Deputy Devlin provided a litany of buses that have been cancelled. Thankfully, Go-Ahead only operates one bus in our area, the N6, although many would say that one is enough. It does not seem to be able to fulfil the contract that has been given to it. That is significant. When a person is standing at a bus stop at 7.50 a.m., has to be in work for 9 a.m. and the first time a bus arrives at the stop is at 9.10 a.m. - nearly 55 minutes later - that person is already ten minutes late for work and will arrive in at 9.4…

I welcome the news that Go-Ahead will have its full complement by Christmas. As I said from the beginning, if a company tendered for a service, it should be in a position to deliver it. In that context, we should not be playing catch-up, particularly where people's lives are concerned. We only have to look at the discrepancy between the number of routes Dublin Bus operates and the number Go-Ahead operates. Dublin Bus received fines of €1.5 million whereas Go-Ahead, with a fraction of the bus services of Dublin Bus,…

I thank the Minister for reading his script a little more quickly to allow me to make a very short contribution of just one minute or 30 seconds. Unfortunately, the Business Committee does not allow the majority of Deputies on the backbenches to make contributions in these debates. That is reserved for the Government. However, I will be here for the debate because, as a former Tús supervisor and volunteer on the board of a community crèche, I recognise the work being done here. I commend the Labour Party on bringin…

At the weekend, Jim Gavin, the chairman of the Dublin Citizens' Assembly, indicated that he might have his report ready earlier than expected. It appears he is as good in the chair as he is on the field, although I am not sure anybody would be up for five citizens' assemblies in a row. Does the early delivery of that report give us the opportunity to establish a citizens' assembly on the legal framework for drugs? Will the Taoiseach examine that? Will he also examine if it is possible for the terms of reference to …

The Opposition Members who have spoken so far have called for considered debate and claimed nothing has changed in the past year. Those accusations were made by people who are no longer in the Chamber. These are not tropes that should be thrown back and forth but it seems to be what is happening. This issue is too serious for that and we need to consider it more holistically. It is not true that nothing has changed. For a decade, we had undersupply and Governments that leaned into the market. That is not the case a…

I am happy to take the time if the Deputy does not arrive. This weekend, Fianna Fáil will hold its Ard-Fheis. There will be thousands of members from across the country who will be coming to the Ard-Fheis for the first time since we entered Government. Many of them can be proud of the budget that we have presented to this House. There are many shared goals with our coalition partners, but I can see Fianna Fáil's fingerprints all over this budget. I can also see the values that many of those members of the party hav…

As Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Tánaiste will know we have nearly 2.5 million people working in the country and record low levels of unemployment. That is posing a recruitment challenge for organisations right across the country, including community employment organisations. I have been approached by Erin's Isle, my local GAA club, and by many other community employment organisations in my area, asking for a full review of the community employment schemes. Community employment schemes have man…

I have to apologise for speaking to my colleague while other speakers were speaking. I had to try to work out if Deputy Leddin had somehow inserted an amendment into the Bill that we would make electric vehicles mandatory. Of course we are not doing so. In may ways those who have spoken have outlined exactly what the challenges are. There is a shortage of electric vehicles. They are expensive. There is no second-hand market. It is incredibly difficult for people who are struggling with the cost of living to try to …

The legislation and the amendment will allow us to focus on things other than electric vehicles. Therefore, I look forward to them supporting the amendment on that basis. On that idea of infrastructure, it is crucially important we get the infrastructure in place in order that people have the confidence to make the switch. It will be a very difficult switch. The cost aside, although that is a significant factor, the infrastructure will be crucially important. I especially welcomed when the Minister came to Finglas …

On a point of order, there were a number of references in the previous debate to the absence of political parties. I would like the House to note that there is no speaking time for parties during Private Members’ business. If Sinn Féin wishes to make time available for backbenchers to speak, we are very happy to do that, but it is hypocritical to suggest that no one is present when they do not provide any speaking time.

That is not true.

Today, the Opposition is taking Dáil time-----

-----to tell us what we already know, which is that the Opposition does not support the Government. We have known that, however, for two years. When this country faced its greatest crisis, they ran for the hills and they ran for their rallies. They were nowhere to be seen when this country needed TDs to put the country’s interest ahead of their parties’ interest and when this country needed politicians who were going to be climate-brave. Politics is not about the game. It is about the work and this is just cynical …

We see that cynicism when voters are told that it will take a decade to deliver, but then the Opposition cries foul after just two years of Fianna Fáil being back in government after a decade. We see that cynicism when public housing on public land is called for, but the progress of the council-led affordable purchase scheme and the affordable rental scheme is ignored. Some Deputies in the Opposition had their chance in government. They never legislated for either of these aspects; we have. After a decade of unders…

We see that cynicism when the Leader of the Opposition cynically and falsely tweets that Government TDs voted to seal mother and baby home records.

Yet this October, victims will be able to access birth information-----

-----protected by a database and protected in that Bill.

I have confidence in the programme for Government and I have confidence in the Government’s ability to deliver in this and many other areas.

As Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Tánaiste will be aware of the back-to-work enterprise allowance scheme. While it is not administered by his Department, it is an important safety net for many people setting up in business, coming off the live register. He will also be aware of the enormous shortage of taxis in our city at peak times. However, the back-to-work enterprise allowance is not available to people who are on the live register and who want to enter the taxi industry. This is just one ex…

I acknowledge the presence of the Minister and the Minister of State in the House, although I feel like we are in the wrong seats. The difficulty is that for some children, there is no seat in schools and for some children and schools, we have not been able to vindicate the constitutional right to an appropriate education. The difficulty we have is that the Department of Education does not provide education; it funds and provides for the governance of education but it does not run schools. We have a voluntary syste…