The person who never made a mistake never made anything. I am grateful to the Government for looking back and saying it was a mistake to restrict funerals to ten people and that the limit should have been the same as weddings at 25 people. I respect that the Government was able to look at that and decide it was necessary to change it. Now I am respectfully asking the Taoiseach a question on behalf of farmers from Malin Head to Mizen Head, the length and breadth of the country, and not least in our marts in Cahersiv…

It is a clear question on behalf of the farmers of Ireland. Let the buyers buy the animals that want to be sold.

I am sharing time. At the outset, I wish to declare an interest in this matter. I listened carefully to every speech, including before I came into the Chamber, because I wanted to hear what was being proposed. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this issue to the floor of the House because we have to talk about the different varieties of housing, the different ways of accommodating people now and into the future and how to do that in a proper way. I want to record my thanks to the Green Party Deputies for being here. It…

He is a very special man and we all like him very much. However, it is very wrong that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have not seen fit to have senior Ministers present. I have reservations about much of what Deputies from Sinn Féin are saying, but I have terrible respect for their right to say it. I thank them for debating this matter because whatever opinion one has on what they are saying, it is good that this issue is getting an airing. We can debate this matter and come to our own conclusions but, from my point of …

We should remember one thing when we are talking about carbon tax. At this exact moment, if a person living in a local authority house in County Kerry finds that the heating is broken, the council does not have the money or wherewithal to repair it. That is outrageous and it is not the fault of the council or its housing department. If the same thing happened in the private sector, a landlord could not claim an inability to pay because he or she did not have the money in the kitty. This is a real problem. We are ta…

At the outset, I would like to address this budget for what it is, and that is the Green Party's budget and definitely the biggest case of the tail wagging the dog we have seen since the foundation of the State. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have obviously sold their souls completely for power because not only are we seeing this budget brought before us, but it is terribly important for people to realise that the Minister for Finance, in his press briefing after this budget speech, outlined that the Finance Bill will l…

Tonight will be remembered as one of the most vicious attacks on rural Ireland that has ever been seen. It is a fact that this will affect everything. When living in rural Ireland, everything has to be transported on wheels. Only two weeks ago, the House debated the forestry industry. That timber is being drawn on our roads on diesel vehicles. The food that goes to our shops and supermarkets is delivered by diesel lorries. That is the way it is. Those vehicles cannot be replaced by battery vehicles in the timeframe…

On behalf of restaurants, tourist accommodation, cinemas, theatres, museums, historic houses, open farms, amusement parks, hairdressers and producers of certain printed matter, I welcome this measure even though it is too little, too late. Since the VAT rate was increased from 9% to 13.5%, I, on behalf of those who have lobbied me, together with other Deputies have been continuously seeking to have it reduced. It is ironic that it is now being reduced at a time when the majority of these fine businesses have their …

Tánaiste or Taoiseach, it makes no difference because Deputy Varadkar is both now.

Last Monday, my colleagues and I had a very important meeting with the excellent CEO of Kerry County Council, Ms Moira Murrell, and other directors of services with the council, including Michael Scannell, Charlie O'Sullivan, head of finance Angela McAllen, and others. One of the items on the agenda was the deficit in local authority funding. I am fearful that there will be cuts in basic day-to-day services, such as taking care of housing stock, work on essential issues like roads and keeping services like librarie…

I thank the Tánaiste. Ministers are being told that they will be audited with regard to carbon emission-reducing measures. What will that mean for our farming community and fishermen who are already in dire straits? I have discussed this with Irish Farmers' Association leadership over the last 24 hours and I am again coming back to the fact that the Cabinet is saying that our State will have to come up with €1 billion of additional taxes every year for the next ten years. What are the implications for our tourism i…

Colleges have now moved online again under instruction from the Government. Students and hard-pressed parents have forked out thousands of euro for accommodation that will go unused for a second time this year, in all likelihood until Christmas. In many cases no refunds are being issued. This is a national scandal. These parents are so upset. They are hard-pressed in trying to pay bills, having paid for accommodation that in many cases they are not using. Surely the Tánaiste and the Government should be able to cal…

The Taoiseach might think that some of us are blind but, thankfully, we are not deaf. On Tuesday, he made a clear commitment. He said that he would have no problem in having a full and wholesome debate on Friday. He stated that he would partake of that debate. What has happened since? What has changed? Considering the hundreds of thousands of people who have been impacted in such a devastating way, with their work taken from them and the rug pulled from under them, the courtesy we are showing them in debating their…

On a point of order-----

-----I seek clarity on whether there was any discussion about the Friday sitting. Did that just disappear?

Sorry, it is a point of clarification. Am I allowed that?

That is a snide old comment. That is beneath you, Taoiseach.

You should take that back. You are a disgrace. You are only in the bottom of the barrel now coming out with that kind of a statement. Cop on a small bit, Taoiseach.

That is beneath you. For the Taoiseach of the country to make a statement like that-----

You do not tell me to sit down. The man who will tell me sit down is the Ceann Comhairle and not you.