With an ashtray.

On No. 11, motion re Part 2 of the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021, it is beyond comprehension that the Government would extend the emergency powers. Everybody's expectation is that we will be reopening everything on 22 January. The schools are back due to the heroic effort made by so many. To think the Government wants to hold onto this power grab for another three months and kill this Christmas as well, given communities, families and the business community have suffered so much. They are trying to get up off…

It is medical apartheid.

They are keeping the powers.

I did for a long time.

The National Ambulance Service is in paralysis. The paramedics and first responders are voting with their feet and leaving. Response to emergency calls is evaluated including response times. On one recent day, the Clonmel ambulance did not service a single 999 call-out in County Tipperary. It was sent as far away as the Aran Islands. This is crazy. The fleet is burning out, as well as the manpower. They are not getting their lift or their leave, they are not finishing on time and they are not getting respected for …

It happened.

Were the organisations representing the restaurateurs and publicans consulted about this extension? Was An Garda Síochána consulted? Where did the date of 22 October for the reopening of everything come from and where did it go? Why are we extending this legislation for a further three months? We all see the waiting lists despite the additional €3.884 billion that was invested in the health service in 2020, never mind 2021. I want to know why the Government closed St. Brigid's District Hospital in Carrick-On-Suir i…

We will go again.

How temporary is "temporary"?

There is no scrutiny.

It is belt and braces.

The social welfare officer and the community welfare officer are a very important part of resourcing vulnerable people. From next week, offices, including in my county, will stop contacts totally. Officers used to come to villages but then retreated to their offices before Covid. Now someone has to call a call bank, the call will be logged and a community welfare officer may or may not ring him or her back. Vulnerable people go to these officers, who do a great job - they did a great job during Covid as well, as di…

Fair play. Fair play. Fair play.

Hear, hear.

I thought the Deputies were in government together.

I, too, am critical of this, as well as of the sneaky way in the budget last year the Government put in a carbon tax, which we cannot even debate on the finance Bill for next year, or for the nine years. This trick o' the loop job is a three-card trick. We all agree that climate mitigation is necessary. However, we are being destroyed in rural Ireland. It is pure folly. Many speakers earlier who spoke about what I have been speaking about, which is the pollution that is being caused out by county councils up and do…

That is what they said.

These are the most basic untruths. Are they asleep at the wheel? They will hear about it from their electorate, when they go back. It is shocking that they will not allow timber to be cut. We will bring forward Private Members' legislation to deal with an issue with afforestation. There are people, who in good faith, enter 25-, 30- or 40-year cycle, with the expectation that they could harvest their crop. When people sow their potatoes, beet when we had it, wheat, barley, miscanthus, or any other crop, they have a …

We cannot cut the handle of a brush without getting a licence. We need to go back to harvesting our crop and to reaping what we sow. I can tell the Government parties that they are going to reap what they sow.