The Government is the denier.

I am glad to have the opportunity to talk about this important subject. Good living people all over the world, in whatever country they are in, look up to the police. Instead of doing their job fairly and properly, police in Northern Ireland threw petrol on the flames at that time. The report has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was collusion at a high level between the RUC and loyalist paramilitaries. When we talk about the RUC, we can be sure that what happened went all of the way to the top, includin…

I too am glad to have the opportunity to welcome the Ukrainian ambassador and her team to our Parliament. We wish them well. I hope the Minister of State did not get caught in the crossfire. He seems to be injured, but I am sure he is fine.

We sympathise with Ukraine and its people. It is not too long ago that a previous generation was involved in civil war and continuation of battle with the British until we got our own independence. As well as the trouble with Russia, there is a civil war threatening in Ukraine because there is a divide between the people. Some want to go with the east and others want to go West. We have to protect our neutrality. We have done that over the years, including de Valera during the Second World War. Everything worked ou…

I am opposed to citizens' assemblies. We are elected into this Chamber by the people. I understand these assemblies will be appointed, as they have been before, by Government or parties in government. What credentials do they have to have? We know from the last assembly that at least nine of them did not meet the criteria to be on that so-called assembly. The local authorities and county councils do so much work on the ground listening to people's problems and complaints. Is this to sideline all those people who ar…

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk against the carbon tax. I am glad that Sinn Féin has at last seen the light, having voted for the carbon tax already. I am glad it has now seen the light and is against the carbon tax because it affects every man, woman and child in rural Ireland, including ordinary workers, people with cars going to work, commercial transport and lorries that are driven by grand honest people who cannot stay going. Farmers with tractors and other vehicles, school bus operators, taxis and ha…

I cannot understand why the cable car has to be closed for so long because in 1967 it was built in one month for £14,000. It will take eight months to repair it. We have cranes and helicopters in today's world, which were not available in 1967. Why will it take so long? On average, 200 tourists use the cable car every day. There are 50 cows and 600 sheep on the best of land. There are 1,432 acres of land there. There is a spill-off on the Kerry side to Lauragh, Kilmackillogue, Helen's Bar and Bed and Breakfast, Ken…

I thank the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, for a positive response and outlining how they feel about it. We are asking for a ferry and that the structure be repaired sooner. The waters are treacherous, especially when the tide comes in. If ordinary people use boats, lives could be lost. When the tide comes in, it swings to the left, and when it is going out, it swings to the right. It is a serious matter. We are close to the people of Dursey Island. It is part of history and it is part of the…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and the Minister of State.

I thank the Regional Group for giving us the opportunity to talk about disabled people in order that we can all highlight ways in which we need to help them. There is a scheme in place, the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme, that provides relief from VRT and VAT for disabled people and disabled people's next of kin or drivers in order that they can take passengers in their vehicles. That scheme has been totally held up since before Christmas. The Minister of State knows there are 380 people on the lis…

Deputy Michael Collins spoke about blind people and other categories of people who were not qualifying. Dr. McDonagh and the rest of them resigned because they could not keep going with the conditions and regulations-----

The Government is robbing Peter to pay Paul.

I am glad to get the opportunity to speak. I thank Sinn Féin for facilitating this very important debate. I agree with the motion, but I have a different angle I wish to raise. We are talking about tackling the cost of living, which has gone up exorbitantly because of the cost of fuel - diesel, petrol and home heating oil. We know that this has gone up worldwide, but the tax take is bigger. The Minister has left the Chamber. The tax take has increased. I again ask the Government to forgo the increase and to give it…

The Minister should give up codding people like that and driving them mad. They are on the phone ringing to see what is wrong. Just because they got €500 or €600 seven, eight or ten years ago, they will get nothing now.

Why does the Government want to raise the carbon tax to further drive the situation mad and out of people's control?

Can I start again because the Minister was out of the Chamber?

I raised this issue back in November and it is now the middle of February, which is when farmers need to spread their fertiliser. To take one product alone, urea was €330 a tonne this time last year. Now it is €930 a tonne. That is the gospel truth. Farmers cannot work without getting some bit of a profit. At this rate they will not survive. They will have to pass their costs on to the consumer. People are wondering about inflation and what is causing it. This is one of the causes. I ask the Minister for Agricultur…

Ah, Minister-----

Sleepy wrote a letter.

The Government is doing nothing. The Minister wrote a letter.