My fear is that we will push these people off the radar and pave the way for large seaweed harvesters.

I ask the Minister to intervene.

Hauliers and farmers who took part in the fuel protests are now facing summonses. In some cases their registration plates were recorded at the time of the protests and now they are being pursued. These are people who have invested heavily, in some cases hundreds of thousands of euro, into their businesses, trucks and livelihoods. The additional penalty points will see many of them lose their licences and their insurance policies. There is a real risk, therefore, that some of these people will be put off the road an…

Today, on Earth Day, I raise the very important issue of our pollinators. Our native Irish bees are in significant jeopardy as a result of the importation of foreign bees. The importation during the Covid-19 years increased by fivefold. Studies have shown that the rate of hybridisation in Irish colonies has increased by almost 300% over the past six years. That means our native Irish black honey bees are mating with other bees in the area. Beekeepers obviously cannot control that. They are mating and the result is …

I want to raise my concerns about the retirement age for emergency personnel and particularly for the retained fire service. Every year, very valuable members with huge amounts of experience leave the force - the retained fire service. In one station alone, 100 years of experience will be lost over the next number of years. These are individuals who undergo medical examination every year after the age of 50. My view is that if a person wants to continue to work and if they are eligible and passing their medical exa…

First, I support the motion brought before us today by Sinn Féin. Every year there is a scramble for families of children with disabilities to access special educational places, which is their constitutional right. In Mayo, it is no different. Many families are panicking, chasing SENOs and ringing school principals and the NCSE. That is what it is happening. The level of anxiety is frightening. Such families attend my clinics, but what should I say to them? It is devastating. These are our most vulnerable children …

This Government has signed Ireland up to a number of binding carbon targets which carry enormous fines for the taxpayers of this country. Will the Minister and Ministers of State provide an update on where Ireland stands with regard to those targets and on the potential fines that this State will face in 2030?

It is really important that the Government understands that the targets Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have signed the Irish taxpayer up to carry with them significant fines. According to the Climate Change Advisory Council, CCAC, and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, the fines involved range from €3 billion to €28 billion. The Minister of State has responsibility for this. I am asking him about the fines. What are the factors that will determine whether we face fines of €3 billion or €28 billion? The Government …

A responsible Government would be able to answer basic questions on the fines that we are going to face and that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael signed us up to. The Minister of State mentioned significant progress and stated that policies are in place. Policies should have been in place before the Government signed us up to these measures. We have been laggards in relation to this. In fact, when the Government signed us up to these targets in 2023, it accepted an increased target of 42%, when Ireland was already missing…

No, the fines-----

Not the rhetoric, the fines.

Answer the question.

What about IFAC, the climate advisory council and the €26 billion? Has the Minister of State no idea? Come on.

I want to raise the comments in relation to the Minister with responsibility for the media. When the media covered the protests, they covered the ordinary men and women. The Minister responsible, who holds the purse strings for the media, called for an investigation into the media. What an abuse of ministerial power. This is the most authoritarian thing that we heard in recent days. The truth is that this Government introduced a rescue package in excess of €700 million last year for RTÉ to bail it out. Is this what…

I could not believe my eyes when the Minister for justice outlined recently that it was his intention and the intention of the Government to introduce legislation to remove several proposed IPAS centres from the planning process entirely. I have raised this planning circumvention with the Taoiseach on a number of occasions. Both he and the Tánaiste have led the House to believe this was a temporary, emergency measure and would be removed imminently. Now we read it is the Government’s intention to make this planning…

The question is-----

The question relates to planning.

It is absolutely astounding that the Government refused to meet the protestors yet was so quick to blacken their names. In fact, every single intervention this Government made over the past number of days has added fuel to the fire. It threatened the use of the Army and the public order unit, it threatened to revoke licences and it even accused a Minister of being far right. That is not leadership; that is provocation and it is deeply wrong. The Minister for justice even called in the Army without engaging with his…

-----outlined to the Mayo media that he was going to increase carbon tax again on 1 May. "A modest increase", is what he said, when the people were struggling. He should be listening to the people, he should be engaging with the people and he should not be blackening their name.

The people of County Mayo and the rest of the country are desperate in terms of the costs of fuel. This Government has acted with complete impunity when it comes to accountability. First, it blamed the protesters. Then it blamed the media for covering the protesters and threatened an investigation. Then it blamed Trump. Earlier, I heard Ministers blaming international markets, international pricing structures, etc., but who made us reliant on international markets? It was the Government in terms of its policy. The …