Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is an interesting point. It ends up that fossil fuels are one of the reasons we are where we are with climate change. Anyway, that is a philosophical point but that is where we are.

Deputy Shay Brennan is revisiting the great work his dad did, and he now wants to bring the metro to Sandyford, with his dad having done the initial work. Fair play. It is at the design stage and there is a lot of work yet to be done on the metro. It will probably take up huge amounts of national development plan funding. I will have to do a deeper examination of that and come back to him on it, but I hear him.

Deputy Paul Murphy raised the overflights. I will speak to the Minister for Transport about this latest report of Lufthansa. There is an issue if people are doing it. They should seek permission. They would not have been given permission. They can circumvent Ireland's airspace if they so wish, and they should. They should not be going through Irish airspace if they are carrying munitions. I will talk to the Minister in respect of what we can do. We cannot inspect planes going overhead, but nonetheless that is not a practice we want to see continued.

In respect of Deputy Coppinger and having raised it with the US Administration, I think there is a duty on the Department of Foreign Affairs to alert people to the potential challenges they may encounter. It is something we do not agree with and have concerns about, but there has been a general election in the United States. These issues have been debated at length there. So far in Ireland there has been, and correctly so, a tolerant, proper, informed and mature debate. We do not want to enter into the kinds of culture wars that are going on elsewhere.

I turn to Deputy Currie. I will follow that up with the NTA, which will be held to account by the committee. I anticipate the NTA will come before the committee at some stage. To Deputy Geoghegan, I will examine that proposal about the connection between Ringsend and Poolbeg.

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