We are marking Europe Day. Europe has been generally successful for so many countries. Certainly, Ireland has seen a lot of benefits down through the years by being involved in the European Union. Yet, we have also seen situations, like Deputy McGrath has just mentioned, such as with the fishing industry, where we have been decimated by our involvement in Europe. That should never have been the case. Sadly, successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil governments have not been able to fight at the table in Europe for prope…

I appreciate the introduction of this motion by Sinn Féin. Fuel and grocery costs are a huge issue for many families. To be quite honest with the Government, it is standing idly by and letting people suffer. There are interest-rate hikes such that people are now unable to pay for their mortgages, putting them in mortgage arrears. This could result in the vulture funds, the Government's buddies, taking their homes or businesses from them. The Government continues to increase the price of fuel. Over the coming months…

Last November, the Dáil passed a Rural Independent Group motion clearing the way for cheaper electricity prices. That motion was tabled, debated and passed on 16 November, which is almost six months ago. The motion explicitly instructed the Government to immediately change policy and implement regulations to cap the prices paid to wind farm operators and energy companies and to place a windfall or excess profit tax on all energy companies to provide for cheaper household electricity bills. It also instructed the Go…

Dairy farmers are struggling to make ends meet with the price of milk and dairy products starting to reduce while their costs are still increasing. This is a fight they can take on, but the fight they cannot take on at present is the dropping of nitrates from 250 kg per ha to 220 kg per ha. I attended a farm walk in Farnanes where I met a typical Irish farmer who has 71 cows. He is a married man with four young children. He has run his farm environmentally meticulously for many years. He has proper slurry spreading…

The Tánaiste was talking madly. He cannot listen to two people at once.

They cannot deal with the nitrates dropping from 250 kg per ha to 220 kg per ha. It will wipe them out.

Construction safety is important and that goes without being noticed. We are putting those in the construction industry, the builders, in a difficult position. They have to comply with Safe Pass. They have to comply with so much it is making it almost impossible for them to get a day's work or a good week's work done. It will put the price of housing up more severely. The construction industry and small companies talk to me about this every day of the week. Recently, one company told me that while it welcomes the n…

Last November, the Dáil passed a Rural Independent Group motion clearing the way for cheaper electricity prices. That motion was tabled, debated and passed on 16 November, which is almost six months ago. The motion explicitly instructed the Government to immediately change policy and implement regulations to cap the prices paid to wind farm operators and energy companies and to place a windfall or excess profit tax on all energy companies to provide for cheaper household electricity bills. It also instructed the Go…

The strongest argument against rent control is that there are better ways to protect vulnerable renters. One such way, supported by research, is for the Government to provide social supports for renters. In other words, households that see their rents go up could be eligible for tax credits or welfare payments such as HAP or RAS to offset rent hikes. A scheme of vouchers to help pay the cost of moving should also be introduced in Ireland. If rent control is a good idea, why not also control the cost of fuel and gro…

I fully support Deputy McNamara's amendment. I wish to talk about a situation in which there are a lot of issues with agriculture and the problems out there. I have just left the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, where we have been discussing the price of fertiliser all evening. It is shocking where farmers found themselves last year, with many of them going bust trying to purchase fertiliser at an extraordinary price. We looked at the reports telling us that it was not just because of the war in…

The conditions of our fire brigade personnel buildings leave a lot to be desired. Independent community activist, Mags McKenna, in Ballincollig tells me there is no fire brigade service in Ballincollig to cover 28,000 people. In Clonakilty we have a serious crisis in spite of many announcements having been made that there is a new fire station. They tell me it is rat-infested and pigeon-infested. There is a lady after being taken on recently, which is brilliant, but she is sharing changing rooms with men. The Clona…

The Cabinet has now approved the deployment of an Irish naval vessel to the Irini overseas deployment mission. The proposal must be approved by the Dáil, hence the requirement for today's motion. The Government's decision, subject to Dáil approval, is to approve the deployment of a Naval Service vessel to Operation Irini in June and July. Defence Forces management has welcomed news of the mission, with a recent statement from it indicating the ship would deploy in June and July. The LÉ William Butler Yeats has been…

The question today is why any Irish government would oppose the reintroduction of a mortgage interest relief scheme in the middle of such a dire housing crisis. Mortgage interest relief, which offers borrowers tax relief on the interest portion of their mortgage, ended in the Republic in 2020. However, the pressures facing mortgage holders today, in addition to other cost-of-living increases, mean its reintroduction is justified. The fact is the coalition's failure to act on this issue and on other housing related …

Keelbeg Pier in Union Hall, west Cork has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent weeks. Cork County Council commissioned a report by engineering consultants, ByrneLooby, and was advised to close part of the pier. This has rightly led to great anger among pier users in Union Hall and its surrounds. The Tánaiste visited the pier in June 2021 and the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, visited it later in 2021. Advice was given to Cork County Council to seek funding for a development option study. A …

The council has done that.

It was sent to where the Minister told the council to send it in July 2021. I have it here.

It has done that and the Minister refused them.

I am sorry, a Cheann Comhairle, but I want the facts. The facts are-----

I apologise.

Typical Social Democrats.