I am totally opposed to the Bill. I am deeply frustrated with how our amendments have been dealt with. I will first speak to the matter of the Bill. Recently, the Taoiseach described the Opposition's rejection of the Government's stroke politics as a subversion of the Constitution. Talk about a subversion of the English language. The Government was forced to row back on its outrageous plan to have Government supporters sit on Opposition benches. It was not enough for the Government to already have one of the most c…

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

A Cheann Comhairle, as you will see, there is a note that I have opposed this section. I oppose it for all the reasons outlined by all the Opposition parties together in the last hour or so. It is outrageous that the first act of this Government is to increase the number of super junior and junior Ministers. This is at a time when many of our constituents have had two weeks without electricity, then more weeks without broadband and with no end in sight. The first thing the Government and the Minister have done is t…

Hear, hear.

Parts of Connemara had serious telecommunications issues in November, with certain areas without a phone signal for up to three weeks. Now, again, these exact same people are facing the exact same issues. Many have been told they will not get connectivity for another six weeks despite us running into the third week of the storm's aftermath. Some are being told by their private providers that they have absolutely no update for them. For those people who have never been impacted by this, it might not appear as seriou…

It is not agreed. Ní aontaím leis seo.

A Cheann Comhairle, it is an absolute disgrace-----

-----that the first thing this Government is doing-----

It is an absolute disgrace when people are without water and electricity-----

-----and all you want is more jobs for yourselves.

I welcome the fact that we are having this debate but it should have happened last week. There is no doubt in my mind that if this had happened in Dublin, the Dáil would have sat as a matter of urgency last week. It is outrageous that it did not. I recognise the immense work that was done by those on the ground, those who worked tirelessly to get water and electricity back, and those who are continuing to do very difficult work on tough terrain, especially given that much of our infrastructure was already completel…

Hear, hear.

Is onóir mhór dom é seasamh os bhur gcomhair inniu agus an Teachta Mary Lou McDonald a ainmniú mar Thaoiseach. Inniu, táimid ag teacht le chéile chun Rialtas na Dála seo a thoghadh. Teastaíonn Taoiseach a thuigeann na deacrachtaí atá againn sa tír seo ach chomh maith leis sin a fheiceann na deiseanna gur féidir linn a chothú chun saol agus tír i bhfad Éireann níos fearr a chruthú. Is é sin an cineál ceannaire a bheadh i gceist leis an Teachta Mary Lou McDonald mar Thaoiseach. It is an incredible honour to nominate …

Actually, it is my speaking time. Of course, the Government parties must be absolutely exhausted from having to relive their Leaving Certificate maths exam where they seem to have struggled with Question No. 1: how many junior Ministers does it take to form a government?

The answer that they settled on was 23, which is in contrast to that in previous years' exam papers, which was lower. Anyone who would have paid attention to the way they campaigned during the general election would have been forgiven for thinking that their focus today would have been on the people and the people that we represent, but, no, they are not having their focus on people across this State but on the needs of the people in this Chamber. We have often heard from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the past fiv…

The Government is making thousands of carers who are on reduced payments wait until July to get their allowance increases. Let them have them now. It is the same when it comes to the occupied territories Bill. It has been a long-term commitment from Fianna Fáil. It was in the previous programme for Government. The legislation was done.

It was supported by all parties in the previous Dáil and by the overwhelming majority of the electorate. What did Government parties do? They sat on their hands, talked around in circles and tied themselves in knots. Then, when the election campaign was on, it was their priority. Now that the election is over, they are telling us that they need different legislation. There were a lot of people outside this place yesterday who knew exactly what they were trying to do. However, it is important for people not to lose …

We need to pass the occupied territories Bill. This Government has had more than enough time to iron out any issues and any concerns they had. They could have done it but they did not do it, on purpose. I agree it is important that we stand up and use our voice for words of condemnation. When a genocide is happening, however, words of condemnation are simply just not enough. It seems there has been a focus here on optics rather than action and on soundbites rather than substance. When we see the televised genocide …

I am sure the Aire Stáit and his Government colleagues agree that the work carers do is extremely important and that carers deserve to be recognised for that work and supported in return. It is work done with love to allow our family members, friends, neighbours and members of our community who need care to continue to live at home and remain in their communities. It is work done by carers who do not get the weekend off, workers who do not get to switch off at the end of their shift. It is work that saves the State…