I understand this is unusual. Deputies who have been here far longer than I say they have never seen this before. However, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle said we agreed that the Bill be read a Second Time and I did not agree. I object to it being read a Second Time and to the way in which the Bill is being pushed through. When I do not agree with something and I want to find out how other Deputies feel, I believe I have a right to put it to a vote. If I do not and if procedures and Standing Orders say I do not, then I w…

I understand that. I have not been here that long but I have been here long enough to know that we can vote on whether it moves past Second Stage and that we can vote on the amendments tomorrow. etc. However, the question that was put was that the Bill be read a Second Time and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle asked if that was agreed. I said "No" and that I was objecting to that. I believe that has some standing in the machinations of democracy in this House. If Standing Orders are telling me it does not, then I have no …

I am sharing time with Deputy Mick Barry. I congratulate Deputy Cronin on her very insightful summation of the history of the counterrevolution this State conducted nearly 100 years ago, mainly against women but ultimately against women and children. The commission on mother and baby homes was tasked five years ago with delivering an academic social history report. It interviewed over 500 people who lived or worked in the homes from 1922 to 1998. Over 70,000 women went to these homes. I do not wish to personalise a…

That is not true.

It is not true that they will disappear.

Do not tell lies.

He needs to retract his statement that the records will disappear. They will not disappear.

Do not seal the records.

It is not the right thing.

I move: That, pursuant to Standing Order 198, the Planning and Development (Climate Measures) (Amendment) Bill 2019, which lapsed on the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil, shall be restored to the Order Paper at Second Stage.

There is an ugly and frenzied rush to push through legislation on the mother and baby homes. Imagine the optics of this for the hundreds and thousands of victims and their families that legislation is to be amended by Members of this House before 2 o'clock tomorrow when it has not even passed through the Seanad. This is utterly disrespectful to the Senators. The Tánaiste ticked me off some time ago about disrespecting Senators. He is disrespecting the Seanad and, indeed, this House by pushing through this legislati…

The question was why is it being rushed.

To deny climate change is to bury one's head in the sand. We have seen the hottest September on record and wildfires from the Amazon to Siberia. Climate change is real and it is here. To say that this increase is a rural versus city issue is wrong. There are people in Cherry Orchard and other working class estates who are freezing cold tonight because the €100 that was forwarded to them during the lockdown by An Bord Gáis is being taken back from them for their card meters at a rate of 60%. They top up a card meter…

Ar dtús, déarfaidh mé cúpla focal as Béarla. As I have the opportunity, I wish to raise an issue unrelated to this Bill with the Minister and the Minister of State. I refer to the lack of a Gaelscoil in the postal districts of Dublin 10 and 12. I acknowledge that this is a matter for the Department of Education and Skills but support from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht would help progress the achievement of some educational facilities in these very big postal districts which include areas lik…

I also welcome the Bill and thank its sponsors. It is timely because People Before Profit is putting a similar Bill before Stormont to repeal the anti-trade union legislation introduced by Maggie Thatcher many decades ago, which have been implemented by the Stormont regime. I welcome that as it gives us the sense that the same problems face workers all over Ireland, on both sides of the Border. A war has been waged against working class people in this country for decades. It is often not overt - it is not the kind …

I am sharing time with Deputy Barry. I will take seven minutes and he will take three minutes. What jumps out at me immediately is that we must have this discussion, this debate, this row in context. I state that because everything is always relative and proportionate to the whole. This morning, I read in The Irish Times that a report from the Swiss bank UBS stated that during the height of the pandemic, from April to July, the wealth of billionaires on the planet rose by more than one quarter, or 27.5% to be preci…

I want us to look at a few figures: 175 is the number of days that the Debenhams workers have been on strike and €175 million is the amount that was paid to KPMG to wind down Anglo-Irish Bank by the State. The value of the stock inside Debenhams is €11 million, and €11 million is what it would take to pay proper redundancy to the 1,000 workers and their families, namely the two weeks that were negotiated and bargained for. The fee that was paid to KPMG to advise the Government on the national broadband plan also ha…

I am impressed the Minister started off his speech by saying his first priority is social justice and social rights. I would not expect anything else from the leader of the Green Party. He finished with more or less the same sentiment. In between, however, he read out some Civil Service claptrap that makes no sense to me. I do not think the Minister understood it. Does he expect 1,000 workers and their families to understand it when we know there is stock in those stores, which those workers are protecting, that is…

I did not argue with that. I am telling the Minister what I want him to do.

We are all acutely aware that there is great fear across the country of the months ahead, the growing number of Covid cases and the dangers many people are facing in the coming period. The conflicting advice, confused rules and regulations and lack of clarity about what needs to be done and what we are doing from the Government are feeding into that fear. In this context, I would love to be able to say something positive about the announced winter plan. I am afraid I cannot because those at the front line of the he…