I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to introduce the River Boyne Task Force Bill to the House. The Bill seeks to establish a committee of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly to serve as a River Boyne task force with the function of proposing and promoting policies and priorities for the protection and enhancement of the environment of the River Boyne and of its natural habitats and wildlife. While they are not in a position to be here I acknowledge the support of colleagues like De…

Yes.

I thank the Minister of State for his response even though it is not a response that I would agree with. It is disappointing that the Government has decided not to send the Bill for further examination on Committee Stage or delay its next reading, but to actively oppose it. I do not think that sends out the right the signal. It is very disappointing and in some ways upends a practice that has been in place for some time. I believe the arguments that the Bill makes merit and warrant further consideration. The Minist…

The Labour Party deliberately decided to align transport issues with the Government's chronic track record on providing a right to working people to access remote work. We get an insight today into this Government's thinking on remote work, for two reasons. The first is that the Government's response to our motion is effectively silent on the question of remote work. The second is that Ministers and their Secretaries General are actively working to ensure public and civil servants who worked, in some instances, one…

The Minister will be aware that in 2017, I introduced legislation to provide for an exoneration for men who were convicted of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual activity prior to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993. As he will recall, the first part of that process was the historic State apology issued in both Houses of the Oireachtas in July 2018 for the way in which this State and this society treated their LGBT+ citizens. The second element of that process was the initiation of a process to set as…

It is a year since the new Dáil met and almost 11 months since the new Government was formed, yet we still do not have the medium-term economic plan that this Government is obliged to submit to Brussels. The media were briefed earlier this week that the Cabinet would approve the plan on Tuesday. Is that the case? Has the plan been approved and when will it be published?

There is simply no valid reason this plan has been delayed for several months. We were told to expect this plan in the summer. We expected to see it before the budget. We did not see it before the budget. I think at this point, politics and media management is getting in the way of the publication of the plan. It will be published tomorrow. That is an interesting and important point. It should have been published this week so the Dáil would have been able to scrutinise and interrogate the plan and have a full debat…

The Minister has laid out the principles of what we can expect to see tomorrow. We knew that already. We understood that. Those of us who are members of the Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight met with the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, this week. I know the Tánaiste met with them when he was appointed.

They were, rightly, scathing about this Government's approach to budgeting. They said that the Government was budgeting like there was no tomorrow. The Tánaiste acknowledged there are no forecasts or horizons beyond next year. That is no way to budget. Our view in Labour is that key to this plan is that we should be prepared to reflect on the plan. Perhaps the Tánaiste can confirm to the House this afternoon whether the plan will include the commitment to the introduction of a net spending rule, net of tax changes.…

Where is this going?

I will speak today on behalf of the Labour Party to express our strong support for the Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Fox Hunting) Bill 2025. I want to thank our colleagues for proposing it. This legislation is not about point-scoring, nor is it about rural Ireland versus urban Ireland. To say it is actually diminishes the points that some who oppose this legislation are seeking to make. It is fundamentally about decency, ethics and whether we are prepared to legislate in line with what we say are stated public …

I want to draw the Ministers of State's attention to very serious concerns over a multiplicity of issues brought to my attention by fishers I represent at Clogherhead in County Louth. Last month, as the Ministers of State will be aware, a trawler sank off Bettystown. Two Egyptian fishers in difficulty were rescued by the Coast Guard helicopter and the Clogherhead lifeboat. This is not an isolated case; it is the sixth such incident in recent times. There is a very concerning pattern. Exactly two years ago, an Egypt…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I recall the rushed nature of the debate on the corresponding Bill on the eve of the general election last November. As has been said on many occasions over the years, this legislation is, to some degree, a housekeeping exercise, as reflected in the Minister's comments, but it is nevertheless important that we have a Dáil debate on the matters the Bill addresses more broadly. As previous speakers noted, it was not that not long ago that the Dáil did not debate appropr…

They have both got their clips. This is a serious Parliament.

The Deputy will be on social media now.

Take the Dáil seriously.

Excuse me. Did the Leas-Cheann Comhairle hear that comment from Deputy Ward? He referred to my colleague in unparliamentary terms. That needs to be withdrawn immediately. That kind of conduct is not acceptable in the Parliament. It may be acceptable for some on a Thursday, who are only interested in getting clips for social media. They ought to conduct themselves in a parliamentary fashion and respect all colleagues.

It is outrageous.

I did.

That is your reality, Taoiseach.