There were 200,000 people out of work.

We were rebuilding the economy that Fianna Fáil destroyed.

We were rebuilding the economy you destroyed.

I want to hear the facts.

It is farcical.

And the construction sector.

No, Deputy Kelly did.

I commend Deputy Ó Ríordáin, whose passion for this subject has been evidenced today. We have been listening to it as a parliamentary party for quite some time. His passion has convinced us to give very precious Private Members' time to what is truly an important issue for every community and every one of our constituencies. We have in this motion an opportunity for every party and the House collectively to do something really important, to meet the passion of so many young people in all our communities, a passion …

It was no surprise that the first topic of discussion at the EU Council meeting - as was the case at the previous meeting, it dominated proceedings - was the ongoing devastating assault on Ukraine by the Russian Federation. In particular, I refer to some of the events that have happened in recent times, including the destruction of the Kakhovka dam and the long-term implications of this, which have reached as far as Odessa. Ground has been contaminated, land mines have floated across civilian areas and very serious…

I wish to return to the issue of the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, IRA, on the EU and, more specifically, Ireland. I raised this during our discussions before the Council meeting. Has the Minister of State had an opportunity to reflect on the matter? Is there any domestic evaluation of the Act’s impact and the effectiveness of the countermeasures, as it were, being deployed by the EU to ensure we do not lose the significant new investment in new technologies that the Act is designed to attract into the US?…

I hope the Minister of State will not attack them.

I welcome these amendments. If the Minister recalls, they were something she promised in regard to the passage of the harassment Bill. In terms of a procedure, if there was an inclination for a victim to waive anonymity, how would that be? Would they apply to the court to do that? Would the court make the decision on that? In terms of access to the court, is there any fast track or how would that apply to somebody who is under enormous pressure in an immediate sense? How would they get access to ensure they could g…

Is it the decision of the person or do they have to indicate their willingness to waive anonymity to a court to make the decision?

I thank the Minister.

We finally got there.

Nobody in the House would not be very concerned by the increase in violence aimed at members of An Garda Síochána that we can see on social media all the time. I am referring in particular to what new, young gardaí have to face. It is not always physical abuse. Some of the verbal abuse and harassment they endure is very worrying. I do not want to suggest a knee-jerk reaction. Increasing the penalties is not something anyone in the House would object to. Where there is a serious assault causing real harm, there has …

That is the case for the first three months.

I would not be in favour of removing the section. The powers are required, and there would be circumstances, where there are mobile gangs and so on, where these powers would be very useful. On Deputy Pringle's point about longevity and that it is ongoing for a recurring three-month period, there is the notion that, and my colleague from Sinn Féin, Deputy Pa Daly, has much more experience of the courts than me, as a practitioner, I hasten to add, the seriousness would be underscored to An Garda Síochána by going to …

No, but you would have to go to a separate court.

It would not do any harm to include it.