We have spoken to the Polish Government. We have had discussions at the European Council on a range of issues as to what can be done. Again, we will raise-----

May I answer? We will raise it with the Polish Government.

The Deputy did not make it clear that it was the Polish Parliament she was referring to. I wanted to establish if it was the European Parliament that was being referred to.

We will raise that matter with the Polish Government. Deputy Haughey raised the protocol issue. I do not disagree with his fundamental point that this is fundamentally an issue of relationships, trust and, above all, honouring international agreements which were freely entered into by the British Government and ratified at parliamentary level in Westminster. This is very serious in its impacts on the Good Friday Agreement, the economy, trade and the whole relationship and trust between the European Union, the Briti…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 16, inclusive, together. The National Economic and Social Council, NESC, advises me on strategic policy issues relating to sustainable economic, social and environmental development in Ireland. The NESC work programme in 2022 includes five main areas. It will carry out a major piece of research and consultation on climate, biodiversity and how to achieve a just transition in agriculture. It will continue to help us deepen our understanding of how to deliver more affordable and…

I know. It will be difficult. Deputy McDonald's negativity towards the shared island unit is striking because when I was at the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement there was unanimous support for what it has been doing from all members, including those from Sinn Féin to be fair, on that committee. We do work with elected representatives all over Northern Ireland. When I visited the North recently I had a very good engagement with the North West Partnership which involves councils from…

We have initiated, for example-----

-----the Narrow Water bridge project.

I am not stopping. The Ulster Canal and so on. It is not about party partisan agendas -----

The Deputy's capacity to reduce everything to her party is striking. It is the prism through which she looks at everything. That is a pity.

In relation to Deputy Cian O'Callaghan -----

I was not aware prior to what Deputy O'Callaghan just said -----

I am not aware of those specifics. As the Deputy will know, the Minister has appointed a senior counsel to look at issues pertaining to An Bord Pleanála. When he receives that report he will consider that and I have no doubt he will continue to work with you-----

Deputy Brendan Smith raised a pertinent point on dairy and sheep meat and how the protocol is working generally for the agriculture sector. It seems to me that this is something that is not understood by the British Government particularly with its dual regulatory approach in food traceability which puts a lot of agrifood industries and enterprises at risk if it proceeds with its proposals as announced yesterday. The agricultural interests and the meat and dairy industries that I met are very clear about the negati…

An rud is tábhachtaí, ar mo shon féin agus do gach éinne sa Teach seo, ná an fhírinne a thabhairt don tír go hiomlán agus a insint do mhuintir na tíre agus a bheith macánta leo. Is é sin a dheineas inné. It should not be astonishing, as he has said, to tell the truth. What I said yesterday was telling the truth about a new era of an increase in pricing around fossil fuels. The reason for that is that this week we will mark the grim milestone of 100 days since Russia's unjustified, illegal and immoral invasion of Uk…

-----and we have reduced VAT and so on. The Government has responded already to the cost-of-living crisis, more than it would in a normal budget, but it is very severe on people. We need to be-----

We will develop a collective response to deal with it.

Deputy Doherty did not once refer to the cause of the crisis in his original contribution to this House, which we all know, because his objective is to lay all of the blame on the Government, just like the Russian ambassador did yesterday. The aim is to blame the government of the day. The key point is that we have taken a lot of measures, which Deputy Doherty has ignored and has decided not to acknowledge. I referenced some of them. We have cut public transport fares by 20%, and fares for young people by 50%. We h…

The cutting of tax and the increases in social protection matter. We want to now explore with the social partners how we deal with this in a comprehensive, strategic way. The one thing we cannot do, which the Deputy wants to do-----

You cannot chase inflation away month after month by €1 billion or €2 billion a month. That is not a sustainable pathway.