I thank the Ceann Comhairle very much. I really and truthfully believe that the Government is out of touch on the whole issue of the cost of petrol and diesel and the effect that is having on people. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, said yesterday that there would be no assistance available before October. At the same time he made a disgraceful comment for people to go to the local social welfare office to look for assistance. The Taoiseach could say that he is not responsible for that statement or for it coming out of h…

I just want to remind the farmers, fishermen, agri-contractors and silage contractors who are working very hard that what the Government thought of them was the sum total of 2 cent of a reduction in March. In case they had forgotten, I will remind them of it again today. I will also remind the Taoiseach that on the Monday and Tuesday night before the Government gave the reduction the cost of diesel and petrol actually went up by more then than the Government reduced it on the Wednesday. I also remind him that the r…

Is that a good answer for a Taoiseach to give to this House, in all fairness?

That is not true.

Is taking care of people not good enough?

When speaking to the Minister, I feel as if we are speaking to someone who has an understanding of and takes a practical, commonsense approach to the problems that are facing the people. As a result, I know that what we are saying is not falling on deaf ears. Keeping people in their own homes is the most important thing. Whether a person is getting old or their house is in disrepair, it is important to keep them living there for as long as possible. Their home is their castle and it is where they want to be. Adapti…

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this strong and weighty legislation that is set to modernise a whole area of law for a very vulnerable sector of our society. When I talk about people who might be affected by this I like to refer to them as vulnerable or special people who deserve every protection from the State and assistance to their families in protecting them. We heard earlier a very eminent barrister talking about antiquated legislation, which goes back 156 years, that legal people must still refe…

We are debating transport issues without the Minister with responsibility for it being here. Perhaps he is at the bog or doing something productive.

That is highly unlikely, but as Deputy McGrath said, he is not in the bog, but he is definitely in a fog, because any man that has responsibility for transport issues in this country who could not afford us the courtesy and the time to be here to properly participate and listen to the debate is totally outrageous. This Government plans to invest €3.8 billion on public transport protection and renewal, including fleet renewal of rail and buses, and switching to electric vehicles across urban fleets. Buses and light …

We note you took no exception to the clown reference, a Cheann Comhairle.

I too thank Deputy Kerrane and Sinn Féin for bringing this very important motion before the House. The public are facing unprecedentedly hard times, with inflation at a record high at 8.2% in this month of May. We would have to go back to 1983 to find similar inflation figures here previously. If the Government were seriously to consider reducing the taxes that have been put on diesel and petrol, we could reduce the cost of fuel by 65%. Doing that is within the gift and the power of the Government and it would be m…

I thank the medical science professionals who carry out such critical diagnostic testing of patient samples. I thank them for the excellent work that they do up and down the country, including in Kerry and in Cork University Hospital. I also thank the MLSA, the trade union representing medical scientists. There is a significant national shortage of medical scientists across the public health service, with up to 130 posts unfilled even before the additional pressures of the pandemic arose in 2020. The reasons for th…

The Minister for Foreign Affairs knows I am not critical of the people in the Passport Office. The opposite is the case. I am grateful for their excellent work but they are under severe pressure. I will give a quick example related to the telephone line for Deputies. Since 17 March, I have called three times about a passport that has been overdue since then. It has been with a checker with three weeks. In another case, where the name is withheld, the passport has been overdue since 4 April and nothing is happening …

One might ask whether that involved favouritism in dealing with the queries of Deputies and Senators, but we are here to try to expedite matters.

So are the people looking for their passports.

I really appreciate this opportunity to speak on this because the role of journalists in reporting from places of conflict is so important. For example, in the Ukraine war, we will all be expecting and hoping that people will be brought to justice for the criminal acts that are taking place. The killing of the Irish cameraman, Pierre Zakrzewski, was so upsetting not just to his own family but it was a tragedy for the professionalism of journalism and camera people in this country and throughout the world. To think …

First of all, I thank Deputy Ó Broin and Sinn Féin for bringing forward this Bill. The legislation contained within the Bill would require estate agents and online hosting platforms to check if property owners have the correct planning documents before advertising their properties on their websites. If not, the law would then mean the platforms would be fined the amount they would earn per day from the property being rented out from their website. I know Deputy Ó Broin will not mind me saying this. He is extremely …

The Government seems to be going around in circles talking. Practical things should be done, such as reintroducing the first-time buyers and builders grant scheme. This scheme was scrapped by Fianna Fáil and the Green Party when it was in government from 2007 to 2011. Fine Gael and the Labour Party failed to reintroduce the scheme. Now is the time to reintroduce it and to provide grant aid directly to the young people who wish to build or buy a home for themselves. This scheme could help young people in rural areas…

By sitting on the fence.

With sitting on the fence and not standing up for itself.