Decisive decisions.

Are there other kinds of decisions?

You should be ashamed of yourself, Minister.

You should be ashamed.

I welcome the opportunity to speak this afternoon about auto-enrolment pensions. I acknowledge my dad in the Public Gallery. Both of us have spent a large chunk of our working lives working hard to improve the situation for workers. I genuinely wish I could support the Government's auto-enrolment proposals. Although I am someone who fundamentally believes in decent pensions, I think this is a missed opportunity. One reason is the way the Minister has constructed it while another relates to the current situation. I …

That is fine. I did not want to take any time from my colleagues. That is all.

I am indeed. It is something which is not spoken of often enough.

Yes. I will continue until six minutes are left and my colleagues will take three minutes each, if that is okay.

Yes, but there are nine minutes left so we will have three each. I probably will not even take that. I want to use my words to conclude. I think there might have been too much time put up, but we can only go with what is on the clock. In short, the Government's scheme for auto-enrolment is unfortunately and regrettably a missed opportunity. That it did not take our suggestion to task the NTMA with managing the fund is a missed opportunity. It would have been a chance to put in place secure renewable infrastructure …

Nobody is suggesting that we do.

Hear, hear.

It is a pity the Minister could not stay for the debate. However, I have her script in front of me. It says "check against delivery". That is very good advice because the Government is generally very big on sound bites and woefully inadequate when it comes to actual delivery. In her script, the Minister tells us that solutions are being found every single day. Does this not tell us that every single day, issues are arising? The Government had years to plan for this. It has census data and data from the schools. The…

I start by thanking my colleague an Teachta Pa Daly for this motion and for all of his work on this issue. That we continue to put forward constructive solutions to the crisis caused by this Government is a great credit to my colleagues. As the dark evenings draw in and it starts to get colder, it is important that we turn our attention to the reality of what is happening in homes across the State. For this Government, the cost-of-living crisis is only something it trots out and acknowledges in the run-up to an ele…

Not enough is happening.

The Tánaiste did not know how many Covids there had been, though, did he?

There are 7,000 kids who have been waiting for dental treatment for more than a year. It is a damning figure and one the Government should be rightly ashamed of. I am sure the Minister of State is ashamed of it. She might not put it on the record, but I am sure she looks at those figures and feels some shame. Despite the veneer of a public system, the vast majority of dental care is carried out in the private sector. We have heard from people who have been forced to go to the private sector and forced to take out l…

The inaction of this Government has caused tens of thousands of children to miss out on basic dental care. The impact of this is felt throughout their lives.

Now, they are getting themselves not just into long-term debt but also into short-term debt.

I welcome members of the Ryan family to the Gallery this afternoon. We remember their brother Mark and commend all of those survivors, some of whom have had the courage and internal strength to be able to come forward. For the others who we know are watching this at home and who may never have said it out loud, we commend them nonetheless for surviving what they have been through. I welcome this announcement. I am genuinely confused about the exclusion of physical abuse. As has been requested, the Minister may be a…

I welcome all the endo-warriors who are with us, and their families. I commend them on their fight and on standing up. I also offer my sympathies to them because I know many of them came here tonight in pain. The Minister knows she should withdraw the amendment but just in case she is under any illusions, I spoke to these women and these are the words they use to describe her amendment. They call it "sickening", "inaccurate" and "insulting". The Minister can press on with an amendment that is "sickening", "inaccura…