I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy oversees the implementation of the programme for Government commitments on the environment, climate action, energy and emergency planning. It considers the wide range of issues that require action in Ireland's transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient and sustainable future: a future in which we take full advantage of the renewable energy potential that we possess. It also oversees implementation of the climate action plan. The committee meets quarterly. The first meeting took place on 7 April and the next meeting is scheduled to take place in July. The Department of the Taoiseach tracks the delivery of actions committed to in the climate action plan and publishes quarterly progress reports. Following approval by the Government, progress reports and detailed tables of actions completed and delayed are published online. The progress report for quarters 3 and 4 of the Climate Action Plan 2024 was published in April and shows an overall implementation rate for the year of 64%, with 80 of 125 actions completed in 2024. Significant milestones achieved in the period include: nearly €3.8 million in grant funding for 15 projects in Ireland's midlands as part of the EU's just transition fund; the launch of 65 Connecting Ireland transport routes; the approval of the terms and conditions of Ireland's second offshore wind auction; the installation of solar panels in more than 1,000 schools; the establishment of a national certification-accreditation system for eco-driving courses in the haulage sector; the publication of an electricity demand-side strategy; and the incentivisation of large energy users to participate in flexible demand initiatives. Actions that were not completed during 2024 have been carried forward to be reported upon, together with the new actions agreed as part of Climate Action Plan 2025.
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First of all, I thank the Deputies for raising those issues. Deputy Bacik raised the question of how we square the circle as regards data centres and AI. There needs to be a balanced debate in this House on this question because digitalisation and the green economy are both pathways we have to pursue. There is no question about that. I would take issue with Deputy Coppinger’s statement that we have to stop "worshipping" AI and "worshipping" data centres. Nobody worships anything, but we do have a realistic assessment that AI is going to have an extraordinary impact on the world of employment and how society is organised. If the Deputy wants to put her head in the sand, then she should put her head in the sand, but that will not advance the country. It will not advance employment. It will not advance society itself. We have to engage and be leaders in AI. Deputy Bacik referenced the moratorium. That is problematic, too. We have had an effective moratorium for the past two to three years on data centres. There have been some contracted into, which will come on stream later in the decade, but AI will use an awful lot more energy, by definition. We have a challenge between now and 2030 or 2031, that period by when, I hope, our offshore wind farms will have gone through planning and all the rest of it and we can have had minimal objections and got the wind farms built. That will power our energy needs in the 2030s. It is between now and then that we certainly have a challenge and we certainly have an issue in terms of squaring the circle. The Government is working on that. It is not a choice between housing and data centres. Every person on the street has a need for data centres, by the way, in terms of our everyday activities and so forth. The idea of trying to paint them as the big bad entity, as it were, in this context does not make sense. Deputy Byrne raised an important issue. I attended the UN ocean summit recently hosted by France. Ireland is increasingly making a significant contribution to the international debate on the oceans. Regarding coastal erosion, I invite the Deputy to make a submission to the Minister for public expenditure. I certainly will be doing that. I will talk about and raise this issue at central government level. I believe that, on adaptation, we need to do far more in terms of capital provision for adapting to climate change. Climate change is here and now; it is not something that is going to come in ten years' time. It is affecting flooding. It is eroding coastlines. It is putting homes in danger. It is affecting food production patterns and so on. I believe that, in the next national development plan, there has to be ring-fenced funding for the cost of climate change to enable us to adapt to protect. It would be useful, knowing that the Deputy has been successful in the past in making various submissions to various bodies, if he could likewise make a submission in this regard. It is important. Deputy Ó Cearúil spoke about the risks and private wire legislation, which Deputy Heneghan has raised consistently, to be fair. The Minister, Deputy O’Brien, has initiated the sustainable use of public and private assets, SUPPA, group. There had not been a lot of work done on it before that, if I am honest. Now, he has instructed the Department to prepare the legislation. I have spoken to the Attorney General and work is under way in respect of a private wires dimension to this, which will be very important and will give greater flexibility to companies and so on. Storm Éowyn illustrated the risks. Regarding Deputy Moynihan and skills, there is a significant degree of work going on. The Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, has particular responsibility for the area of green skills. Skillnet, which the Deputy knows is a business-supported network for skills development in companies, has funding available to it in respect of green skills. It is present in further and higher education. There has been a lot of transition from people in the fossil fuels industry to the renewable industry. It is an extremely important area that we are very much focused on. In respect of Deputy McDonald's question on the Bord na Móna recycling unit, the industrial relations mechanisms are there. I will ask Bord na Móna to engage on the issue. I will speak to the Minister about it also. Deputy Heneghan raised the issue of private wires, which is in the programme for Government. As I said, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is preparing the legislation and has instructed his officials to do so. Deputy Ó Murchú raised the issue of flood mitigation. Flooding is a big issue. We have a lot of consultation on and objection to flood relief plans, infrastructure developments and so on to prevent flooding. We need to accelerate them and we ask people, if they could, to hold off on the objections. It is extraordinary the degree to which some very worthy projects have been delayed. The objective is to protect people's homes, businesses and farmlands from being flooded, yet there is an inordinate delay in the planning process and so on in getting them done. The insurance issue is ongoing. I dealt with it again last week. The State supports by compensation where flooding happens. The insurance companies have a responsibility and they need to step up to the plate in respect of it, particularly in areas where flooding infrastructure has been put in place. We still hear reports that some insurance companies do not offer policies after that has been done.
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 16, inclusive together. As agreed by the Government, the Department of the Taoiseach has convened an interdepartmental group to examine the recommendations made by the Dublin city task force. The goal is to make Dublin city centre a more thriving, attractive and safe cityscape and a desirable location to live, work and do business in and visit. To deliver on these missions, the task force identified ten big moves that it recommended be addressed. I met Mr. David McRedmond, CEO of An Post, who chaired the task force, in April to discuss the IDG's work to take forward the task force's recommendations. The IDG is currently finalising its report, which will be the subject of a memorandum to be submitted to the Government next week. Following this, further consideration will be given to how best the task force approach could be deployed in other cities, towns and regions, as outlined in the programme for Government. Regarding the memo to Government, there is obviously then a further context, which is the national development plan.
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Did the Deputy say 6 a.m.?
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Deputy Heneghan is full of energy. I thank all the Deputies for raising various issues. Deputies McGrath and O'Sullivan asked about the Cork city task force. The docklands have been the main development focus in Cork city for some time. Under the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, some years ago €400 million was allocated to Cork for the docklands and the Grand Parade and a new library. Considerable progress has been made in the docklands, but not so much on the city library. I met representatives of Cork City Council recently to discuss these issues. Cork City Council is anxious about the city centre. Along with the Land Development Agency, LDA, and others, it is delivering on the docklands which is becoming an engine of real power and growth in the city of Cork. I believe it is coming forward with further proposals on the Grand Parade and on the library, which will be transformative. We always need to be conscious that the existing agencies will be crucial - Dublin City Council, Cork City Council and Cork County Council. Regarding Cork city, a lot of money will be channelled through the National Transport Authority, for example, the BusConnects proposal. The route for the light rail has been published. The N28 has been sanctioned. That will potentially come to about €490 million with all the knock-ons and so on. There will also be other infrastructure development. The task force will come back with proposals for the city. It needs to look at how we reimagine cities of the future. We tend to look at it through the prism of the past and what cities used to be like, whereas we need to look at what they will be like or what we think they will be like in the future. We need a different mix with stronger residential focus in city centres in the future with less of the big anchor retail tenant type. There might be more niche quality hospitality and retail. I would like a new task force for the city of Cork to try to reimagine the city centre, the core of the city, for the future as opposed to trying to do everything across the entirety of the city. We will come back with proposals on that. We have been working on the Dublin city task force and the idea is to bring to the Government a memorandum that has substance. Everyone has raised the issue of funding.
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Deputy Bacik raised that; I apologise. I am not opposed to that because I like the concept whereby we acknowledge funding is required and propose a mechanism. It will not fund everything. We will not be awash with money.
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A very minimalist levy could yield ongoing revenue that would be of significant use for Dublin City Council to get things done. That is an important principle because increasing numbers are coming in, impacting on services and so on. I think David McRedmond has done a good job overall at An Post. He has modernised it and he has-----
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It is not his remit. There have been issues with people retiring and so on. It has not been an easy one. Government has had to intervene and step in with €10 million to support postmasters and will continue to intervene to support postmasters. I want to put on record that I think overall and in difficult circumstances he has done a good job. Deputy Ó Murchú asked about the public realm. They are not ten wasted opportunities. Deputy McAuliffe made a proposal around a special purpose vehicle. We are actively looking at that in terms of the presentation of the memo. Temple Bar and other initiatives that have had an impact involved legally created special purpose vehicles that had authority to get things done and did actually deliver a lot in their day. We are examining that in respect of the outcome of the Dublin task force. The public realm needs enhancement and Deputy Brabazon focused on that as well in terms of a safe streetscape. It is worrying that in the modern era, an increasing number of people are expressing fear of going into city centres, not just in Dublin but also elsewhere. The Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, told me there was a significant group of European officials in last week and they thought Dublin city was great. I agree with Deputy McAuliffe that Dublin is a great city, but a lot of stuff is happening that gives people a sense of fear of going into the city centre at night. Regarding the issue Deputy Heneghan raised, I think the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is progressing that. I will check with him. There has been a seesaw approach to late night openings. Licensing laws are notoriously difficult. We need to consider all the patterns of behaviour that have changed.
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People are doing different things and are behaving differently. That said, I will come back to the Deputy with where that legislation is at.
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 24, inclusive, together. The Programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland's Future, sets out a number of commitments relating to national security and defence, and work to give effect to these is well under way. The establishment of a ministerial council on national security is a key commitment in the programme for Government and it will function to enhance central co-ordination on strategic national security matters. I chaired the first meeting of the new council on 21 May 2025. The council received a detailed, up-to-date briefing on the current security situation from An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, and also on current cyberthreats. The council meeting also reviewed commitments relating to national security and defence set out in the programme for Government and re-emphasised the importance of delivery of these commitments. It is clear, in light of the worsened security situation in Europe and significant changes in the nature of the security challenges we and our partners face, that accelerated and increased investment in the State’s security and defence services will be required in the coming period. The council received a detailed report from the national security committee. It considered current challenges in the international environment, including the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, and the implications for Ireland; the ongoing work on the reform and modernisation of the Defence Forces; the continued development of the State’s cybersecurity capabilities; and the ongoing work to strengthen and modernise our security-related legislation. The preparation of a draft national security strategy is ongoing and it will cover the range of national security issues that are being considered by the ministerial council. Work is also under way on a revised cybersecurity strategy and responsibility for the National Cyber Security Centre now rests under the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. This is another important programme for Government commitment, which better aligns the Department's national security responsibilities. The ministerial council will meet again after the summer.
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I thank the Deputies who have raised issues. I will make a general comment. This question related to the national security committee, national security council and national security strategy, not foreign policy. This is welcome. I established a national security council as Taoiseach to try to bring greater democratic accountability on matters pertaining to national security. It is up to people to raise what they like at different times. However, there is a logic in trying to focus on core security issues as opposed to foreign policy issues which we debate elsewhere in the House, just to make that overall point. Deputy Ó Cearúil was first. On cybersecurity, the National Cyber Security Centre is coming in under the Minister for justice. This is a welcome move. The centre was under communications, climate and all that area. It belongs to a national security framework and it will be under the Minister for justice. The director is on the national security council. The Deputy's point is well made in terms of the rise of AI and the impact it will have on more sophisticated and perhaps more regular cyberattacks on companies and State enterprises. We have to be extremely vigilant. Cyber warfare is the biggest problem we have in cybersecurity. Many companies face cybersecurity attacks on a regular basis. We have to build up expertise. We also have to work with others. We cannot do it on our own. We have to work with other countries on cybersecurity in terms of expertise and sharing experiences. When the cyberattack on our health service happened, Poland and the United Kingdom were on to us immediately. Poland had experience with the Conti group, which carried out the attack on our health service. There will be collaboration with other countries and we do need constant engagement with other countries across the European Union and beyond in respect of cybersecurity threats to all law-abiding states. I just want to make that overall point. On Deputy Bacik's points, I am not going to comment on Garda operational issues. The national security council committee will not be dealing with operational matters of An Garda Síochána in terms of what happens on a day-to-day basis. It is looking more at threats to the State from third party actors, which could be countries or individuals who could be doing certain things that could endanger or cause a risk to the security of the State. On the issue Deputy Kelly raised, I responded in the Dáil and the Minister for justice is responding as well. In terms of that meeting which the Deputy did raise again last week, I will ask the Minister for foreign affairs and will have to come back to the Deputy on it. Deputy Coppinger raised what are essentially foreign policy issues. Our security strategy is not beholden to the European Union. It is very much fundamentally about national security, protecting our own citizens from any undermining of our security, via cyber security attacks, subsea cable attacks, hybrid attacks, misinformation on social media, or terrorist attacks, although they are low in terms of possibility here, but nonetheless all those areas-----
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----are subject to potential threats in terms of national security. We have been very consistent at European Union level in terms of our position on the right of Palestinians to their own state. We have called out the war crimes and the blatant, flagrant abuses of international law by Israel in Gaza and indeed increasingly now in the West Bank, which is a cause of great concern. We will not be spending money on fighter jets for a long time, for quite some time. Our immediate focus is on radar. We have purchased C295s. There will be a further strategic lift aeroplane purchased very shortly. We are building up our investment but we are coming from an incredibly low base as a country. The Deputy's language was around the militarisation of Ireland but we are a long way off that. We need to have a sense of perspective and balance in this debate. We do need to invest in our Army and Naval Service. Maybe the Deputy's party does not believe in armies or navies and that is a legitimate position to have. Perhaps that is the Deputy's position. I believe we need an Army, a Naval Service and an Air Corps and we need to invest. They need the best of equipment because they go on peacekeeping missions and they share that equipment with other countries like Poland at the moment in Lebanon, and with Hungary, so they need to have interoperability in weaponry.
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We cannot just label all defence as some sort of appalling activity or sector. It is necessary for the protection of citizens. I will come back to Deputy Brabazon on the timelines around the national security strategy. It is important. My Department is co-ordinating this. There is a national security secretariat in my Department. It is now putting together inputs from all the different Departments, including the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Defence; justice; and environment, climate and communications; An Garda Síochána; the National Cyber Security Centre; and the Defence Forces. We are going ahead with the smaller radar. In response to Deputy Ó Murchú, I have made my comments in terms of Israel. That is more in the foreign policy domain and will not come under the national security council or committee. I take the Deputy's point that cyber threats are a big concern. The National Cyber Security Centre is now under the Minister for justice, as I said. I take Deputy Ward's point that there is a need to bring this to a conclusion and to develop and publish the strategy.
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