Two errors have been discovered in the calculated grading system. Are we satisfied that there are no other errors? Is there a possibility that this new expertise and review might, in fact, turn up other problems or errors? The Taoiseach said the objective of keeping the information to themselves was to prioritise contact with students. What has been the nature of that contact? There has been none. The Taoiseach said they were putting students first. I believe the Department is establishing a helpline today. Is that…

Yesterday was a very bad day for tens of thousands of families and businesses that need breathing space in respect of their mortgages. The announcement that mortgage breaks will come to an end after this week has caused a great deal of anxiety and stress. These mortgage breaks gave homeowners and businesses some relief as the economic effects of the emergency and public health restrictions bit hard. Nobody expected the mortgage breaks to go on forever but they should certainly have been maintained for as long as th…

Tea and sympathy for mortgage holders is of no use to them. Of course, some will be in a position to return to full payment of their mortgage sum but many others will not. The question is why the mortgage breaks were stopped for families and businesses that still require them at a time when we are still in the grip of a public emergency, when additional restrictions have been placed on Dublin and Donegal, and when there is the very real prospect that will happen elsewhere throughout the country. That is the issue. …

This morning, the North's public prosecution service announced that 15 former British soldiers will not be prosecuted in connection with the murder of 13 civilians in Derry on Bloody Sunday in 1972. I pay tribute to the Bloody Sunday families for their strength, stamina and determination. This is another very disappointing day in their campaign for truth and justice. I share that disappointment given the well-documented actions of the British army on that day. The former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, said …

I also want to raise the matter of a citizens' assembly on the issues of drugs and drug use and misuse, as well as recovery and how the State supports and funds such an approach. I have raised with the Taoiseach the value and importance of the community participation provision within the national drugs strategy. I have brought to his attention that some within the apparatus of the State are less than enthusiastic about that community participation provision. The Taoiseach has agreed with me on more than one occasio…

I got in to ask a question and then the Taoiseach talked down the clock. My colleague got a short few seconds but I will get none.

Okay. The Taoiseach has a peculiar way of looking at the clock. All the evidence in the real world demonstrates the State does not take the matters of drug use, misuse and, above all, recovery seriously. How many detox beds are available in the State? Tell us that.

How many detox beds are there? Does the Taoiseach know? He should.

The Taoiseach has hearing difficulties.

He always patronises people. It is his thing.

Slightly constitutional.

We all know it.

The commission is to consider the future of print, broadcast and online media in what is described as "a platform-agnostic fashion", which is an interesting turn of phrase. Consideration needs to be given to the differing regulatory frameworks governing online media and traditional media. I think all Members present agree on the absolute importance and urgency of the work of the commission. Quality public service journalism and broadcasting are essential. They are at the core of our entire democratic system. I am c…

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, has withdrawn from the Low Pay Commission. Its general secretary, Patricia King, stated that it did so because the commission was not prepared to go beyond an increase of 1% in the minimum wage for 2021. A 1% increase would mean an increase of 10 cent an hour for the workers affected - the thousands of low-paid workers who have kept us going during this pandemic. Overnight, when the going got tough, many of those workers were classified as essential. When the chips were dow…

The only thing that is extraordinary is the Taoiseach's extraordinary lack of fairness and his even more extraordinary lack of self-awareness in this regard. Let us rehearse the facts again. The Government's new wage subsidy scheme excludes 153,000 workers who earn €151 a week or less. They are not eligible and are excluded from the scheme. That hurts those workers, it hurts their employers and the Government has left them out in the cold, very deliberately. That is a fact. The Government has also cut the PUP, so a…

On a point of order, the Taoiseach has responded in the manner he has. I just have to say-----

I know that we do not have a fact-checking facility for the Oireachtas but the facts that I set out about the wage subsidy scheme and the pandemic unemployment payment-----

-----are accurate and I would like that recorded on the record of the Dáil. I do not appreciate being accused of laying untruths before the House. That is not true.

Yesterday, I raised with the Taoiseach the very real sense of abandonment that citizens with disabilities and their families, carers and service providers feel. I asked him to commit to ring-fencing the necessary funding to ensure that services get back up and running to capacity. The Taoiseach cited, of course, the Covid-19 protocols, which I recognise. More importantly, the services, the sector, the families and the individuals with disabilities themselves recognise that those protocols have to be abided by and r…

What about County Monaghan?