I asked her to give me a specific answer.

Deputy Andrews has time, a Cheann Comhairle.

I am sharing time with three of my colleagues. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Any Government spending in our economy is welcome and necessary right now. The only questions we need to ask about the package that has been announced by Government is who benefits and where benefits. The question of who benefits is really concerning because many ordinary workers and families will not benefit sufficiently from this package. Our carers, people who are providing crucial facilities, those who lost their jobs and family farmers…

In March, I wrote to the then Ministers for Business, Enterprise and Innovation and Transport, Tourism and Sport, and the then Taoiseach as bus operators in my county of Monaghan raised with me the huge concerns that were likely to arise as a result of the restrictions. At that point, it was very clear that bespoke solutions would be required to support bus operators. Those bespoke solutions have yet to materialise and I appeal to the Taoiseach to ensure these companies, which are often vital components of rural ec…

As we are speaking about public transport, the Tánaiste might be aware there is an issue with public and private bus operators in counties like my own, which do not have a rail network at all. Is the Tánaiste aware some local authorities are now putting in place additional restrictions on bus operators with respect to pick-up spots along main roads? We are trying to promote the use of public bus transport so does the Tánaiste agree such restrictions are ludicrous and that measures should be put in place to increase…

It appears to me that the Taoiseach went to Brussels and his intention was to agree whatever transpired regardless of the cost. The big losers in the deal announced are farmers and rural communities not just in Ireland but across the European Union. I found the Taoiseach's defence of what is a 9% cut in the Common Agricultural Policy budget pathetic. To suggest that the overall CAP budget increased from 29% in the Commission's proposal to 31% in the final deal and to try to sell that as some form of victory is biza…

The Taoiseach has returned from Brussels with a deal that could spell the end for many of our family farms. The new EU budget will see a 9% cut in the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, and this at a period when our farmers need more support, not less. It is at a time when farmers are under increasing pressures around prices. It is at a time when the detail we have on the Common Agricultural Policy is that it will apparently result in greater bureaucracy and costs. Put simply, on the face of it, this is a disastrous …

Under the Order of Business, my point is that we need additional time under statements post the European Council meeting. I propose that we double the time allocated in order for these points to be made and for the House to have a detailed conversation and debate on what exactly is entailed in this agreement.

As well as by the IFA.

There is a 10% cut to the Common Agricultural Policy.

The Taoiseach agreed to a 10% cut to the Common Agricultural Policy.

A 10% cut.

But you failed.

A 10% cut is a failure.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this item, which might be described as a niche issue but potentially affects tens of thousands of people across the country. As the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, may be aware, a vote was supposed to take place today at the European committee on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals, known as the REACH committee, on a draft Commission regulation which would essentially see the banning of lead shot bullets. According to the context of th…

Beidh nóiméad amháin agam agus nóiméad ag an Teachta Clarke. What the Minister of State has outlined would probably make sense were it the case that some consultation had taken place. The Government cannot take anything other than outright opposition to this regulation prior to consultation with those people who will be affected by it. As is the case with any legislation, and particularly with EU regulations, there are always unforeseen consequences that only people at the coalface will be able to address. There is…

This is my first opportunity to congratulate the Taoiseach and his family on his appointment. Go n-éirí an t-ádh libh. The Taoiseach was previously Minister for Health and his legacy in my county of Monaghan is that he was one of a successive line of Ministers who oversaw the removal of services from our local hospital. In view of the Covid-19-related restrictive measures that will have to be applied at emergency departments in Drogheda and Cavan and in hospitals throughout the State, will the Taoiseach ensure that…

I am sharing time with a number of my colleagues. I commend Deputy Kerrane on putting this motion before the House. I support it entirely. I also commend all of the new mothers who led the campaign to extend maternity leave and those who supported them in their work, including the National Women's Council of Ireland and Members of this House, including Deputies McDonald, O'Reilly, Bríd Smith and others from across the political divide who stood outside the gates of this complex and assured those women that everythi…

The front page of the Irish Farmers' Journal today features an article stating that the Irish Farmers Association is seeking evidence of uncompetitive practices in the meat processing sector. Almost anybody who looks at this objectively will know that cartel-like practices are being engaged in. It should not be left up to a farmers' organisation to investigate these matters. The people who should be doing this are in the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, which has said that it will not investiga…

I also welcome the Labour Party motion on housing and homelessness. I wish that party had had the same interest in tackling those issues when it was in government and it adopted the very policies that created the crisis in housing that we now face. The current Labour Party leader and then Minister with responsibility for housing was one of a sorry line of disastrous Ministers in that post. The policies enacted by that Fine Gael-Labour Party Government were essentially about protecting the same vested interests Fian…