-----I am more than happy to do that-----

-----but I would prefer that you answer the questions that I have put to you.

No, a Cheann Comhairle. We have had-----

Sorry, a Cheann Comhairle. With respect-----

-----we have had session after session-----

-----in which the Head of Government will not answer questions.

Answer the questions that are put to you.

Yes, that is right, Micheál. Well done. Good man.

I appreciate that and my dispute is not with the Ceann Comhairle or anyone else on the Opposition benches-----

-----but we have a Taoiseach who-----

-----flatly refuses to answer questions-----

-----and reacts in that hysterical manner when he is held to account. It is truly shocking.

This afternoon, the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, will set out plans to introduce an amnesty for British soldiers who went on to the streets and gunned down innocent civilians in Derry, in Ballymurphy and beyond. This is an amnesty for state and non-state actors who acted on behalf of and in collusion with the British state. These are people who always believed they would never be held to account for their actions and that the truth behind Britain's dirty war in Ireland would remai…

Will the Taoiseach-----

-----set out what actions he proposes to take in the face of this gross act of bad faith? Has he lifted the phone-----

-----to Downing Street? If not, when will he?

I extend a very warm welcome to Deputy Bacik. Fáilte mhór agus comhghairdeas. Well done on a very convincing and wonderful victory. She is now the 37th woman in the House and that is good news for all of us. Congratulations to Ivana. We all look forward very much to working with her. Last week, the Taoiseach and his Government forced through an amendment to legislation dealing with Covid-19 business supports that provided yet another tax break to investment funds and cuckoo funds. This was an incredibly bad move, r…

Public land should be used for building public housing - social and affordable housing - full stop. The days of Fianna Fáil and its crony friends, the big developers, creaming off at the people’s expense should be over. I would have thought the Taoiseach would have learned that from catastrophes past but perhaps he has not. He is confirming that €1 billion will be spent and will go into the pockets of these investment funds to lease back homes that will not be owned by the State. His assertion that this measure is …

It is very clear that the full and safe reopening of the hospitality sector is urgent so that businesses can open, workers can get back to work and people can interact socially once again. Instead of a thought-out orderly plan to make this happen we have, once again, a last minute scramble from the three parties of government to produce legislation that is discriminatory, ill thought-out and which many will regard as unenforceable. The Government will force this legislation through the House with very limited debat…

What we need is a plan to include everyone and not a plan to exclude some. That is fundamentally wrong and flawed and it is wrong to force it through in this rushed manner.