Will the Minister give me a free copy?

I also take issue with the Estimates not being published. We need to see those. There are too many issues around the Covid payments. We know that they were rushed in and every effort was made but there are too many anomalies. Let us face it, people have been overpaid and now we will run out of money to pay the real people who need it. We need to see the Estimates and the spokespersons of the groups in the Oireachtas need to get a decent and full briefing by the Minister. I also have issues about tomorrow's business…

On a point of order.

The Ceann Comhairle will not even listen.

Are we to come here for the fun of it?

The Ceann Comhairle will not even listen.

Momentarily?

Yes.

I do not want to labour the point. We all understand that. We all want to ensure that all payments are continued, as in the normal course of events, but this will probably be a huge overrun or demand. We all understand that but we need to have accountability. We need the Minister to provide a proper briefing in order that we know exactly where we are going. We are very much putting the cart before the horse. That is not fair or right. I do not think the Taoiseach understands where we are coming from on this issue. …

No. We had a long discussion about this at the Business Committee. Obviously we had to make a decision, but I am not satisfied that we cannot have the Minister here tomorrow for two hours with a break of 40 minutes. Like everybody else, I want to see convincing evidence of scientific and medical advice. Maybe I picked it up wrongly from the Whip, but my understanding at the meeting was that the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, had no problem with appearing, but the Taoiseach an…

My understanding is that the Minister, Regina Doherty, who is unelected is unable to move the Estimate. It must be the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, or another Minister, who must move it. Standing Order 29 is about the Government deciding what Ministers come in. We have no issue with that. We are told by the Whip that the Minister, Regina Doherty, has no issue with coming in. The problem is with this two-hour trick - we can call it that rather than a three-card trick - which is continuing, meaning the Gover…

I spoke here last week. It is a shambolic situation that I am speaking to the Taoiseach's empty seat while he is in another part of the building. We had this debate at the meeting of the Business Committee yesterday and again this morning. We called a vote on the matter but, unfortunately, people who objected to the proposal decided to vote with the Government and to allow the Taoiseach to carry on with his nonsense. There is clear scientific and medical evidence that there is no issue with spending two hours in th…

I know the Deputy is here but I am not talking to him. I congratulate him on getting elected, and more power to him, but I want answers from the Taoiseach, not to have him hiding from us. We saw plenty of pictures of him sunbathing in the park and elsewhere, but we do not want to see them.

That is his own business and he should keep that private because we do not want to see those pictures.

Excuse me, that is outrageous. We are elected by the people and we are entitled to challenge the Government. It can run but it cannot hide.

I spoke to the Minister two weeks ago about the situation regarding private hospitals. It is shocking. I know the reason we took them over and now it is time to give them back. Private health cover is not a privilege in Ireland; it is a necessity, as many middle-income families are not entitled to a medical card. It was right at the time but it is wrong to continue it now. It is shocking. I have received figures from a woman from Cork who contacted me about her sister. Her case is so sad. For the last 45 years her …

I will take the Minister's response in writing, please.

We never get answers anyway.

We can have a question-and-answer session or we can take all this time.

At the outset, we were assured in this Covid crisis that all evictions and people being made homeless would be stopped. Unfortunately, at the instructions of Ms Justice Reynolds, yesterday morning at cockcrow a force of 20 gardaí evicted four different people from a house in Clontarf and brought them before the courts, and rendered them homeless at the behest of vulture funds. This is going on all the time at pace, in spite of commitments that it would not go on. I want the Minister of State to investigate it and h…