Nobody is being sent in to mark anybody here.

I would have thought, given Deputy Boyd Barrett's prowess as a public speaker and the way in which he------

------tackles me regularly, that he would be up for debate and discussion as opposed to, frankly, the feigned outrage he indulged in just there.

The Deputy is entirely-----

Well the Deputy appears to have recovered from it pretty quickly. We are surely-----

I would have thought the Deputy would welcome debate and that a perspective on what is happening in his constituency can be legitimately given in this Dáil by a fellow Deputy who also represents that constituency. I am well aware of the level of housing need that is there. I am well aware of the anxiety and trauma it is inflicting upon so many but I simply make the case to the Deputy that with the funding we are putting in, we will see and are seeing more public housing being built. These funds, which I know the De…

Specifically, the findings of the report estimate that the share of firms making losses throughout 2020 and 2021 could have been around one third higher if supports were not available. It finds that in the absence of the extensive supports provided by the Government to SMEs, the distress rate for companies would have been 72% higher. Moreover, by 2024, without the support that we had in place, the distress rate is estimated to be around 20% higher relative to the baseline. In respect of what happens beyond this, th…

I am afraid I do not follow the questions from Deputy Connolly. She asked me what was the way forward, and I said what the way forward was in the employment wage subsidy scheme. The report focused on the impact of the employment wage subsidy scheme on SMEs. On the question asked by Deputy Carroll MacNeill, she raised an important point that is covered in this report, which is that there are parts of our economy that clearly are having or have had a slower recovery than other parts of the economy. The way in which w…

I repeat what I said to the Deputy. She has a habit of giving me a very precise question and when I give her a very precise answer, she normally dismisses it.

The Deputy asked me what the future of the schemes was and I answered the question. She asked what was the way forward for the sector, and I answered the question. I gave the Deputy a precise answer to a precise question. I do not know how my answering the question has provoked her to draw an analogy of good pupils and bad pupils.

I come into this House, as is my obligation and duty, and I answer the questions the Deputies put to me. However, as I said, the Deputy asks a precise question, I give a precise answer and more often than not she dismisses it. The Deputy asked me a question about the future of the employment wage subsidy scheme and I answered it.

The Deputy should have ended on better terms.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 62 together. I am glad to assure the Deputy that my humour is good. I am just answering all the questions that are put to me, including by the Deputy. Regarding where things stand with that, I will spend time trying to find the written material here and would do so at the expense of answering the Deputy's question. The Revenue Commissioners are currently assessing the data they received as part of the local property tax returns. I expect that information will be available to …

I am sure the Ceann Comhairle would be liberal in his application of those rules on this occasion if there are any matters the Deputy believes I have not answered.

As I said, and the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, was the first to say it, we appreciate the fundamental importance of these companies to the operation of our economy and we recognised that through the support schemes we had in place. To deal with the Deputy's question regarding the future, I will park the EWSS for now, given that we have discussed it already. What does the future hold? The future is, first, to look at what role Enterprise Ireland can play in supporting small and medium-sized companies to scale…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 24, 60 and 230 together. This was the subject of a Private Members' motion today and is the subject of another one tomorrow. I will repeat the key points I made earlier. I believe that carbon taxing is playing and will play an important role in how we can reduce carbon emissions in the future. The challenge we face with regard to the climate is existential. Cognisant of the challenges that many people are already facing with the rising price of energy, we are putting in place additi…

I also need to listen to the Climate Change Advisory Council which, as I reminded Sinn Féin in our debate earlier, has advised us that carbon tax is a key component of transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient and environmentally-sustainable economy. That is its view on this. Of course, I accept the change that is happening. I was at pains to acknowledge earlier that with regard even to the change coming up in May, which in the total cost of energy overall is €0.02 a litre, for many that is a lot. I acknowledge…

The reason we introduced the lump sum payment of €125 for those in receipt of the fuel allowance is to ensure that as part of our package we have funding and a payment available to those who need help the most. What we had here was a package that in its breadth and cost of €500 million was looking to respond to the challenges that we accept many are facing due to the rising cost of living. Deputy Boyd Barrett quoted a figure relating to VAT. We have a package that overall cost in excess of €500 million. We have a p…

I move amendment No. 2: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — a substantial increase in the supply of new homes is the only route to solving Ireland's housing crisis; — delivering the target of an average of 33,000 homes per annum will require significant private investment alongside our unprecedented levels of public investment; — the Government has provided the largest ever housing budget in the history of the State to support commitments and actions in Housing for …

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. While I do not support it, it is a very valuable opportunity for the Dáil to reflect on where our economy, society, citizens and workers stand today as we continue to see very significant change and new pressures in our economy, with which I will deal in my statement. I acknowledge some common ground on the issues being raised by the Labour Party and the analysis I and the Government have regarding where we are. I acknowledge that for many families, workers…