Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. These are truly extraordinary circumstances. I know he is used to it at this stage but even though I think I am jointly the longest serving Deputy in the House at the moment, I am certainly not used to these circumstances. However, I am glad to have the opportunity to account for my stewardship as a caretaker Minister.

I want first to thank my officials and the agencies under my remit for their work during the Covid-19 crisis because they have literally kept the lights on, kept our communications network intact, kept our waste collection systems going, kept us informed of what is happening and delivered objective information. It has been a very important service and we only realise the importance of many of the services when they are challenged in this way.

To go through them briefly, obviously, electricity and gas are crucial to the service at this time and indeed all the time. We have made sure that they have delivered efficiently and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, has played a very considerable role in that. We have protected people by suspending all domestic gas and electricity disconnections, as Deputies know. We have made other changes to make sure that people do not run into difficulties on billing and other such problems that could arise. We have continued to press on with our renewable energy auctions, which I know for many Members are very important as we seek to make our electricity network more sustainable and dependent on renewable electricity.

In terms of broadcasting, people will know the sterling service that RTÉ in particular and TG4 have delivered but also the local radio stations. It will be no surprise to Members of the House to hear that there have been difficulties in terms of revenue streams for those bodies. We are in discussions with RTÉ about its particular problems, and NewERA is involved to see how we can find some solutions together.

In terms of the local broadcasters, I was in a position to bring in some measures that have been of help to them such as suspending the broadcasting levy for six months, which is worth €1 million to them; having a round of Sound & Vision 4 funding of €2.5 million; and there is an additional round for community radio of €750,000. That has given some relief to these very important channels of communication that have been so important in getting fair and objective information to people at a time of tremendous worry.

Members will realise that the communications network has come under particular pressure and it has stood up well to that pressure. It is delivering far greater service. We have assisted that by releasing additional rights of use for radio spectrum on a temporary basis, and that has helped. The retail providers have signed up to a seven-point charter which ComReg has negotiated with them and that has been of value to service users. Importantly, a complaints mechanism run by ComReg is particularly useful.

People will not be surprised when I give a plug to the national broadband plan, which I know came in for considerable criticism in the previous Dáil, but in this crisis people can see the value of services like ehealth, being able to be connected regardless of where one is living and having the opportunity of remote working.

The reasons we pushed ahead with that are becoming clearer to people and the benefits of delivering service remotely are also more valued. I have asked my officials to investigate the feasibility of accelerating the roll-out of the national broadband plan so that those now in years six and seven can be brought forward. The target is to try, from the second half of next year, to accelerate the roll-out. I hope that can be achieved and I think it is a very important service.

An Post has been very imaginative in its response to the Covid crisis. It has the check-in service that many people know about. It has helped to deliver Government booklets on Covid and also delivered many other services that people have valued. It has launched its 3.2 million free postcards. It recently launched €2 million of practical supports for businesses that are trying to get back to full operation. That has certainly helped.

We have liaised with the waste management service. It is answerable to local authorities in the first instance, but that service has continued to deliver. It has had to cope with more household waste but less commercial waste. We have provided some ring-fenced money to have an anti-dumping initiative during this Covid crisis. I know that has been a real problem.

I know we are restricted on time. The Covid crisis has brought into sharp relief the scale of the climate challenge that we face. While this is a significant shock to our economy and society, it is important as we build a recovery that we seek to embed the structural changes that have been accelerated by this experience so that we have a different way of working and a different consciousness of the problem of protecting our environment and also reducing our use of fossil fuels. There is an opportunity as people re-evaluate their priorities in a society and economy that is opening up that we seek to embed the changes and build momentum to address the climate challenge. The last Dáil unanimously passed a declaration of emergency in this respect. It is up to this House to carry on and deliver the ambitions embedded in that motion.

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