I said earlier that we should all listen to Deputy Howlin, who has far more experience than I. He asked a very logical question. While we may not agree on the primary purpose of a pub, the publicans that I know, and I am sure that he knows too, give far more than that. They give service with a smile and they look after their customers. They are ringing some of their customers to make sure they are all right because they have not seen them in more than 15 months. They are telling them that they are open for outdoor …

I am also glad to be able to address these amendments. There is an ideological argument here about parties on the left and on the right. The sad part about all this, however, is that there is a logjam in the delivery of housing. Many parties have been involved. When the Labour Party was in government, Deputy Kelly was the Minister responsible and he promised us more houses. I told him then that he would not build a henhouse from Toomevara to Carrick-on-Suir and he did not. We must get real here. I am not in favour …

I am disappointed because the debate on this Bill is being guillotined. When the Minister's party was in opposition, and even when it was a part of the confidence and supply arrangement, it railed against the guillotining of legislation, rushing it through and not taking amendments. What kind of message is it sending to the public? Is it a message of "do as I do and not as I say"? The Minister has set his face against taking any of the amendments. As I said at the start, some of the amendments may reflect a fundame…

We are discussing amendments Nos. 1 to 15 in this group.

Yes, amendments Nos. 1 to 13. We have two more to go. The Minister will get his amendments through when the guillotine falls on the Bill tonight. The Minister should not make this a laughing matter. He has nothing to smile about. I believe there are not many smiles at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting tonight. There is a great deal of anguish and tears.

The wheels are falling off the wagon. The Minister will have to rein in Deputies O'Dea and MacSharry and others. They have found out what we know about the Government. The Government is not fit for the job, full stop. I do not say that to the Minister personally but it is definitely true of the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health.

The Minister tried to interrupt me by asking what amendments I was speaking about. I am calling out the guillotining of the legislation without giving enough time for debate. This important legislation raises many issues about the LDA. There are a plethora of other agencies out there that are not fit for purpose, not doing their jobs and not accountable. Will the LDA be accountable? We set up quango after quango and then rub our hands and complain about them. They are being enabled by this legislation. I would go s…

I will take just one minute. I understand that people who have tabled amendments want to speak to them. I again want to object to the guillotining of the Bill. It is a practice the Government has engaged in. It can blame Covid and everything else. It railed against it when it was in opposition and when it was in a confidence and supply agreement but now it takes it up with gusto. It is a desperate practice and we cannot properly scrutinise legislation.

I am also of the view that the Taoiseach should be here. He gave a press conference less than an hour ago. What is going on? Last summer we were able to have indoor dining without major incident and without vaccines. Now, 12 or 13 months later, and we are in a situation where more than 4 million vaccines have been administered and, despite already being an outlier in the context of Europe and the rest of the world, the Government is going to delay the reopening of the hospitality industry. That is pure madness. The…

I have heard it all now from a Cabinet Minister: NPHET could be right and might be right. The Minister went on to say that he personally does not believe there will be 7,600 cases and there might be instead 800 cases. What is going on in the Cabinet room? Are the ears completely dúnta? Is the Cabinet going to consult industry 15 months on, having demoralised and destroyed it? Will the Government dispense with the services of Dr. Holohan and NPHET? A cabal, I call them. Will it dispense with NIAC? We have all these …

Will it be Christmas?

Fifteen months of mistakes.

They are not accountable to the Dáil.

You did.

Last night you did.

A fait accompli .

Not agreed.

I got a call from the Business Committee today saying the debate on Covid-19 was being moved from Wednesday to Thursday to allow for new legislation to be introduced here to deal with outdoor drinking - it seems the indoor drinking will not be allowed anyway - and the appointment of judges. That is a plethora of issues in one legislative measure. This is downright blackguarding. We need a proper, full and meaningful debate in the House to deal with the massive implications of today's decision. Last night, the Gover…

Is that true?

Jobs for the boys.