Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for his presence during the debate. There are many good aspects of the national recovery and resilience plan and I welcome its introduction with all the stated aims and programmes outlined by the Minister, and I very much look forward to his closing remarks later. After 15 months of Covid-19, the plan's publication is a decisive moment in the pandemic, as we shift our focus from our emergence from an incredibly difficult period to an opportunity to pause, reflect and deliver on plans that will see our economy restored in a number of years, with tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of jobs created.

The plan sets forth a vision that can restore the economy to its previous position of strength and growth befitting our citizens and places a strategic importance on both education and upskilling and climate action, which is welcome. I am encouraged by the proposals to grow a sustainable economy and jobs in Ireland and I believe it will make a significant impact in the coming years. There will be benefits from decarbonising our enterprise sector and developing retrofitting, an important piece of the puzzle and a key commitment in the programme for Government. Furthermore, the plan will allow for the future electrification of public networks and further our work on developing a digital economy.

In the short time I have, I refer to another issue within the plan and I ask that the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, raise it with the Minister, Deputy McGrath, and perhaps with the Cabinet. This House needs a meaningful, scientific-based debate on the use of antigen testing in Ireland. We are proposing to use it in our education sector, and we need to expand on that. I will not be overly prescriptive about the nature of the debate, but there is not enough factual information available to Members. This is an opportunity for the Business Committee to meet and agree on that, but I want the Government’s response to the resilience and recovery of the aviation sector to be heard properly. That is why I believe a debate is appropriate, preferably next week, if possible.

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