If I have a few minutes left at the end of my contribution, I will offer them to Deputy Nash. I do not know if I will use all my time.

The committee report has exposed arguments and underlying assumptions behind near hysteria over a pensions time bomb, which the report has shown to be a false narrative. Since the recession in 2008, there has been a constant clamour from economists and employers to tackle the rising cost of State pensions. We heard it from the Minister of State tonight that "this must be done", "it is a hard decision", "we have to look after the young", etc. The chief argument the Government and the economists make is that people a…

I was all ears in listening to the concerns that Deputy Cairns raised. They were very detailed. I look forward to the Minister’s response to them. On their way in here, I am sure most Deputies will have noticed that, yet again, Sheila is outside the gates with her display on the mother and baby homes and the suffering that went on. In that, she mentions the 9,000 children who are alleged to have died across the 18 homes. Sean Ross Abbey is mentioned, as are Bessborough, Castlepollard, Dunboyne and more. This remind…

In ainneoin an laghdaithe ar líon na ndaoine a labhraíonn Gaeilge in iarthar na hÉireann, tá méadú ar líon na ndaoine a labhraíonn Gaeilge inár mbailte agus inár gcathracha. Is nuacht an-dearfach é seo. Is é sampla amháin den dul chun cinn seo ná mo cheantar i mBaile Formaid. Le déanaí, tá naíonra bunaithe againn agus níos déanaí fós, tá spás curtha ar fáil againn ina bhfuil daoine in ann teacht chun tae, caife agus bia a fháil agus cúpla focal a rá freisin. Is é Café Glic an t-ainm atá air. Ba chóir do na Teachtaí…

I want to ask about dental services for people suffering with autism. The Minister of State who is responsible for this area is in the Chamber. Young people who live with autism have limited access to dental services and are subject to many sensory issues. This means the dentists who look after them need to be specifically and highly trained. In Dublin South-Central, there is one such dentist for the entire constituency, which results in parents having to access very painful treatments for their children privately,…

Deputy Boyd Barrett should not answer him. He should just stay above it.

Táimid buíoch do Shinn Féin as an rún seo a thabhairt agus beimid ag tacú leis. We thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion, which we will support. Ireland's health service is an underfunded shambles by design, held together by the superhuman efforts of undervalued and underpaid health workers who have been pushed to their limit. Every aspect of healthcare is beset by large waiting lists, and the Sinn Féin motion sets out the overall numbers clearly. We should remind ourselves that every one of those numbers…

On the abandonment of PCR testing for the majority of the population, as has been said, the vast majority of people with symptoms who need a test will have to pay €90 privately to have it done. Many medically vulnerable groups, who have written and accounted for this in a letter to the Department, are worried about the abandonment of most measures like mask-wearing, testing and tracing. What new systems will be put in place to track the virus as fewer people are going to be tested for it? It has been reported in th…

I am sure the Minister will agree with me that a commitment made by a senior politician should be delivered on. Almost 18 months ago, Leo Varadkar made a commitment that he would end the discrimination against school secretaries and caretakers in respect of their pay, pensions and conditions. Talks have again stalled in the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. I spoke to some of the secretaries and caretakers, who feel they are rag dolls being kicked around the place as if they have done something wrong. Will the M…

I will speak first, followed by Deputies Boyd Barrett and Barry. I think I am the only Deputy here who sat for months on the Committee on Climate Action in 2019. We looked at this issue for weeks. We heard from all sorts of experts and witnesses and we received all sorts of data on the question of carbon tax. I was particularly struck by the witnesses from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. They appeared before the committee to give us evidence about the level of energy poverty in the country. Such was the level i…

We are all aware of the controversy surrounding the decision of the National Women's Council of Ireland, NWCI, regarding its platform for the International Women's Day protest on 5 March. We have differing views on it and I do not do not want to go into those views here. However, I seek from the Minister and Government reassurance that the NWCI, or any other NGO which takes a view that is different to that of the Government or takes a decision that the Government does not like, will not have their funding cut or th…

I put it to the Minister and Minister of State that there is no debate about the importance of the retrofitting programme. It is a key step to Ireland reducing its emissions in the dramatic and radical way required. The technical possibility exists for us to have huge cuts in emissions caused by home heating. Like the possibility of free public transport, for example, there are other huge benefits to society and to ordinary people, not least the warmer and energy-efficient homes that can also reduce the prevalence …

I understand the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is about to veto an increase in pensions for retired RTÉ staff. I am not talking about the famous and highly paid broadcasters but the ordinary, rank-and-file staff, who have not had a pension increase since 2008 and do not receive the State pension. One can imagine how crippling this is for them, especially with the cost of living increases we are witnessing. One of them said to me today, "This goes to show you it is normal for retired workers not to have…

Will the Taoiseach ensure that public consultation process on retired workers' pensions opens soon?

Tax the rich.

Tax the billionaires.

We have a serious difference emerging between the Green Party and Fine Gael at least, as we are not sure of the Taoiseach's position, on the question of liquefied natural gas, LNG. The Minster for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, intervened with An Bord Pleanála and told it that under no circumstances should the Shannon LNG project be given planning permission because it would be in opposition to the programme for Government and the commitment not to import LNG. The Minister believes …

I asked the Taoiseach what the difference was between him and the Tánaiste on the decision taken by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

The Taoiseach in his introduction mentioned affordable, social, cost-rental and help-to-buy housing but he did not say a word about strategic housing development, SHD, which is practically all build to let. In Drimnagh, Crumlin, Walkinstown and Ballyfermot, we have been swamped with applications for strategic housing development, which means there will be no sustainable communities and no permanent homes for the tens of thousands of families who are on the waiting list in those areas. It also means another thing, w…

I am sharing time with Deputy Barry. There were a lot of us in Derry on Sunday. The People Before Profit Deputies attended the second demonstration in the afternoon while official Ireland, including the Minister, the Taoiseach, Deputy McDonald, etc., attended a morning demonstration. It was very good that official Ireland was represented at it and that we are unified in rejecting the idea of an amnesty. We left Creggan with tens of thousands of people and marched to Free Derry Corner. We listened to speeches from K…