On behalf of every adult person in Ireland who smokes I absolutely object to this massive increase. Of course we want to see a society where people do not smoke but there are people who are dependent on cigarettes. It is not so much that they enjoy it but it is part of what they do. I totally disagree with what the Minister said earlier, whereby he said it was the continuous increase in the cost of tobacco that has curbed smoking. I do not agree with this. Of course people are opting for a better and healthier life…

-----I am totally opposed to putting €1 on the price of a box of cigarettes.

I also agree with what was said regarding vaping products. It is a retrograde step-----

-----to tax those. It is wrong and unfair.

The Minister is going in the right direction, but he is not going far enough. If he studies the value of any type of property, be it a farm or any other asset, he will see that it is going up. At the end of the day, we have politicians in here who do not understand anything to do with farming, or with the value of land or any other type of property. They think that because a farm is worth a certain amount of money, that is something the farmer has. The Minister for agriculture understands this, but many Deputies in…

The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Government have failed to grasp the enormity of this problem. What the Government is doing is actually only tokenism in trying to stop it. If the Minister had the same interest in attacking this problem as he did in attacking the good people who were out cutting turf, if he had less interest in people planting seeds on south-facing window sills and hoping they would get their dinner from it, if he had less interest in trying to make us all walk from our villages into a centr…

I thank the Regional Group for tabling this important motion. We in the Rural Independent Group tabled a motion before, where we were adamant that the means test should be abolished. It has no place in a modern society because many of the people who are giving care are giving up other employment. They are not earning somewhere else because all they have to rely on is the carer's allowance. They are not doing it for money. They are doing it for the love of what they are doing. That is helping, whether a relative, a …

Back in July, Kerry County Council was notified that Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, is undertaking a review of the planned expenditure for 2024 against the overall budget for national roads, active travel schemes and greenways. Pending completion of this review, it requested that the council not proceed to tender on four projects. This money was allocated to County Kerry. However, in its infinite wisdom the Government has said that the N72 Killallee-Fossa pavement scheme costing €350,000 is to be shelved - …

The Minister is always welcome to County Kerry and so is everybody else. I ask that they please bring their money there and spend it. We could do with it. In spite of everything the Minister said, there has been an overall cut of €200 million in our roads budget. Those projects were shovel ready. The land acquisition and everything was in place. They were ready to go to tender when they were cut. I am asking on the record that the funding be restored in order that those projects can go ahead. I remind everybody tha…

While I appreciate that we are debating the Health Information Bill 2024, I must informed that House that we have just returned from a presentation about scoliosis patients. Given that heard children of 14 years of age saying that they have been left behind by the State, it would be very wrong to leave that room and not come into the Chamber and acknowledge what is going on in that regard. There were mams, dads and, most importantly, children in the audiovisual room. We had to listen to the Taoiseach - and I hate t…

Anything I will say is absolutely nothing personal against the Minister of State. She is an excellent person and I admire her very much on a personal basis. In the honour of God, however, has the Government gone simple or what? Look at what it is doing. The Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Bill aims to enhance and strengthen the enforcement and regulatory provisions within the Companies Act 2014. A Cheann Comhairle, you have been around for a long time. The Government is talki…

I do not care if there are parties here that are grumbling or something. If they are not interested in work or businesses-----

I am talking about keeping people in business. There are politicians who think there is something dirty about business and something wrong with people who get up in the morning, whether they are families or individuals, and who get out and create employment and want to make a profit and pay tax on it. Is there something wrong with that? There absolutely is not, and I do not like to hear people mouthing and mumbling under their breath because they might have something against something I am saying. I will stand up f…

I am very glad that the Minister of State will, but when I see more regulation, regulatory provisions and talking about things-----

All right. What measures will be put in place to support companies, especially micro businesses, in implementing the new provisions? Will the Minister of State answer that? Will there be financial or technical assistance available or cybersecurity measures? How will the Government ensure that the move towards digital corporate governance will not compromise cybersecurity? There are a pile of questions like that I could ask her-----

-----but I will actually let you off that-----

-----because I want to concentrate on keeping business open.

Does the Minister of State realise how many small business are going? I am so grateful to the big businesses and the tech companies that come here and create massive wealth. We saw what was recently got from Apple, even though the Government was not looking for it. It got it, and I am glad that it has it. It will spend it well, I hope. I hope it will not go on a bike shed, or a second bike shed. Some leaders were looking for a second bike shed. I have been trying to get that message out there over recent days. The …

Can I clarify my words?

I will just clarify. What is under the Deputy’s nose at the moment is that she is anti-business. She is anti-people who want to create employment.