Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. We had a 70% cut on the mackerel fishing quota and the whitefish - haddock - close to the beginning of December, I think. A task force was meant to be set up but from that day until now, we do not seem to have heard anything. The fishing industry has very serious concerns that it is going to be forgotten yet again.

We need a debate on the Dáil this week on where we are at in relation to compensation for fishermen.

This is a straightforward question and Irish farmers deserve a straightforward answer. Did the Taoiseach or any member of his Government give any commitment or assurance, or make any side deal, formal or informal, to the European Commission to support, facilitate or not obstruct the approval of the Mercosur trade agreement? Yes or no? While on an official visit to China, the Taoiseach made statements that were widely understood at EU level as supporting Mercosur. Within 24 hours, that position changed. What exactly…

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: A. To insert the following after "expansion and imperialist ambitions": ", constituting a serious breach of international law and the sovereignty of a United Nations member state; B. To insert the following after "rights of the Ukrainian people": "and is grounded in international law and the protection of civilians;". C. To insert the following after "does not provide military aid": "and cannot be drawn, directly or indirectly, into military financing arrangements; — Irela…

I welcome this hugely important motion. I have been fighting in the business committee to have a discussion in the House on mental health services. It is certainly an emergency. I think every TD in this Chamber knows the reality. When people are in a mental health crisis there is almost nowhere for them to go. We see it in our clinics every single week. Deputy O'Donoghue said we have to get this right. Sadly, it is not right. It is a broken system, an absolute disastrous system, to be honest. I have had family memb…

Independent Ireland would support flexible remote working where it is genuinely practical, and I say genuinely practical. It should be agreed, obviously, with the employer, which would be hugely important to a lot of employers, but it is not an enforcement. I see where it has benefited my own community where quite a lot of people come from all over the world, never mind other parts of west Cork, to live and work remotely. Deputy O'Flynn mentioned connectivity. We are lucky to have a great mobile broadband company i…

The international situation is changing by the minute. These developments are a cause of huge concern to the Irish people and are causing huge concern across the world. Threats are being made to innocent people, which is something we as a neutral country must always condemn. We must always support those who are in great difficulty and continue to do that. There are a lot of calls for the Taoiseach not to go to Washington. I do not agree with that. It is a hugely important moment and if we break that, we could break…

Good God, this is not good enough. We have a Fianna Fáil MEP, Barry Andrews, who is after doing the same. Has the Government any Whip or any control over them? Are they out of control in Europe? Ming Flanagan failed to turn up today to vote for the people, despite all the oul social media nonsense he has every day of the week telling us what he is doing for the people. He forgot to turn up today to vote for the Irish people. These MEPs are becoming traitors to our own country. The Government has to stand up to them…

They have had ample opportunity. It is my turn to talk. The Minister of State can talk after. They have had ample opportunity to take them and sit down with them and talk to those MEPs and they have not done that.

They have not got them to change their mind.

Sorry, but it is hugely important.

I respect that and I apologise. I withdraw that. I am sorry, but I am very annoyed and frustrated.

The bottom line is here-----

We had a motion here last week in relation to Irish Water. Anyone who looked seriously at the motion would see it was simply put: accountability and timelines. The Minister of State's side refused to agree to that motion. It was very simple. They could have made an adjustment, they could have done something about it but they did not want to because the Government does not want accountability. It is aiding and abetting Uisce Éireann from avoiding accountability. The Minister of State knows this as well as I do. He i…

I am back speaking about the Mercosur deal again. It is of huge importance this week in Strasbourg. We have asked the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to attend the meeting in Strasbourg this week to let them know the importance of the situation we find ourselves in. Independent Ireland has written in Spanish and Italian-----

-----to each MEP there to make sure they are on our side of the border.

We need to make sure we are fighting that as well. I am talking to the Taoiseach, not to the Ministers of State.

This Bill is about something very simple, namely who we trust to go into homes of our older people and people with disabilities and what standards we insist on. Independent Ireland supports strong, common-sense regulation. Nobody wants low-quality or unsafe care happening behind closed doors. There are positives here. For the first time, home support providers will have to register with HIQA. There will be national standards and proper inspections with the person's consent. There will also be a public register that…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges that: — a significant proportion of the State's public drinking water and wastewater infrastructure remains leaking, overloaded, obsolete or non-compliant, resulting in boil water notices, service interruptions, supply restrictions and untreated or partially treated wastewater discharges; — persistent delays in the delivery, repair and replacement of water and wastewater infrastructure have created direct blockages to housing delivery, public health protection, economic activ…

I have already spoken.