The sums are wrong in the budget.

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, spent time in County Louth last Friday opening a welcome new social housing development. It was great to welcome him to our hometown and our small city. In the time he spent in County Louth, there was a very strong chance that some of the men he met are survivors and victims of disgraced paedophile and former doctor, Michael Shine. The spectre or ghost of Michael Shine hangs over my hometown, counties Louth and Meath, north County Dublin and parts of counties Cavan and Monag…

We were told time and again that the identification of DEIS plus schools would be done in a transparent, robust and evidence-based way but the fact that not a single school in Drogheda has found its way into this long-awaited scheme leads me to challenge that assertion. As the Minister of State will know, Drogheda is the largest town in Ireland yet to be declared a city. It is a great place with a great spirit and yet like all urban areas, we have our problems. We have pockets of severe and deep social and economic…

I would like to have more time available to discuss this, because I am confounded by that response. Effectively, what the Minister of State is saying is that we have disadvantage but that it is not at the level of concentration required for inclusion in DEIS plus. That is quite extraordinary in light of the data we have available. I will give the Minister of State an example. At least three of the schools serve particular areas. I am going to read out the levels of disadvantage in the context of the HP deprivation …

It is not. It is about home ownership.

I am pleased to speak in support of the motion. I commend colleagues in Sinn Féin for deciding to use their weekly Private Member's time to advance the argument for a fairer deal for working people in this country with the support of ICTU colleagues. Many trade union friends and colleagues are in the Gallery this evening and watching online. We rightly spend a lot of time in this House making the case for emergency financial support for working people who are struggling to pay the bills, keep food on the table, and…

Hundreds of thousands of working families have been left asking why they have been left behind by this Government. They are left wondering what it will take for the Government to act to help them. Which piece of road or which port should they blockade before the Government takes notice? Over the past six months, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independents made deliberate decisions which left those workers behind and worse off. It decided on plain silly VAT cuts for fast food firms, paid for by PAYE workers, because it …

There are other and better ways of targeting supports to businesses which may need them, not a blanket VAT cut that is going to disproportionately benefit the burger barons like Ronald McDonald and his friends. That is a very poor use of taxpayer money and is being paid for directly by PAYE workers. That is the reality. The Tánaiste is now trying to retroactively justify that by the increased energy costs that businesses will be experiencing. I simply do not buy that. The Tánaiste is going to have to explain, with …

We were because the Government got it so wrong.

Justice for the Kilgarvan one.

I ask the Minister to update the House on his plans for a new savings and investment scheme for retail investors and if he could enlighten the House as to what he anticipates the estimated cost to the Exchequer in terms of tax forgone in the first five years of the scheme might be, and if there is, in fact, an assessment already done on that basis.

I welcome the debate on this. I accept that we need reform in this area. I have no difficulty with that. There has been a lot of focus on the deemed disposal rule. There is no doubt that how it operates is an anachronism and reform is needed. That should not sideline us from the need to develop alternative routes to allow people to plan for their future. I am glad the Tánaiste referred to the context of what people are experiencing at the moment. Investment is very much a minority sport. Most people are concerned w…

I understand that people are risk averse because people have been burnt before. There are always risks to investing. Any model or scheme that is developed has to be very clear on that. I understand why the Tánaiste might want to dip his toe in the water in a tentative fashion in the first instance, and then maybe move from there. The Tánaiste has been quoted as favouring the Swedish model. It is one that people will be familiar with. On the basis that he has an understanding of the Swedish model and his officials m…

I would say there was a sliding tackle from Coimisiún na Meán earlier on.

Five months into his tenure as Minister for Finance, the Tánaiste, is bringing forward a second batch of emergency financial resolutions just four weeks on from the initial €250 million package. On balance, we in the Labour Party support the decision to reduce excise duties on petrol and diesel but the Government is quickly running out of road on further reductions when the price shock from the disruption to oil supply is yet to fully hit. We know there are dangerous and volatile times on the way; this is far from …

Brexit.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. I will be sharing time with my colleagues Deputies Conor Sheehan and George Lawlor. It is a short Bill at just ten pages and comprising ten section, but it is of real and critical significance to our economy and our society. The infrastructure deficit in our country is perhaps the biggest single economic challenge we have. As the Minister recounted earlier, the IMF has estimated that Ireland is looking at an infrastructure deficit, or physical infrastructur…

Policing by consent is a hallmark of how An Garda Síochána has operated in this State. That model is breaking down as visibility of gardaí on the ground thins out, resulting in a dangerous chasm between gardaí and the communities they are pledged to protect. On-the-ground policing builds trust and relationships and safer communities. Every Member of this House will testify that the number of cases crossing our desks every day reporting antisocial behaviour in communities across the country is on the rise. I suggest…

They are on minimum wage.

I want to put on record my serious concerns about the way in which business has been conducted today. At the end of the Order of Business and the Chief Whip's short contribution earlier today, she mentioned that there may be other resolutions this evening. We were in the dark about this. We want to be a constructive and responsible Opposition. There are people watching in who are concerned about their everyday livelihoods and the challenges they face, and now this is being sprung on us with a limited amount of time…