The Minister will reply when the Deputy has finished.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire agus leis an Teachta O'Connor. Before we finish, I would like to thank the Minister and all the Ministers. I thank Mr. Peter Finnegan and his diligent staff. I thank all the Deputies and their staff as well. Moving down here to the new surroundings of the Convention Centre has been a trying time. Having said that, I thank our ushers, our gardaí and indeed all the staff of the Convention Centre. I wish them all a well-deserved break. Tá sé an-déanach ar fad anocht, nó ar maidin. I advis…

And so say all of us.

In the same vein, the OPW is giving out mixed messages. The Government is giving out many mixed messages since the people have been restricted during the Covid crisis. The Taoiseach was in the beautiful town of Cahir with me some years ago when I was a fellow traveller of his. He knows the town well. It is a beautiful town with a wonderful organisation, Cahir Development Association, leading its Tidy Towns efforts. It has many businesses, one of which, John Quirke Jewellers, celebrates 45 years in business today. C…

The Taoiseach would be welcome.

The OPW sites are closed.

I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on the Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Bill 2020. I welcome many of the measures in the July stimulus package but, unfortunately, it simply does not go far enough in many areas. It has all the hallmarks of a departmental document without the understanding of what makes people tick in rural and urban areas all over Ireland. The purpose of stay and spend incentives is to incentivise taxpayers to support registered providers of accommodation and food during the of…

I too want to speak to this section and echo what Deputy Boyd Barrett said. It is cruel that the self-employed are once again discriminated against regarding the PUP. The failure of the Government to take the 2019 assessment into account was an oversight that caused untold hardship. These people, as Deputy Boyd Barrett and others have said, are self-made. Many of them, perhaps, were in employment ten years ago or whenever and decided to take up their hobby and turn it into a business. Then, when they became success…

Yes, it is, and it is all part of the section about our entertainers. They are being abandoned, cast away, left behind and stood on and got rid of. It is a shame on the Ministers and his Cabinet colleagues. Stimulus package, my backside. The Minister cannot be so discriminatory against people like this. If they went to the courts, they would win a challenge but they cannot afford to go. Their mental health and their houses are under threat, as are their families, their transport, everything - their very being. Arti…

Excuse me, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I wish to raise a point of order.

I am being attacked. The Minister called me mean and nasty.

He called me nasty and mean.

I will do my best. Whether it is the fact that I am from Tipperary, where the first shots in the War of Independence were fired, whether it is the fact I listen to Rebel Hearts, Rattle the Boards, Des Dillon or Dom O'Driscoll and wonderful ballads and songs-----

Yes, and I am replying to the Minister. How dare he say I am mean and nasty. How dare he. I am representing the people. A survey of 4,100 members of the MEAI discovered that 11.6% could not pay their utility bills, 9.7% had to sell essential equipment, 7% have lost or are in danger of losing their vehicles, which they have to manage because the same vehicle might be used for the family to go to the beach, go to school or pick up the children, and 3.4% are in danger of losing their homes. Is that mean and nasty beca…

That is what the Government did.

It is not agreed.

It is not agreed.

I, too, support this very important legislation and I compliment the Regional Group on bringing it forward. The Minister has left and I cannot see which Minister of State is here, but it is important that we deal with this issue for many reasons. Many other countries have legislation in this area and have brought successful prosecutions. However, it seems to be a free-for-all here. I question the legal profession because, while its members have to act on the information given to them, they often know full well that…

Ar an gcéad dul síos, gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle agus na daoine atá ag obair ina oifig for facilitating the selection of this Topical Issue matter. We do not want to see another children's hospital saga. We in Tipperary are proud people and we are not anti-Dublin, but we think this project is daft. I thank Liam Minihan of Fight the Pipe campaign and I thank Independent councillor, Séamie Morris, and Emma Kennedy for her excellent report and analysis on this. Media reports have indicated that the cost…

I am disappointed that the Minister of State has not given a cast-iron guarantee that all avenues will be explored, given that he is a member of the Green Party. I will repeat that we are not anti-Dublin or anti-development but almost every town and village in my county is at capacity with regard to waste water treatment, although some of the major towns are okay. Many have water shortages during dry summers. It is not so dry this summer but we still had a hosepipe ban despite all the rain in February. This is, as …