However, we cannot go there and pick up passports for people, as we did before to help them out. We were able to keep the whole thing flowing freely. I know people who have not had a holiday for two years. There is a huge influx of people looking for passports. I do not want to be overly critical because I know a large volume of work is going on, but there surely must be a way to make it a little easier to get a passport.

The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, made an announcement some time back that he would be applying a cut in public transport fares for our youth by 20% and then announced a few weeks later that there will be a 50% cut in fares for students and young people travelling on public transport. This should be welcomed but, as it has gone ahead now, it will have a disastrous effect in rural communities as no local commercial operator - better known to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and myself as the priv…

I thank the Minister of State for the reply but she cannot talk about Covid-19 supports because, in fairness to these operators, most of them had to take eight or ten passengers, so they were in an absolutely dire situation at that time. Supports are good at any time. I respect that but it cannot be seen as those supports carrying operators over for the remainder of their lives. The bottom line is that it is very obvious what is happening. The Minister for Transport is wiping out private service operators. That is …

If we do, it will be disconnecting Ireland the Government has done instead of connecting Ireland.

Ukrainian refugees are coming here on a false promise announced by a Government that has little or no plan as to where these vulnerable people are to be housed in the long-term. There is a feeling of powerlessness that can quickly take hold when watching awful images from conflict zones in the comfort and security of one's own home, whether that it is Kyiv, Damascus or Kabul. It is hard to know how to respond to stories of families being ripped apart, people fleeing from being shot in cold blood or children deliber…

Many of the householders who use dry turf may be elderly, disabled or unable to save the turf themselves. Therefore, they rely on buying it from neighbours or others. A study commissioned for the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has found that, all in all, 54% of all households use some form of solid fuel to heat their homes, with 16%, or one in every six, using it as a primary source of heating. Therefore, it is ludicrous and unscientific for the Government to announce that a ban on selling turf is needed to …

Eurojust co-ordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond, including, among others, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, collectively referred to as core international crimes. These are crimes Eurojust is competent to deal with. There are reasonable grounds to believe war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are being committed in Ukraine. We all see, day and night, across our computer screens, our televisions, our newspapers and our phones the…

Rising rents are a frightening experience for tenants. Yesterday, I received an email from a man living in Clonakilty informing me of some steep rent increases that have been imposed on tenants in the last few days in an estate in Clonakilty. They were all informed their rents were rising by 25% and were given three months’ notice to get their heads around this increase. This man and his wife work full-time but they are finding the cost of living very hard to cope with. This added increase in rent, which adds up to…

Judicial appointments have been covered by politics for as long as appointments have been made. This is wrong from the word go and it cannot continue. It should be on the basis of someone's ability, not on a nod and wink basis because someone's father or mother supported a certain party all of their lives. There is no point in the Judiciary stating that we have to separate the Judiciary from the political system as most of the judges are here because of politics. They are linked and I have no doubt that many cases …

I have spoken on that and I will refer back to that again. It is good to see the Judiciary has played a part in this to bring forward this Bill and it is very important that we explain that.

Only for Edmund Honohan, who is a member of the Judiciary, it would not be before us.

He certainly is. It is unfortunate the Minister of State did not attend the audiovisual room the other day when he was here discussing what was before us in regard to this Bill. The Minister of State would have found out a lot more. Farmers are under attack from all quarters. First, the Government is targeting deep cuts to farmers’ ability to earn a living through climate action reductions and an inadequate CAP programme. Second, banks and vulture funds continue to seize and sell off family farms all over the count…

Thank you very much. To be in the company of Edmund Honohan is to meet a mild, humble man who is more than willing to help, in my opinion. I am sure many will agree the Master of the High Court, Edmund Honohan, is someone every judicial appointee should aspire to be.

The introduction of carbon tax to this country has been one of the biggest robberies carried out by white-collar people in this island. Everything the Rural Independent Group said when it was introduced has come true. We said it would price car fuel and home heating oil through the roof, and it did. We said electricity bills would go through the roof, and they have. There is so more - I could go on for the day. What saddens me is that it was a Green Party dream to grab this money from the rural people for their lit…

Has the Deputy forgotten what the Labour Party did with the women's pension? The Labour Party stood on the innocent women of this country. He ought to be ashamed of himself to stand there.

I have no manners at all. We will tell the Deputy the truth even though he may not like to hear it.

He does not want to hear the truth. That is what the Labour Party did.

Ordinary working people my eye.

The Labour Party should be ashamed to call itself a working party.

The good people of west Cork voted for it at one time.