It is a three-legged stool and it is bockety.

So has the Government.

They are giddy before the holidays.

Get a clapometer.

Paul Reid is gone.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, aided and abetted by the Green Party, are not only degrading the national Parliament on issues of serious public concern but they are also turning their backs on the ordinary public at a time of the greatest need with the cost of living so high. Instead of introducing an emergency budget, something for which we called last February, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party wish to cruise into the summer and forget about the people. Their actions are unforgivable. The Rural Independent G…

I am glad to be able to speak on this sensitive and important topic. The issue of reception centres has been dogging us for a long number of years. There is a centre in Carrick-on-Suir which has changed and adapted and become very good and the people in it have integrated well. However, in times to come, I do not think history will be kind to us as a nation for the way we have treated asylum seekers in general. That goes without saying. We look at the legacies of the past and talk about the Magdalen laundries and o…

Cash is king.

This week the Government made a welcome announcement about back-to-school footwear and clothing and, indeed, school transport. However, there is an ever-expanding cohort of people who are the new working poor. They pay for everything and get nothing. They might be rich on paper, meaning that above all they do not qualify for a medical card or anything else, but with the crippling rise in prices and inflation they are completely devastated. They get no supports. Their children have to go to school, be educated and b…

Let the people use it.

I am happy to speak on this Bill, although I am very perplexed about the manner in which it has arrived in the Chamber which is as a result of a Supreme Court judgment. Why has this happened at half past the eleventh hour of the Dáil term? What is of more concern is the question of where the planning and environment Ministers are? I have no issue with the Minister of State present, with whom I have worked for a year. Perhaps the brief of the Minister of State covers this but I believed his was an education brief. T…

Of course, but why not even on a Sunday? We are here four days a week already but I know that none of the Government Deputies are.

I accept that but we have some constituents to represent as well. I know the Government Deputies are hiding from them, but they will find you with the peann luaidhe istigh sa bhosca ballóide. They will find you and you will be fairly low down the list when they start using that pencil if you treat the people like this, and you will know what to expect. We are treating the House very badly. I am not blaming the Minister of State present but I am blaming the Government as a whole. It is one piece of legislation after…

Fiddle.

For the sake of cows we cannot even-----

I am delighted to speak to this legislation, which is welcome. I salute all the workers in hospitality and across a range of other services, some of which may not be as visible, including those in the taxi industry and in transport and across the whole spectrum. They have had a torrid couple of years. We all appreciate that. This Bill relates to tips for employees. People always give tips in good faith. It is an Irish thing. It is voluntary. Most employers pass on tips and look after their employees. A number of us…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter for debate. It is very important that we discuss this and make our voices heard as a neutral country. I am in no way taking from the savage despicable war and slaughter in Ukraine but there are other parts of the world to which we do not give equal time. I thank Sister Kathleen McGarvey for outlining so clearly how Christians in Nigeria are under constant attack. Christians are under attack on a daily and hourly basis not only in Nigeria but also in Yemen and so…

I thank Deputy Nolan for repeatedly asking parliamentary questions on this issue and for highlighting the matter. She is associated with this Topical Issue matter. Last Saturday, we were fortunate enough to have a celebration of mass by our parish priest, Fr. Michael Toomey, out at a mass rock, where priests were victimised and terrorised, and indeed, paid the ultimate price with their lives during the time of the Penal Laws. Thankfully, we have moved on since then. We were able to celebrate mass there. Fr. Paddy O…

Although they have now left the Gallery, the staff from the convention centre are on tour tonight, and I pay a warm tribute to them for looking after us so well and kindly down there in difficult circumstances this time last year, and for a long time. I hope they will have a happy visit here this evening. I wish them all the best for the future.

Well done, Deputy Higgins, and thank you for your co-operation.