I thank the Acting Chairman. I appreciate his forbearance. We did not see this matter listed on the schedule. We thank the Acting Chairman for allowing us in to contribute to the Second Stage debate on the Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022. That is a mouthful. I have great respect for the Minister of State. I have great time for him as a colleague, a backbencher and now as a Minister of State. However, the banks are running amok. It seems to me that the Government wishes to allow them to …

It is the same with cows.

Watering down the concrete.

Not agreed.

Will the Taoiseach ensure that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Transport provide extra emergency funding to County Tipperary? Huge damage was done on Sunday evening in the Knockmealdown and Galtee mountain ranges, in the villages of Ballylooby, Burncourt and Ballyporeen and in Thurles town, where a huge number of houses and properties were flooded because of lack of infrastructure and poor infrastructure from Irish Water and others. The county council has expended its …

It is fitting that we are discussing this topic of tourism and development as a wonderful organisation called Munster Vales today held a sustainable tourism event in Caiseal Mumhan, Cashel, County Tipperary, which I, unfortunately, could not attend due to being here. From what I heard it was an excellent event and I want to compliment Tríona O'Mahony and her team on that. Munster Vales is doing fantastic work promoting the region of Tipperary, north Cork, Limerick and down to the Copper Coast in Waterford. It is gr…

Maith an bhean.

Limerick, you’re a lady. The competition is on.

Paddy Kavanagh looked after that.

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion. I am weary and tired of the Government not opposing these motions. It does oppose them in name and actions but it just will not oppose them in the Dáil. This is because it does not have the moral courage to get the backbenchers into the Chamber. I hate using the word that starts with an "s" but they are screwing the people. That is what is happening. The backbenchers will not turn up and vote for it because they are in trepidation of the people they will meet out there. It …

On behalf of the Rural Independent Group, I want to praise the students. My motto is mol an óige agus tiocfaidh siad. In that vein, I would like to welcome students from Skibbereen Community School who are in the Gallery with Deputy Michael Collins and other colleagues. Students, especially those from rural areas, are suffering greatly. Very little happened in the budget for them. We accept the payments announced. However, the travel and accommodation costs and tuition fees are having an impact on families. Those w…

The purpose of this Bill, we are told in the explanatory memorandum, is to give further effect to Directive 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU and, for that purpose, to amend the Parental Leave Act 1998 to entitle certain employees to leave for medical care purposes and to request flexible working arrangements for caring purposes. That all sounds nice and dandy and reasonable. In the first ins…

Indeed, ag obair go crua i gcónaí. I accept that totally. I would be nowhere without them. I have five daughters and, God bless her, one wife. We have three sons. Now we have six beautiful granddaughters and three wonderful little buachaillí óga - grandsons. It is a good mixture and a good blend. I get plenty of sound advice along the way and I am grateful for that. I thank God, for their health and for their support. The Bill also amends the Maternity Protection Act 1994 to extend the entitlement to breastfeeding …

This is my understanding. There was a big furore during the summer fanned by the media and some of the organisations that champion this cause. We have many NGOs and they cost €5.5 billion a year. Some of this money was redirected. We have a lot of good NGOs, do not get me wrong, but I question the number of them. I found out from the response to a parliamentary question asked by my colleague Deputy Nolan that there are 36,000 of them. The Minister has said changing the word "woman" is not in the Bill but we have a …

It is all relevant because we are passing the Bill and many people have fundamental issues with it. Then they see the other side and legislation that has been passed which is not being enforced. Worse, and no disrespect to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle who I am told is an eminent barrister in her other life, is free legal aid and the whole circus. Legislation on tagging was passed by the House and it seems to have got lost. I am not saying to tag everybody but serial convicted persons who offend again should be tagged.…

Yes but it is all relative. I am speaking about the Bill. I have finished anyhow. I am speaking about the legislation and the impact it will have.

This is an important motion which has been brought forward by the Labour Party and I compliment it on doing so. I wholeheartedly support the community and voluntary sector. The people working in that sector have not had a wage increase in 14 years. What other section would put up with that? These people are the glue and the building blocks that keep our country together. In many cases, these are voluntary boards. What is the Government doing? As with pyrite and mica, it is devastating these communities because it d…

Why has the Government deliberately chosen not to cap the cost of electricity or implement a windfall tax on electricity providers in this country? Never has there been a more important time to be decisive and to reduce the crippling bills that households, small businesses and farmers are facing. All energy customers are once again facing extremely significant increases in their bills from this month, with seven providers applying massive price hikes. These companies are receiving little or no support from the comm…

That was a pretty feeble answer. The Government is tired; it has created this problem itself. The Government likes to blame the war in Ukraine but, as awful as that is, the Government has created this problem. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. That is what the Government is trying to do here. Some 40% is not nearly enough for businesses. I know of one SuperValu in Tipperary whose bill increased from €6,000 in February last year to €18,000 this year. What good is 40%? That is replicated for all other …

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