Are you sure?

It is not agreed.

We are not agreeing to it. We are being told this in the middle of the Order of Business and the amount of time being provided is not adequate to have proper, meaningful questions and answers. The public needs this and we need this, because it could be far-reaching in its effects on other contracts and other important issues of State. The national children's hospital comes to mind, as does the broadband contract and God knows whatever else. The former Minister, Mr. Ross, tells us how the then Minister, Deputy Naugh…

Fourteen minutes is not enough time, so I oppose the proposal.

The Government is trying to hide, not us.

The Government is trying to cover up, not us.

It does not matter what we write. The Government will not give us any more time. It bullies everyone.

He does not respect the Chair.

The regulations for level 5 are full of inconsistencies. Two weeks ago the coursing industry received a hammer blow which stopped coursing even though clubs were in the middle of it. Today I raise a diktat issued last Thursday evening in relation to the pheasant shooting season, which was due to open on 1 November. People are not allowed go out with their guns and dogs, out into the wilds. Many clubs, such as my own club, the Ardfinnan, Ballybacon, Grange and Newcastle Gun Club, and huntsmen do huge work for preser…

I am surprised by many of the answers the Tánaiste has given. This contract was worth more than €210 million and I would have thought that Cabinet confidentiality and the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 would have prevented him from sharing confidential documents. Has the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, made any demands of the Tánaiste in exchange for his continued support and that of his party?

I have done so once or twice. Does the Tánaiste accept that if Fianna Fáil and the Green Party were not in such a dismal situation, his actions would already have collapsed this Government when he has already got the heads of two Fianna Fáil Ministers, Deputies Cowen and Calleary, for very minor misdemeanours?

The Tánaiste suggests he has different rating of friends, that some are distant friends, some are absent friends and some are friends for the time being. I have a picture on my phone of the Tánaiste and Dr. Ó Tuathail involved in a certain march in Dublin in 2019 - very close context and very good friends. Dr. Ó Tuathail used the Tánaiste as a puppet and the Tánaiste did not even know he was being used as a puppet. The amount of money involved makes one think about the children's hospital, and the Tánaiste's Govern…

The Tánaiste is denying he is a friend.

I am not dealing with innuendo. The photograph was there. The Tánaiste has said Dr. Ó Tuathail was not his friend. Does the Tánaiste accept he is having a Nixon moment? Former US President Nixon said that when a president does something, it is not illegal. When the Taoiseach did this, it seems it was not illegal. What example does this give to the rest of the Government, as Deputy Tóibín has said, and to the country in general? It is not illegal if the Taoiseach can get away with it.

Some Government Deputies wrongly accused Deputy Shortall of not supporting the Garda, so in case they try to do the same again, I want to put on the record that I support the Garda 100%. We have an excellent community division in Tipperary. It was stood down but is back up running now. I support Sergeant Ray Moloney, Superintendent Denis Whelan and all the inspectors in Cahir and thank them for the work they have done. They have re-engaged since yesterday morning to go out to visit elderly and vulnerable people. I …

The Minister went on at great length to describe how when he was in opposition he would have felt this legislation was draconian but this is what we need. Either he believes in it or he does not. If it is the mandarins in the Department who are looking for it, he should tell them he does not believe it. I, along with Deputy Michael Collins and others, asked the Minister earlier about the marts, people's mental health, as well as their financial ruin, and the churches. When he was replying, he said he would only rep…

I am delighted the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, has arrived and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is also present. I ask him to respond to the questions about the marts. Damage is being done to farmers and to those who want to sell from an economic point of view, but another angle is that it provides a physical outlet for people to go to. Not everyone can attend the mart online because they are not adapted to that or because there is no broadband in many areas. Several ma…

On a point of order, a few times this week senior Ministers came in. We had known for some hours that those Ministers were coming in and there were only a handful of us here. Have they no paper? Have they no printers? This is scandalous. This is not fair. He said so many things and he read out regulations. No one could follow them, in fairness. They should have the script. It is an insult to the House and to us Members who were waiting to hear him. They should have it and it happened two or three times this week.

He was coming in to make that statement.

Under the new Covid restrictions, a priest can be fined, imprisoned or both for saying a mass in public. The same applies to any minister of any religion who holds a public ceremony or act of worship. This is drastic, draconian and unacceptable and raises questions about the constitutionality of the measures taken today. It is totally disproportionate. The regulations state that no person shall leave their house or place of residence without reasonable excuse and lists 25 exemptions or reasons persons are allowed t…