I ask that the Minister address the motion.

The salmon of knowledge.

The Minister is running down the clock.

A Cheann Comhairle, the Minister is eating into our time.

I thank my colleagues and the officials from our office - Brian Ó Domhnaill, iarSheanadóir John Hanafin and Mairéad McGrath for their work on this motion. We stand proud over this motion. It is what the people are telling us. We are in touch with the people. We are not going to listen to arrogance and petulance from a Minister who normally leaves the Chamber before we speak, but he got caught here today. He does not like us for some reason or another. We know the facts. The Government promised in the 2016 budget th…

People and the cost of living-----

A perfect storm has blown up around the crisis in the price of oil. We are told diesel could go to €2.25 a litre and petrol to €2.40. Given the Russian situation, what alternatives are there if anything happens to that supply of Russian gas? How many days worth of oil are stored in this country? Will the Government reconsider the closure of the peat plants in the midlands, and reconsider the liquified natural gas, LNG, plant, for instance, that would provide an alternative to the gas line that is coming in? The Gov…

We need the two of them.

Live in the dark, is it?

What is the supply?

What stores of oil do we have?

I ask Members to extend a warm welcome to the new Ukrainian ambassador, H.E. Larysa Gerasko, who is in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. Céad míle fáilte. You are most welcome, Ms Gerasko.

I again welcome the Ukrainian ambassador, H.E. Larysa Gerasko, and her team and look forward, on behalf of our group, to a productive dialogue. I look forward to meeting her. Like everybody else, I am very concerned about what is going on. Many Ukrainian nationals, some of whom are now Irish citizens, are living and working in Tipperary and have families. They are involved in crafts and trades. They are a valuable source of workers and very friendly people in Tipperary and around the country. I am worried about our…

I have great respect for the Minister and know he is a decent man but this is a whitewash of the highest order. It is a half-baked and cobbled-together attempt by officials in the Department of Transport who have wanted to keep this situation under wraps ever since the Whiddy Island disaster. We have had many more, including one in Dungarvan when we lost two young men, young O'Brien and young Esmonde, 12 years ago, and there was no investigation. The investigation board has no seagoing experience. We have the Swedi…

I am making allegations that this legislation is toothless, fruitless and useless, and it does not-----

Someone has to take responsibility. It is a smokescreen and a cover-up. I am elected to represent people, including the families of those two young men who lost their lives off Helvick Head. There was no proper investigation. Nobody in the Marine Casualty Investigation Board could go out to sea because they had no seagoing experience. It would only happen in Ireland and not in any other country in the world. In Ukraine or Russia it would not be as bad. We continue with this useless legislation that will not deal wi…

That is what it is. I appreciate the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's concerns but it is nothing short of a cover-up and half-baked legislation to keep it going on.

My question concerns the impact of the return of so many non-nationals to their own countries. There is a crisis in every industry now. Pigs cannot be slaughtered. There are problems in farming, whether they relate to cows, lambs or agricultural contractors. The hospitality industry is also impacted. Across the board, employees cannot be sourced. They are not there to be got. Many places have closed half time because they do not have the staff, many of whom have returned to their own countries. The Department is to…

I too am amazed because I called a vote in the convention centre on the Finance Bill 2020 and nine other Independents supported me. Every other party, including those in opposition, Sinn Féin and all, voted to give away our right to debate ten years of carbon tax increases to 2030, let alone vote against them. We signed up for a ten-year whammy after whammy to hit mammy or anybody else. We signed that right away. I do not know what Sinn Féin is doing. It is missing in action. It has been absent as regards this issu…

I have to come back to the Minister again on behalf of Oireachtas Members from the south east regarding funding for the N24 and N25. A sum of €3.5 million is needed to continue preparatory work, reports and investigations. Our consultants are doing that work and their funding runs out at the end of this month. We need that meeting urgently to determine whether we can get the €3.5 million that is needed to keep the project alive. Connectivity between Limerick and Waterford is important. I welcome the Minister's visi…