Yes.

Yes.

Hear, hear.

That has not happened.

Well done, Aodhán, fantastic speech on the day that is in it. We in the Labour Party are bringing forward this motion very much on purpose. Our ladies are going to the World Cup and we all wish them well and give them our support. It is also an opportunity for us to focus on this sport which is across every part of Ireland yet does not have the support, facilities or engagement that it should have. We are proposing that an increase in the betting levy, given the amount of gambling on football that unfortunately goe…

I am glad we are discussing this today. It is apt given the conversations that are all over the airwaves. When I was driving up to Dublin today, I heard it on multiple channels. The Minister was being referred to on multiple channels. I want to speak a little about the politics of this because I am sick and tired of it. I have my own differences with the Green Party but I have a lot in common with it. All I hear is a misconception that this is all the Green Party. You are all in government together, lads. This is n…

Well done Minister.

I thank the Minister and Minister of State for being here today. They are two of the more approachable Ministers. I have said so on the floor of the House before. The Labour Party is passionate about this issue. We have raised it many times. I acknowledge the work of Deputy Duncan Smith and of our colleague Deputy Ward who is hugely involved. Today I am furious but I am also proud. I am proud to be a Deputy representing Tipperary and the young lady Cara Darmody. The reason we are able to put on so much pressure is …

I will make four brief points. First, in regard to infrastructure, there is competition among those who are looking to develop wind in other countries, so we need to move quickly or we will not have access to those developers. Second, four Departments are involved in this, namely, those relating to the environment, transport, the marine, to an extent, and planning. I have a concern about that and raised it at a recent meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts. Third, we do not have the ports infrastructure, which…

It is very rare that I stand up on the Order of Business but I feel desperately that we need as a Legislature to have a debate about the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC. What is going on at the moment is outrageous. Its latest decision is to prosecute a garda for pursuing three members of a well-known criminal gang, with more than 200 convictions, because he did his duty and followed them until they went down the M7 motorway and, unfortunately, got killed. He then went to the scene to try to help. The peo…

I know; I am being very careful. I know this garda to be a diligent worker and as diligent as they come. As I stand here, and I can verify this as of now, he still does not know what he is being charged with. We all know how the media had the story before his family did. We as a Legislature need to look at GSOC. We also need to ask ourselves in this Chamber who in the name of God, and I represent Templemore, would join An Garda Síochána when a garda is being treated like this. What are we saying to the criminals of…

I am not asking the Minister to.

I think we all agree on what the issue is.

I acknowledge that the Minister has made some very positive changes when it comes to schoolbooks in particular. As she knows, my wife is a schoolteacher. My wife hails from the Minister's county but she teaches in Tipperary. In fairness, the Minister has visited my wife's school and brought good news with her. I have to acknowledge that. I also very much welcome the changes in regard to hot meals. I feel the Minister is visionary in looking at changes to the leaving certificate, and maybe other forces should be com…

The order has not changed. I am to ask the second question.

It does not bother me. I just thought I was second.

This is getting complicated.

I am second, one way or another.

Something I am very passionate about is tourism. I used to work in Bord Fáilte, which is now Fáilte Ireland. I refer to the whole visitor experience and promotion of the area around Lough Derg, namely, north Tipperary, east Clare and south Galway. During Covid, the real issue for me was that people's experience and what they saw of the area was significant. It is a hidden secret. It is a place many people are not aware of. It is central to Ireland. I refer to the old adage of the "hole in the doughnut syndrome" in …

I am well aware of that work, some of which I am involved in. There have been four plans since 2014. The first one was the new marketing plan, Discover Lough Derg: life by the lake. There was a €10 million proposal for this, which was not spent in its entirety. We had the Hidden Heartlands plan that my former colleagues developed, which came a couple of years later and fit into that. There was the Lough Derg visitor experience plan, to which the Minister referred. We also had the plan for the Shannon with Waterways…