for initiating the campaign three years ago and pursuing it so diligently over the past few years. This is a matter of dignity and respect for our comedians, who, to be clear, absolutely are artists and are love…

Decriminalisation is an issue that the Labour Party and my colleagues have been raising consistently over a number of years. I am proud to be in a party that has been pushing consistently for reform of our societal attitudes to drug use, from Pat Rabbitte 30 years ago establishing the drug and alcohol task forces around the country to the steadfast leadership of Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, now our MEP for Dublin, when it has come to the issue of decriminalisation. I pay tribute to the Tallaght drugs and alcohol task force. …

I congratulate our former colleague Catherine Connolly on her inspiring win after her presidential campaign. I wish her all the very best in her upcoming term as Uachtarán na hÉireann and our tenth President. I welcome the opportunity to speak about this Bill. It is one of significant consequence, not only for our energy system but also for our economy, environment, society and country more broadly. It deals with one of the most crucial challenges we face now and in the near future, namely, how we generate, deliver…

My thanks to Aontú for bringing forward this timely motion. The role of the President has of course changed somewhat in recent decades. The President has essential constitutional duties to fulfil but there is a wider significance to the Head of State's role that is not set out in Bunreacht na hÉireann, although it has nonetheless come to be a central aspect of it. I am referring to the role of acting as a first citizen, of unifying and representing the Irish people at home and abroad and of the role of being a voic…

Hear, hear.

I am going to focus on the climate and energy aspects of the budget. I will start by giving some credit to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. There have been some positive steps from a long-term emissions reduction perspective. For starters, I am glad he has convinced the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, of the need for carbon taxes. The funding given to EirGrid and the ESB for grid investment is very much welcome and will help unlock our renewable wind energy capacity. I was happy to see some, though not enough, ad…

I did not mention anyone.

No problem.

No, it is the market.

The Taoiseach says we never say anything positive on this side of the House. We also welcome the time set aside, at our request, to speak about Gaza this week and speak about this plan. We see a plan being presented which we hope will lead to a sustainable peace but which seems to be a half-baked effort imposed on the Palestinian people. We welcome the discussion on it and we welcome the cross-party motion on the flotilla.

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. There are a few elements to it and I am broadly supportive of what it sets out to achieve, but with some qualifications in certain areas. The main element of the Bill is the changes to the EPA licensing. I welcome the initiative to take a more streamlined approach. I must admit that I was initially a little uneasy with elements of the licensing reform proposed in the Bill. Almost intuitively, what appears on the face of it to be a softening of environmental i…

I am aware of that. They said we will never be able to properly develop an indigenous biofuels industry as long as that happens. I know the Minister is aware of these concerns. I welcome the regulations he has introduced to end the additional incentives that existed for the use of POME. The concerns, however, have not gone away. There is still POME from the Far East entering Irish and European markets. The issue is that it is certified as a waste product outside of the EU, where it is impossible to verify, so there…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. I admit I am uncomfortable with the element of it concerning the carbon tax from a climate perspective. The Labour Party believes that it is an important tax and that the polluter-pays principle is an important one in terms of our response to the climate crisis. I completely accept that there are people in homes who may have no other option right now than to remain on oil and gas heating but carve-outs in the carbon tax system that would protect the most financial…

My question relates to proposals under the recent trade agreement between the EU and the Trump Administration. The ridiculous tariffs got the headlines, but under this agreement the EU has further bent the knee to "king" Trump and agreed to massively increase the level of fossil fuels being purchased from the United States - €750 billion worth. There have also been reports of US officials, including its energy secretary, Chris Wright, engaging in extensive lobbying with EU member states on this matter, seeking the …

The Minister of State will be aware of our concerns on this side of the House with the Government's plans to overturn the previous Government's ban on the importation of fracked gas to facilitate the State-led strategic LNG reserve. I am sure the Minister of State is aware of the implications this will have for Shannon LNG and other commercial operators. It is opening the door, inadvertently or otherwise, to massive commercial importation of fracked gas. The Minister of State can make all the claims he wants about …

I accept and understand the energy security concerns here. However, the point I am making is that overturning this ban on the importation of fracked gas has opened the door not just to a State-led facility but to commercial exploitation and importation of fracked gas, using the same rules that the State is using to allow it. That is the problem. While the State facility may not be the most damaging way of going about things, it seems the commercial importation of fracked gas will now happen and An Coimisiún Pleanál…

What about the climate?

Before I begin, I acknowledge the presence of Mr. David Ryan in the Public Gallery. Mr. Ryan and his brother Mark participated in an RTÉ radio documentary, which precipitated all of what we are speaking about today. The establishment of this commission of investigation is welcome. It is not before time. The scourge of child sexual violence in our schools and the abject failure of authority figures and institutions to protect defenceless young people from this life-changing abuse is something that Irish society need…