Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an Aire. I wish the Minister the very best. I know how hard he worked on the housing committee. He had some great ideas and I hope his officials will work with him and allow him to bring those ideas to fruition. I wish there was a Utopia. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae alluded to the view of the left that all landlords are demons, evil and bad, they plucked a property, which fell from the sky, and they make maximum profits from it, pay no tax on it and mi…

Today, hundreds of bus and coach owners are in Dublin with their buses, at enormous expense to themselves, because they have been shut down and closed off. I completely support the remarks made by Deputies on the previous topic but people will not have buses or coaches to travel to matches if we do not support this very valuable industry. These buses carry all the tourists here and carry people to concerts. Many bus operators in each county carry people shopping to different towns and they also provide a huge servi…

Is the Bill opposed?

Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

I ask Deputy Kelly to conclude.

The time has elapsed, Taoiseach.

Time is up.

Tá an t-am caite.

Ceist Uimhir 25 is in the name of Deputy John Brady but Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú has been nominated to ask it.

The Deputy will get another opportunity.

I ask speakers to stick to the time because we are running way over time.

Deputy Browne's fellow county man, Deputy Howlin, wishes to ask a brief question.

I cannot see the Deputy but it is nice to be up there, all the same.

I thank the Deputy and ask the Minister to be brief because other Deputies are losing out on time.

We would miss the Deputy here.

Yes, I am sharing with Deputies Carol Nolan, Michael Healy-Rae, Michael Collins and Danny Healy-Rae. The Bill is putting the pandemic unemployment payment on a statutory footing. It also states the recipient must be genuinely seeking employment. In general circumstances I would agree with that but I have a problem with this requirement when I consider the music and entertainment industry, people over 66 years of age, the people who own private buses and those who have bread vans, delivery trucks or vehicles they op…

I too am disappointed with the Bill and with the whole situation around Covid-19. Party leaders and group leaders had briefings with the Department of Health and NPHET and when we asked questions, we were not getting answers. I raised in the Dáil that we had not a briefing with NPHET in the past two months. NPHET is meeting the Business Committee on Thursday morning, I hope, but there are huge mixed messages and huge discrimination against the over-66s and all the artists and musicians. The Minister said the man in…

I will not take it back. It was the Government, not the Minister personally. She has not supported artists here. When will she give them support? Is she going to let them beg, tell them to go look for work elsewhere and that they will get jobs elsewhere? How will they? Are we going to diminish and destroy our arts industry - our musicians, bands, dancing schools, art schools and everything else? Over-66s are being punished by this Government but I am not surprised. It is scandalous. Whether they are publicans, lorr…

I accept that, and I am sorry if I went over time, but I am so annoyed that the Bill does not go anywhere to help those in the music and entertainment business, and the over 66s. It is a sad day for those people.

Hear, hear.