The Deputy was not listening to us.

There were 144 objections by one objector-----

I wish to start off by registering my concern at the closure of beds in Killarney Community Hospital. Its capacity has gone from 38 beds to 23 beds, a loss of 15 beds. Bed numbers at St. Columbanus public nursing home have dropped from 92 to 65, a loss of 27 beds, including bed losses on the Fuschia ward which caters for patients with dementia. These are savage cuts. A total of 42 beds have been taken out of these hospitals in Killarney and I wish to register my concern about that. What is the Government's plan in …

In that case, in relation to the families with children with physical or mental disabilities, or both, where the Taoiseach cannot provide the service, could he give them financial help so that they themselves could hire somebody because they cannot continue under the pressure they are experiencing at present? The district hospital and the Columbanus Home in Killarney are on the same campus. We read that the Government was going to provide more beds but the opposite is happening in Killarney which only has the one c…

-----and maybe coronavirus as well. Will the Taoiseach look at it and talk to HIQA? If it was good enough all the time since March, how is it not fit for purpose now all of a sudden?

We have put in a number of amendments and we want to debate them.

There is in Dublin what we do not have down the country.

I thank Sinn Féin. I will support its motion because there is no question but that this is absolutely ridiculous. It is like putting the cart before the horse. If the system involved people being brought to court and being fined or given penalty points at that stage, that would be fine. This is not the case under this system. The Taoiseach has signed a statutory instrument and, if fishermen are held up on the high seas and get penalty points, no matter what they do and no matter what court they go to, those penalty…

This is a grand, popular, populist idea by the Labour Party and I do not begrudge employees anything that we can give them because they deserve as much as we can provide. Where will the money come from, however? I register the fact that I am a small employer myself. Small employers are under fierce pressure. In my county, we depend on small employers to a great degree. We do not have oil, gold or diamonds and if we did we would not be allowed to drill for them anyway. Small employers are struggling with rules and r…

I wish to raise again with the Taoiseach the forestry industry, sawmills and so forth. They are on their knees. Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to sign off on felling licences? The harvesters, hauliers, the plant hire contractors who build the roads, the sawmills and the planters are all going to be out of work. The people who have put in objections again are few in number. What they have done to all those people is a scandal. If they were in any other country, they would be…

I raise the matter of tests for young drivers. The tests are seriously delayed in Kerry. A young fellow who has organised a job in Cork but cannot drive there will lose the job. A young farmer who wants to go to the farmers' course in Clonakilty but is waiting for months for a driving test cannot go to Clonakilty. The same story applies to youngsters going to colleges. They cannot drive because they cannot get their driving test. The public health team's decision that school buses can only operate at 50% capacity h…

I have little to say on this but I support any measures taken to impede criminals, especially drug lords, who are dealing with massive sums of money. I support any means by which they can be apprehended, slowed down and got out of the scene, and I support taking their funds from them. One of the biggest issues we all have to deal with today concerns drugs and the amounts of money involved. The slaughter we hear about in this city day after day is all drug-related. We, as elected representatives, must support any la…

I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Fleming, on his appointment and wish him well in his new role. It is very hard for ordinary people to grasp what is going on at present. First, it is Government policy to tell us to use public transport. Then it is advertising telling us to use only 50% of it or not to use it at all if we can do so. Taxis are needed and are not being supported. Many taxis in Killarney and Tralee are not working at all; they have no work. Nightclubs are closed and there are no touris…

Hundreds of small plant hire operators and sole traders all over the Twenty-six Counties are about to lose their livelihoods and jobs following Irish Water's decision to tender out the water and sewerage maintenance work to one contractor or company for each county or multiple counties. This decision will only benefit some large multinational companies and will exclude local operators, families and workers who have given massive service over the years to keep the water flowing in our counties. I want to say as well…

I am glad of the opportunity to speak and thank the Independent Group for organising this motion relating to Debenhams workers. As has been pointed out, Debenhams has assets in other places and it was supported very well in Tralee by the people who used to buy its wares. The people of Tralee did not let the Debenhams workers down. Likewise, the people in Dublin did not let Debenhams down. They are, however, being let down by this very wealthy company. Seeing as the company is not for caving in, the Government shoul…

The cornerstone of the predictive grade system was that the professional judgment of the teacher would be key. Teachers gave their professional opinion on the fairest grade an individual student would achieve if he or she sat the leaving certificate exam but that professional opinion seems to have been questioned by the State Examinations Commission. A full 17% of all grades were reduced. At higher level one in five of the estimated grades was lowered. How many grades, if any, were upgraded? How was it acceptable f…

They would be blind otherwise.

Will we be allowed to continue?

Is the Taoiseach going to stop it? Answer the question.

They are going to stop it.