I will sit down wherever I like.

I am going out anyway.

She was looking for me, so I had to come in.

You did mention my name.

You will not say I was not here either-----

I am here and I have been all day and all night.

You will not-----

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk here tonight on behalf of the motion. I welcome all of the farmers here from around the country. I see people here who were at an IFA meeting in Kilgarvan last night, would you believe? They are up here and they are very welcome. All I have is my word and this Government promised me, going back to the start of the year, that it would be against Mercosur. This was one of the four things that I asked. All I have is my word and that is what it said to me, that it was against Me…

Many of them have let us down. Rest assured, my heart is with each and every one of the farmers. I know what they are going through day and night and I will continue the fight against Mercosur.

I will take no dictation from Deputy Daly or Jennifer Whitmore calling me out because I was here at the start and I will be here at the finish.

What did you say? I am supporting the farmers against the Mercosur deal and I will stand firm on that.

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk again on this social welfare Bill and auto-enrolment. We are hoping that in a very short time, the means test for carers will be abolished altogether. As I understand it, if you are caring for someone with a disability you are actually living their life. That is what many loved ones are doing. They have no choice in the matter. They do not think about it; they just continue to do that. We must be fair and look after those people as they need it because as a Government and as…

I am glad to get the opportunity to speak. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this motion before us this evening. Motoring costs affect every man, woman and child on the road. Kerry is a very diverse county with three peninsulas, and if you are going anywhere, it is a long journey. People cannot manage without a car because without one, they are marooned. I will start off with the challenges young people face with the cost of driving tests, lessons and all the rest of it. They are doing everything right and then they a…

All right.

I wish to discuss the recent cuts in the sheep welfare and beef welfare farm payments which have happened recently. I am very disappointed about this. The farmers I am talking about are seriously disappointed about it. They had asked prior to the budget that the amounts they were to receive would be increased. On budget day we were assured that there would not be an increase but that last year's payment levels would be maintained. I went back with that story to the people who had asked me. I was very disappointed w…

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I know it is late at night. However, I am looking at my documents here and listening to her reading her documents and I make out that we are in two different worlds altogether and talking about two different things. The sheep farmers were expecting €13 and they are getting €11.50. The beef and calf farmers were expecting €75 and they are getting €67. The Minister of State has a different story altogether and she is talking about different times and different things, but …

I am glad to get the chance to talk about this serious and, for some people, emotive matter here this evening. I welcome the investment by Government in the ESB. It surely needs to improve when we see communities left without electricity for days and weeks in places such as Cordal, Brosna, Gneeveguilla, Glencar and Knocknagoshel earlier in the year because of a storm. I have to mention one aspect of that operation. I want to thank all the workers that put their lives in danger trying to restore the lines, day and n…

I welcome this debate. Something has to change. I wish all the candidates on the ballot paper the very best. Like a lot of others, I am of the view that the chance to run for President must be opened up to many more people. The current system is very confined and, as we have seen, it is determined by a few people as to who can run. The local authorities were to have an opportunity to endorse people but members were restricted by their party hierarchies to ensure they could not vote for Independent and other candida…

That is all right, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I will not name names but many people feel a certain other lady should have had a chance to run. I regret, as others do, that certain people did not get a chance. The likes of the man I mentioned did so much to secure the Good Friday Agreement and for the well-being of our country. It is regrettable that he did not get a chance. He would have been a sound operator on the worldwide stage. We must do something different the next time. I know it is seven years away but we ne…

This is a very important debate. Men are slower to go to doctors than women, especially men on their own. I know that when men have wives and partners, they see after them and make them go. Men are tough and they persevere with pain, and they often let themselves go. I have known of too many cases where they waited too long, and they were at stage 4, where little could be done for them. I saw a man who eventually jumped out of his machine and sought help, but it was too late. He stayed at it too long. He was a grea…