-----believes they can frustrate the work of an Oireachtas committee. That is unacceptable.

I think it is of a different scale and order, respectfully.

The Northern Assembly recently passed legislation providing for statutory entitlement to at least ten days' paid leave for victims of domestic abuse. Similar protection is urgently needed here. We know that some organisations in the public and private sectors already provide domestic violence paid leave for their employees. This entitlement is usually supplemented with training for managers to ensure victims can secure the workplace support they need. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, undertook to include domestic vio…

Genius.

I am just saying that the penny is dropping. Genius.

In August last year, ActionAid Ireland, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Men's Development Network all called on the Government to ratify the International Labour Organization, ILO, convention on violence and harassment. As the Tánaiste and his Minister of State have recognised, ILO Convention 190 is the first ever international instrument on eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work. This protection is, of course, especially relevant for women but for men too. I have repeatedly raised this…

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Uachtarán Zelenskyy as ucht a óráide ar maidin. I want to extend our deep appreciation and gratitude to President Zelenskyy for his address on this historic day. I want to acknowledge the presence of the diplomatic corps, in particular our friend Ambassador Gerasko and her staff. I want to pay them a particular commendation for their work in these very trying times. We have heard directly from President Zelenskyy, in the rawest, most harrowing and heartbreaking of term…

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Uachtarán Zelenskyy as ucht a óráide ar maidin. I want to extend our deep appreciation and gratitude to President Zelenskyy for his address on this historic day. I want to acknowledge the presence of the diplomatic corps, but in particular, our friend, Ambassador Gerasko, and her staff. I want to pay them a particular commendation for their work in these very trying times. We have heard directly from President Zelenskyy, in the rawest, most harrowing and heartbreaking …

Yesterday, I asked the Taoiseach to cancel the carbon tax hike scheduled for 1 May. Struggling households are under huge pressure trying to pay soaring energy bills. The very last thing they need is the Government adding to that pressure with a tax hike. Yesterday, the Taoiseach refused to cancel that increase and indicated that the Government is determined to press ahead with it. In that decision, the Government is ignoring the fact that every single euro counts for workers and families and that many households ar…

I have asked the Taoiseach to set out what this comprehensive approach will amount to. It has to be all about bringing costs down. I ask again whether it will include measures to give relief to renters and if it will cut childcare costs. What other measures does the Government have in mind? We all agree that costs must come down. I also asked the Taoiseach to act with urgency. The Taoiseach should bear in mind that both finance Ministers in the Government have previously said they are not minded to do anything unti…

It is ending on Friday.

The Taoiseach is talking down the clock. Can I have an answer?

The Taoiseach has not answered.

I asked the Taoiseach a straight question that he has refused to answer.

The recent meeting of the European Council provided leaders with a prime opportunity to address the cost of living crisis and in particular the skyrocketing energy bills that have hammered workers and families for more than a year now. For more than five months, Sinn Féin has been calling on the Government to engage with the European Commission to cut VAT on these extortionate bills. Unfortunately this is something that the Taoiseach and the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform have pushed back a…

The Deputy got a lot in there.

We are just three weeks away from the Government's carbon tax hike on 1 May. This is the same day that the latest round of energy price hikes from providers will kick in. The carbon tax will make life harder for workers and families who are already struggling to keep on top of their soaring energy bills. They live in dread, in panic and, in some cases, in fear. People are being fleeced by big energy companies, which are making bumper profits. It is crazy that the Government, which should act to protect households, …

Yesterday, the Taoiseach told the media the carbon tax is not a big issue in the grand scheme of things and that it was not a big deal. However, this is a big issue for households up and down the country where every euro counts and so a worn-out public is again left shaking their heads at the out-of-touch reaction from Ministers. People rightly ask where is the common sense and where is the sense of urgency or agility from the Government to respond to what is happening in people's daily lives. The carbon tax hike i…

We have made the case to the Taoiseach for a more comprehensive response. In fact, we have advocated for a mini-budget to deal with the very many costs that people are struggling with including sky-high rents, childcare costs and insurance costs that are out of control but up until today, the Taoiseach has singularly failed to listen to or respond to that message. Today I asked the Taoiseach about the carbon tax hike and I put it to him that it is neither intelligent nor sensible to add any level of additional cost…

I have told the Taoiseach before that attacking me is not an answer.