I will have to take it up with the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I asked the Taoiseach, as a human being, to make it clear on the record of the Dáil that what he said was wrong.

If he will not do that, then he is not much of a man after it. It is as simple as that. He had an opportunity to withdraw what he said but he would not man up and set the record straight.

It is a bad reflection on the Taoiseach. It is a very bad reflection on his character that he would not take back an untruth about another person. That is very wrong and very unfair. The only person who will look bad out of this is the Taoiseach because what he did was wrong.

I am very sorry about this whole affair. The Tánaiste is passing off this saga as if it was some sort of informal contact. This was a confidential document about a €210 million agreement. The rules and regulations that the Tánaiste has apparently broken were there for a reason. One of those reasons was to maintain confidence in the political system. Is this confidence now broken? People negotiating should be able to do so without feeling they are being stabbed in the back by the leaking of their positions, which is…

Rather than adjourning the debate, is it appropriate or allowable for another Member to make a quick contribution, just to keep the clock going?

That is fine.

A principal officer in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine recently stated that coursing is regulated under the greyhounds Acts from 1958 to 2019, subject to the general control and direction of Greyhound Racing Ireland. Under the Greyhound Racing Act 2019, a greyhound is defined as a dog entered into the Irish greyhound stud book. All greyhounds that race, whether on the track or coursing, are entered into that book. Therefore, the definition of a greyhound includes both track and coursing dogs, so …

On a point of order, the Government parties are continually missing their speaking slots. If they have such disregard for Dáil Éireann that they will not have people here to speak in their time, I ask them to go before the Business Committee, where Deputy McGrath is the leader of our group, and address that. Shame on Fianna Fáil and shame on Fine Gael for not having their speakers in here at the time they are supposed to be here. They put us at the back of the queue because they wanted to silence us and marginalise…

They are a thundering disgrace for not-----

We have our system, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I wish to point out that there was a very good decision made by past Governments and by An Garda Síochána and their representative associations, which was that the rank and file Garda members would not be armed. That decision and our gardaí have served our country well, having followed up on that decision. The reason I bring that to the attention of the Dáil is that when it comes to giving draconian powers to the Garda that it is not actually looking for, I trust and rel…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Deputy Mattie McGrath for allowing me to speak. As I always do when I have an interest in a sector, I declare one on this occasion. As legislators, we must be careful regarding what we do in this House and the message we send out. Every person elected here has a duty of care to every citizen in this country and to help and assist them when it comes to providing housing, whether that is private housing, social housing, social and affordable housing etc. Each one of us has a resp…

I have listened very carefully to every Deputy's contribution because every Deputy's contribution is very important. I would like to return to the very sound point Deputy Boyd Barrett has just made. I have no reason in the world to doubt what he says. I have seen it in my own clinics. People say that the house they are living in is being sold. We have to ask ourselves why those properties are being sold. I touched on this in my earlier contribution. Why are properties that were being rented now being sold? I will g…

I am acutely aware of the amendments to which we are speaking, but it is all tied up in a circle. It comes back to what Deputy Boyd Barrett stated about people going to a clinic and stating that they have a problem because their house is being sold. It comes back to the reasons those houses are being sold. That is the point I wish to make.

I am sorry to interrupt the Deputy. At the very beginning of my contribution, I most certainly did declare my interest, as I did last night and every other time I have spoken on this issue.

I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to clarify for the Deputy what I stated at the start of my contribution.

I acknowledge the work of Deputy Denis Naughten on the motion. It is important to respect the work done by other people. I remember the work done by the Deputy and thank him for his work as Minister. I acknowledge his genuine interest in supporting the post office network, including everything he did at critical times. He made important decisions that were difficult in the interest of nothing but keeping open as many post offices as possible. I declare that I am a postmaster of a very small rural post office and am…

I thank and compliment the people who, for generations, have carried children safely to school, in particular private contractors and others who have travelled safely with children to school. It is very important to acknowledge their great work. Considerable distress has been caused by the 50% reduction in capacity, the lack of clarity from the Department of Education and Skills and the confusion. Our local office in Tralee is doing excellent work. Our local people in Bus Éireann and the staff who work there do exc…

We should always listen to somebody who has been around politics for longer than we have been, and for many years I have heard Deputy Mattie McGrath say, and correctly so, that rushed legislation and anything that has ever been rushed through the House is not good. We have to give time and consideration. Members have to be deeply involved. This is why I have grave concerns on behalf of the victims. I am so sorry when I look up at the Public Gallery this evening. I know there are people at home who have been hurt, v…

This is not a circus.

He is the Taoiseach now and not a comedian.