I move amendment No. 3: In page 7, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “ “emergency” means a situation where the State is experiencing a significant and protracted physical disruption of gas supply, or other catastrophic deterioration of the supply situation, and where— (c) all relevant market-based measures have been fully implemented, exhausted, and proven insufficient to meet gas demand, and (d) non-market-based measures must be introduced to safeguard gas supplies to protected customers, in accord…

Others have referred to the speed at which this legislation and the previous Bill on LNG are being fast-tracked through the Dáil. There has not been sufficient time for debate or interrogation. Sufficient time has not been allocated to allow all Members to have input and, potentially, to make the legislation stronger and better, which is really what our job is. It is interesting to see how quickly the Government can get certain legislation through the system. I wish there was an equal emphasis by the Government on …

The incredible weather we are seeing across Europe and its significance are not going to be lost on anybody. France has recorded its hottest day, at 44.3°C. Tragically, at least 18 heat-related deaths have been seen in France and dozens of people have drowned as they tried to cool off. The UK had its hottest June day on record this month, at 36.1°C. We have seen red heat warnings issued across Europe. Indeed, here in Ireland it would appear we are seeing our hottest day on record. It is clear that climate change is…

In 2024, 59% of Ireland’s existing treatment plants failed to consistently meet the standards set out in their EPA licence. Nearly half of these, that is approximately 120 instances, were due to poor operational management, things like pumps not working and maintenance not happening on equipment. In fact, the EPA has prosecuted Uisce Éireann 35 times for failing to properly treat wastewater. Can the Taoiseach tell me why Uisce Éireann gave 47 of its best-paid employees an average of €21,000 in bonus payments for go…

Someone at the top has to be.

Plug-in solar represents a huge opportunity to enable renters and those who live in apartments or in heritage homes to access the benefits of solar power and to make savings on their bills. The UK is powering ahead with this and I hope Ireland will follow suit. I have raised this repeatedly with the Minister and I know he is open to this. I understand the ESB is looking at it. I ask that the Taoiseach actually put a timeline on it because the Department has been looking at this for two years and we really cannot ha…

Can the Minister give me an update on the Local Link 199 service and when it is due to start? It was actually meant to start last September. A bus has been purchased for it. Drivers are in place. The community really needs this bus service up and running. There is very much a lack of clarity because the Government says one thing and the NTA says the other. Can we have a start date for this service this morning?

I thank the Minister but that response just is not good enough. It just does not cut it. This service was to start last September. People have been relying on it. They have been making life decisions - dropping out of college, not able to get jobs in other parts - because they are relying on this service to go from, say, Roundwood to Bray. They were told it would happen in September. I am glad to hear the Minister say that it should happen from next January but what people need is an actual date. We have some membe…

I do acknowledge that the Minister is trying to give a realistic date. I think that has been part of the problem: that people have been waiting week by week for this service to be rolled out. The difficulty, however, is that I was told in May last year that this service was funded, that the money was there for it. It was tendered and it was contracted. There is a bus sitting in Clonshaugh in Dublin empty, not running, waiting to be used on this service. Four drivers have been hired for this service. Everything is r…

I congratulate the Minister of State on her new role and wish her the best in it. I thank the Labour Party for this very important and extensive motion. Any time we get to debate energy, climate action and the cost of living in this Dáil Chamber it is very worthwhile. I have just read through the amendment the Government has tabled. I understand the normal process is that the speechwriters do the speeches but I ask the Minister State to cast a critical eye over it because the amount of spin in the document is incre…

We actually did today, Taoiseach.

When does the Minister intend to introduce the strategic gas emergency reserve Bill to the Dáil? Will he give us an update on the progress of the Bill?

I thank the Minister for the update. As he knows, we had pre-legislative scrutiny at the committee and concerns were raised at that point. I want to refer to an article written by the previous Minister for the environment, Eamon Ryan, shortly after the start of this Dáil term when he was no longer a Member of the Oireachtas or a Minister. He was very clear that we do not require a floating LNG facility. As a former Minister, he was aware of the many details, discussions and reports that went through the Department,…

I think everybody agrees that we are an energy insecure country and that we do rely on external actors. That is very clear from the different energy shocks we have experienced in recent years. It is important that we shore up our energy security. The question is whether we require a strategic LNG facility to do it or if there is an alternative way to provide that energy security. The former Minister, Eamon Ryan, based on the advice he received from the Department previously, is of the opinion that there is an alter…

I raise the Local Link 199 bus route. It was approved last year. I was told by the NTA in May last year that it was funded. It went out to tender last summer. The company that won the tender bought a bus and hired four drivers. It was meant to start in September but it has not yet started. I held a public meeting last week on this. This bus is to go from Laragh to Glendalough, Roundwood and Bray. Some 150 people turned up to the meeting. It is a big issue. My major concern is the lack of transparency and informatio…

Some 75,000 people have been murdered, 23,000 of whom were children. A total of 260 journalists and 565 footballers have been murdered. Both our Taoiseach and Tánaiste have said it is a genocide. Yet, it is business as usual for Israel. It gets to pretend that it is a normal state. It is far from normal, however. It is a murderous regime that is conducting a genocide. Yet, it still gets to access European trading markets and European funds. The Israeli football team will now get to represent its country in a stadiu…

The Irish Times reported-----

-----on figures that my colleague, Deputy Liam Quaide, obtained. Reports of wildlife crime to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, have nearly doubled in five years.

Sorry, a Cheann Comhairle.

I will start again. The Irish Times reported yesterday on figures that my colleague, Deputy Liam Quaide, obtained showing that reports of wildlife crime to the National Parks and Wildlife Service nearly doubled in five years, from 301 incidents in 2021 to 581 last year. These are serious offences and include illegal hedgerow removal, habitat destruction and unauthorised drainage, yet prosecutions collapsed to just 17 in 2024. That is one prosecution for every 34 reported crimes. Three entire counties had zero prose…