Amendment No. 27 is in the names of Deputies Boyd Barrett, Gino Kenny, Paul Murphy, Bríd Smith and Barry. We will group this with amendment No. 28, which is in the name of Deputy Doherty. Amendments Nos. 27 and 28 will be discussed together.

The new agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, for farmers is a couple of weeks from being nailed down. It is a good scheme but unfortunately, there are some cohorts which do not quite fit in. Farmers who are on the hen harrier scheme and superficially in Clare, Burren farmers. There are 400 farmers in Clare in the Burren Life programme. It is a fantastic project which is run by Dr. Brendan Dunford and his team. I have met them and the Irish Farmers Association, IFA. The new scheme does not cater for them. T…

It is of major concern.

It was great to see the Ceann Comhairle back a few moments ago. I wish him well. I am glad to have the opportunity to speak at this debate this afternoon. I consider there to be two wings to Irish Water. The first is Irish Water "Incorporated" which is very frustrating to deal with and the second is on-the-ground crews that are very helpful in the community. I will speak about Irish Water "Incorporated" for a moment. It is up there with the National Transport Authority, NTA, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, a…

That was like a QAnon speech. I do not know who these global masters we are all servile to are but it was an interesting speech. There was much in it that I would agree with. Deputy McGrath's cock of hay comment will be taken out of context. It will probably be a meme before the night is over.

I do actually, I farm, probably more than Deputy McGrath. I was making the point that I agree with him but a younger generation would not get the comment about the cock of hay. It was just in jest. I thank the Acting Chair for the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. We are going to amend an important piece of legislation to ensure that small- and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, are recapitalised and have a steady flow of money that will in some way alleviate the pain they are going to face in the months ah…

The Minister for Finance just left a moment ago. Would the Government consider a deferral of the rates re-evaluation that is currently under way in Clare, Donegal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Galway, Kerry and Mayo? These areas are currently facing their first commercial rates re-evaluation in 160 years, the last one having taken place in 1862. They have been well supported by the Government during Covid and well supported in the recent budget but this is a cliff edge for many businesses. I have received emails from ma…

This whole "step aside" thing is not, unfortunately, how democracy works. We had an election. There is a Government. Sinn Féin had its chance to be in that. I would love to see its housing solution because it does not stack up. That is what commentator after commentator has costed and analysed. I welcome the legislation before us. It is positive legislation and protects vulnerable people from November until the end of March. It should be subject to review thereafter because we saw during Covid that those who are le…

I welcome this legislation. It is imperative that we secure energy supplies in Ireland this winter and beyond. We all want to see Ireland transition to renewables. It cannot happen quickly enough but it takes time to build the infrastructure we so desperately want to see, be it on land or offshore in the form of the wind-generating facilities. I want to speak for a moment about Moneypoint power-generating station in County Clare, a coal-burning facility. In an ideal world, it would have transitioned. It is in the p…

I wish to ask a question that has been recurring in the Dáil Chamber in the past few weeks. It relates to the transfer of Shannon Heritage to the local authorities in the mid-west, principally Clare County Council. I acknowledge that the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has been forthcoming in engaging with us in the county about the matter. I went to meet the workers again last weekend. They find themselves caught in the middle. There is an interdepartmental working group and a local authority and a Shannon Airpo…

On the matter of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, the lack of broadleaf trees was very much raised. In my constituency, very close to my home, we have Cratloe Wood, a 600 acre plantation which was once western Europe’s largest oak wood. The rafters above the chamber in which Queen Elizabeth II lay in state were built from Cratloe oak beams. The Royal Palace Amsterdam and HMS Victory were all built from Cratloe oak and, perhaps, even this building. Nowadays, if one goes to Cratloe Wood, it is Sitka spruc…

If my hair stands up, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will know the microphone has shocked me, with the rain dropping in this corner. I notice it is dry in other parts of the Chamber but we are still standing. I have a straightforward question and I hope the Taoiseach can tell us something positive. The Limerick northern distributor road, phase 1, from Coonagh to Knockalisheen, finally got under way for the second time. The contractor fell through but work has restarted, which is great. We now see all the improvements th…

I thank the Taoiseach.

The Acting Chairman would not get away with me skipping Deputy McDonald.

I know it well.

I understand that the division deals with the realm of policing reform. The Taoiseach does not have a direct function in respect of Garda operations, but the Garda roster that was introduced at the beginning of Covid was known as the four-four roster, under which gardaí would work four days and be off for four days. It was transformative for communities because we saw more of our gardaí on the streets, but it was also transformative for gardaí in their home environments. For the first time in their lives, they were…

I am glad to see the Leas-Cheann Comhairle has arranged for the roof to be fixed.

I was worried we might have to bail out to the convention centre, which was quite a miserable place to be stuck in. At least we are here for the time being. I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is a positive Bill and empowering to consumers and all who walk through the doors of a bank to avail of services. It provides for greater levels of accountability in the financial services sector. It sets out the standards and behaviour expectations of the financial sector for individuals and firms tha…

The Minister did a good job with Leaders' Questions. I was watching from my office. I have a very quick question. Shannon Airport has submitted an application for a public service obligation route to the Department of Transport. This will soon come across the Minister, Deputy McGrath's desk. It seeks a service between Shannon Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Brexit has been a disaster for everyone on this island but we in the Shannon region are feeling it particularly strongly. We in the west of Ireland are …

I join others in supporting this positive legislation, which the Minister has been leading in his Department for some time. It transposes various elements of EU work-life balance directives and also provides rights to parents and carers to help support a better work-life balance. Under this Bill, parents and carers will see several improvements. The first of these is a right to request flexible working, including the right to request compressed or reduced hours. Five days of annual leave for serious medical care ar…