They just happen to be cronies, is it?

When the national broadband plan was agreed by the previous Government it was to have connected 115,000 homes by next January but that was revised downwards to 60,000 homes. However, we know only 2,700 homes have been connected. We both know this is very important. If I ask the Taoiseach about the delays he will say they are due to Covid. My specific question is how much Exchequer funding has been spent on the broadband plan since he became Taoiseach?

Will I have the figure by next week?

I do not disagree with the terms of the motion regarding a rainy day fund. However, and maybe this is just my disposition, I am not quite as optimistic for the Irish economy as the Minister of State is. I welcome the image he has portrayed. He has no alternative but to portray that image, at least in public, although perhaps it is a belief he shares in private as well. It is not just that we are not replenishing a rainy day fund, which I do not have a problem with because if ever there was a rainy day, it would be …

I ask the Minister about the cost of living and what will be done about it. Energy prices are rocketing. We saw two energy companies, Budget Energy and SSE Airtricity, announce cost increases of 29% and 9%, respectively, in September. Our laoch thar lear or dhroimeann donn dílis that will save us, Equinor, has pulled out of the Moneypoint project, which hopefully will not scuttle it but will certainly delay it. People are seeing increases in the cost of their shopping baskets already. Almost all of the big agrifood…

With respect, I think the Minister will agree that the relatively minor changes to social welfare will be eaten up quickly by the inflationary pressures, in particular in the energy market, and beyond that in food prices, building costs, etc. People cannot afford to heat their homes or carry out the building that would make it cheaper to heat their homes. I asked the Minister what he would like to see and I did not hear that. I can read a commentary in The Economist on what Christine Lagarde is doing but I would li…

I look forward to a substantive reply from the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Naughton, or, indeed, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, on the issue of Doolin Coast Guard later this evening because of their Department's role in exacerbating the problem. I raised the issue of the land conveyancing reform Act previously, which sets a deadline to register all rights of way. These have been used on a daily basis, perhaps for decades or even centuries, and all have to be registered by 30 November. That …

I thank the Minister. That clarity is very welcome.

I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Dáil to discuss this. Sometimes Ministers who are not from a particular Department take Topical Issue matters and I appreciate the fact she has come in to take this one. This is an issue which affects my constituency, which is evidenced by the fact that two of us raised this Topical Issue matter and it was also raised in other manners by other Deputies and Senators. We need to get the Doolin Coast Guard unit reinstated but we need to address the issues that led us t…

I understand the so-called representative body the Coastal Unit Advisory Group, CUAG, is basically a grouping of officers in charge. That is a good body. I have no problem with it. That is a bit like saying that a collective of sergeants represents the workforce of An Garda Síochána across the board. That is not the case. The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors does not represent the entirety of An Garda Síochána. It never has. It never will. It was not set up to do so. I would ask the Minister of State t…

I thank Deputy Harkin for preparing the Bill and for the opportunity to discuss the historical role of credit unions and the role that they can play in the future, which is even more important. The timing is fortuitous from my perspective, as I attended an event last Friday night to celebrate 50 years of Derg Credit Union, which is the credit union that covers the area in which I live - Scariff, over to Broadford, and down to Killaloe and Ballina. I will not thank the individuals who were involved in setting up tha…

In advance of COP26, the Taoiseach called for action instead of rhetoric. One of the areas in which we need action is transport and how people travel. Glasgow, due to its proximity, is a city that is relatively easy to get to from Ireland. It can be reached by train and ferry and there are five commercial flights from Dublin. In the context of the volume of carbon emissions from private jets, will the Taoiseach confirm he did not use the Government jet to get there? Much more importantly, will he confirm the jet wi…

I thank the Acting Chairman, I think there is only one "Independent" in the title. While looking at this debate in my office I noticed that there was a tweet a couple of minutes ago and indeed it was from your good self, the Minister for Health, saying that everybody who opposed this was reckless. With regard to being reckless, it was reckless to have such a disregard for Parliament and for the Dáil, not for me or Deputy Connolly, or any of the Deputies here, but for the people that we represent because it is the e…

Hear, hear.

While tweeting.

The Minister tweets during debates.

But he is not respectful when he tweets during debates.

But so is tweeting during debates. The Chair is long enough around to know that is disrespectful and out of order.

I said people should talk to a GP because I am not a doctor, and neither is the Minister-----

-----and I do not want to victimise people.