Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The first issue I would like to raise is a request for the Leader to schedule time for the Amnesty International report on apartheid in Israel. The findings of this report will come as no surprise to those of us who have visited the country. The Seanad should be afforded the time to debate the findings of that report.

The main issue I wish to raise is related to the cost of living. Something we often lose sight of is the cost borne by schools, which are also feeling the pinch through the rising cost of electricity. Unfortunately, we know there is a "no brainer" solution to helping schools cover the costs of their electricity, that is, allowing them to generate their own electricity with solar panels on roofs. A simple change in the regulations exempting schools from the need to apply for planning permission for solar panels would unleash massive demand that is currently blocked with unnecessary red tape and planning costs. I know there was a commitment in the climate action plan that by quarter 1 of this year, we would have those planning regulations but the latest parliamentary question response in January is now setting a timeline later in 2022. We are already seeing slippage in the climate action plan, the annexe of which was launched in December.

This morning, we opened The Irish Timesto see that the Dublin Airport Authority is lodging an application for planning permission for a new solar panel farm. Any of us who have been following the solar panels on school debacle are bewildered and dismayed because the excuse the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has given to schools about why they cannot be exempted from having to apply for planning permission was that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage needed to carry out a study to make sure the solar panels would not interfere with planes flying into airports. They then reached a compromise and said we would get interim regulations that would allow schools to put solar panels on their roofs once the schools were nowhere near airports while they worked on this airport study. The interim regulations have taken longer than the full regulations would take and in the intervening period, Dublin Airport Authority is now applying for permission to build a solar panel farm. Members can see where I am going. It is farcical. Schools are crying out for the ability to put up solar panels without spending thousands of euro on applying for planning permission. They want to be part of the transition to a decarbonised future.

It also does not bode well for the implementation of the climate action plan if the Government cannot get the simple things right. This is low-hanging fruit. These are simple win-win measures so what hope do we have of halving our emissions by 2030 if we cannot get this sort of stuff over the line? The national climate action delivery board whose role is to hold each Department and public body accountable for the delivery of actions set out in the climate action plan did not even meet in 2020 despite a commitment that it would meet on a quarterly basis. Could the Leader write to the Taoiseach to explore what action can be taken and for heads to be banged together to remove these unnecessary blockages and allow schools to generate their own electricity? I also ask that she give consideration to scheduling time for a debate on the Amnesty International report on Israel.