Of course you would.

The Taoiseach really does not get it.

Normally when we discuss competitive challenges we see them as issues that affect the bottom line in business, such as energy costs, wage costs etc. However, even now employer organisations are saying that housing is dominating their competitive challenge with workers' inability to find homes. That applies to both the public and private sectors. Schools, hospitals, mental health facilities, public transport etc, as well as the private sector, all report that they simply cannot get people to take up and keep jobs be…

You let me in before Deputy Boyd Barrett simply because it is International Women's Day.

No, I like the positive discrimination. I would love to see it happen all of the time, not just on 8 March. I was wondering about the discussions on the report on the policing service for our future and how that relates to evictions, seeing that evictions are going to be a big part of our future. Was there any discussion or training of gardaí in how to deal with these issues? I had experience in the past, particularly as a councillor but also as a Deputy, of being called to the scene of evictions. When I called gar…

It is very mischievous, but thanks for the publicity. It will sell loads of pamphlets.

I would rather be bonkers than a Tory like you.

What I find fascinating is that this debate marking International Women's Day is taking place in a Parliament that, for me and most people here, is dominated by a decision taken yesterday by Government to basically tell women that it will split their head and give them a plaster. Yesterday, we lifted the eviction ban and today we say "Solidarity with sisters on International Women's Day." Those on the other side of the House have no idea of the sort of misery, fear, stress and pain that decision has created for tho…

-----has campaigned for the promise of a domestic violence liaison officer. She got a motion past the city council but we still do not have a domestic violence liaison officer appointed to Dublin City Council, although we are promised funding for research into why there is such a high level of domestic violence in places like Cherry Orchard. Honestly, we do not want any more press releases and we do not want any more promises. Women cannot wait. We need action now. The oppression of Irish women goes back to the per…

It means the system of capitalism can continue to gouge for profit. I want to say, finally-----

-----solidarity to women everywhere, especially to the women of Iran.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

The Deputy should tell the Minister for Justice.

It certainly would have, once-----

Is the widely publicised response I received from the Minister, Deputy Ryan, on a question about free public transport the Government's position? In other words, does the Government reject the idea of free public transport because it leads to an increase in unnecessary trips? Does the Taoiseach claim, therefore, that journeys currently undertaken by people entitled to free public transport, namely, those on social welfare or older people, are also unnecessary trips? If this is not the case, why provide it to one gr…

So Eamon Ryan's position is not the Taoiseach's position.

If we are honest, the purpose of this Bill, which is being rushed through the Dáil in an emergency fashion by the Minister with the support of all his Green Party colleagues, is to bypass current environmental protection legislation. It is not about shortening the process in that regard. It is about bypassing, fast-tracking and streamlining it and avoiding the need for an environmental impact assessment in respect of two emergency projects at Tarbert and Shannonbridge. This is the third item of legislation that wil…

I thank Sinn Féin for the motion. I think all of us have put similar motions before the House, and while sometimes you might feel you are banging your head off a brick wall, it is important we revisit this issue and keep revisiting it again and again. We should do so mostly because the Government is failing the population on this. Businesses get the supports and then they get the reduced bills from the energy companies. There are market explanations for that. They are very convoluted. You would want to have a degre…

Okay. Is there no way I could have two minutes and add the other two on at the end or anything like that?

Chairpersons are awful. They never allow me to break the rules. The main reason I wanted to raise this is because in my area we had new schools added to the DEIS list. That was very welcome because, until lately, on one side of the Long Mile Road was the Assumption school in Walkinstown, one section of which did not have DEIS status, and across the road was Drimnagh Castle, where boys go to school, and which had DEIS status. Kids from one family, street or area were treated differently even though their socioeconom…