The Taoiseach might get away with that answer but he will not get away with it from me because he is trying to do the same thing to the Independents. It is not welcomed by us to think that he is trying to gag us at this time. What he, his Chief Whip and others have tried to do in recent weeks is to silence us. Not only is he putting us at the end of the pecking order; he would like to have us outside the door completely if he was able to do that. Thanks to the electorate, so far the Taoiseach has not been able to d…

It is relevant to the Order of Business because I want to know when such an opportunity will be given to the House.

I am sorry but is the Taoiseach going to answer my question on the airlines and the travel agents, or is he going to ignore that section of society?

Well said.

It is the truth.

I thank Deputy Cullinane very much, and Sinn Féin, for bringing this terribly important motion before the House. There is not a person in this room, in this county or in this country who has not been affected by the horrible disease that is cancer. It is a major fight for everybody who gets cancer to survive, do their best to try to prolong life and beat it, unless it beats them. Tragically, many people lose that battle, but at the same time we have to work with our healthcare professionals who do so much to try to…

I too support Deputy Howlin. With regard to this Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020, Second Stage of which was just voted on and passed, the late Jackie Healy-Rae always said that everybody was responsible for his or her own actions, the manner in which he or she votes and how he or she chooses to do his or her business. What has happened here today sends out a wrong and hurtful message to publicans in Ireland. Before the majority of our pubs are to be given the opportunity to open their doo…

I would like to speak on Deputy Howlin’s amendment. The publicans of Ireland are, after all, tax collectors, revenue collectors and collectors of excise for the State, and have collected serious amounts of money for Governments present and past, and will do so in the future, those of whom will be allowed to stay open or who will be able to stay open after this further draconian legislation is passed. It is ironic and beyond belief that we are here today figuring out ways of penalising people whose doors are still l…

How much time do I have?

I wish to highlight the situation surrounding SUSI grants. This year, they will be based on 2019 income. A person may have lost his or her job since then. It is possible to get assessed on this year's income but if one is in receipt of the Covid payment, he or she will be assessed on the basis of receiving €350 per week for the entire year, which, of course, gives a wrong reflection of that person's income. The majority of calls received by me or my office are from parents or students who are extremely worried abou…

It is very misleading for the Government Chief Whip to stand up here and speak about fair play at a time when he and others have orchestrated over the past number of weeks a co-ordinated attempt to silence our group and Independent Deputies in particular. They have done everything to try to marginalise us and put us to the back in every way possible, silence us and keep us down. I have a message for the Chief Whip; specifically because of what the Government has done, it will now draw the wrath of the Independents,…

I want to out him today for what he did. He stood up a moment ago to make a bit of a speech. It was ridiculous and outrageous because we all know what he did over the past number of weeks.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this proposed legislation, which I totally and absolutely oppose. The people in the county I represent, from Cordal to Cahersiveen and from Brosna to Ballinskelligs, are opposed to it. The hard-working publicans who have been denied their right to work are completely opposed to it. This is an attempt by the Government to terrorise, demonise, criminalise and put down the hard-working publicans to whom they have denied the right to work. Governments, health agencies and a…

I am sorry.

The Government will not silence Opposition Deputies.

I will be as quick as possible. I call for counties in which the coronavirus is being controlled to be allowed to reopen businesses more quickly. The Department's list of confirmed cases of Covid-19 shows just one confirmed case in Kerry in the last 14 days. I call on the Government to use this information when making decisions on any future restrictions. Such measures should be considered on a county-by-county basis in order to allow counties with few or no new cases to open up all of their businesses. While it wo…

I do not think I have had an opportunity to wish the Minister well in her new portfolio so I do that now. I wish to voice my concerns over the legislation that is being rushed through here. Speaker after speaker has raised concerns over what the Minister and the Government are trying to do. To be honest, I think that the Government is extremely lucky that the Dáil is rising tonight for its summer recess. All the Government is doing is going from one crisis to another. As far as I am concerned, the Government is lik…

I just want to say-----

I have not finished. I am appealing to the Minister to allow this sunset clause and amendment to go through. It is the right, honourable and decent thing to do.

That is a shame and a disgrace.