It is very serious. It is a real diminishing of democratic rights.

The Taoiseach is accusing Opposition Deputies-----

-----because they do not go along with the Taoiseach's agenda of militarisation, of being agents of Putin.

It is quite shameful.

I raise the issue of adult education tutors who are denied a decent contract and therefore, incredibly, have to sign on for social welfare payments during the summer. They are uncertain about their hours and annual income. There is pay inequality for post-2011 entrants, no opportunity for progression and no pay rise after years of service. This has long been an issue, starting with the Workplace Relations Commission in 2014. In 2020, the Labour Court instructed the Department to make an offer to the workers. In Jul…

The Taoiseach previously told me the Government has a health-led approach to tackling drug addiction. There will be a test of whether the Government means that. Deputy Gino Kenny has brought forward a Bill to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of cannabis. All personal drug use should be treated as a harm reduction matter and not a criminal one. This Bill is a necessary step, it will begin a conversation and it will provide a stepping stone for a more progressive drugs policy in Ireland. The truth is the…

I want to give my time to expand on the point of order I raised earlier. I have studied the Salient Rulings of the Chair and I believe the Taoiseach was clearly out of order in describing Deputies Boyd Barrett and Barry and me as puppets of Putin. Salient Ruling 417 states, "Member may not say that another Member is taking orders or instructions from outside interests or is representing or speaking for such interests". It is clear that was the smear involved in the comment "puppets for Putin's regime". Salient Ruli…

No, we did not-----

The Taoiseach should stop lying.

The Taoiseach is abusing his privilege. He holds the position of Taoiseach. He is accusing people of being the equivalent of foreign agents.

Will the Taoiseach please withdraw his remarks?

I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to consider whatever the process is with the Ceann Comhairle. The Taoiseach is clearly in breach.

Hear, hear.

Correct.

Some €91 million has been provided to subsidise animal cruelty. This is incredible. This is compared with €15 million total in core funding for sports organisations in this country, including the FAI, the GAA, Swim Ireland and the Olympic Federation of Ireland. The Government wants to hand over €91 million, the Green Party is going against its professed position to support this, and the Labour Party and Sinn Féin are shamefully sitting on the fence, trying to have it both ways. As has been pointed out, this is wild…

Fine Gael.

I do not know whether the Taoiseach saw the "Prime Time" story on Thursday which was a powerful exposé of the context of apartment and duplex defects, the horrendous situation facing the victims and the responsibility for the system of self-certification introduced by Fianna Fáil. It focused, in particular, on those living in The Crescent, Park West, who are facing an incredible bill of €68,500 to fix defects that are not their fault and that they could not possibly have known about, and that is just the tip of the…

That is shameful.

The Taoiseach said we are keeping 1.5 alive, but there is no evidence of that. The world is on a trajectory of perhaps 3.5°C warming, if not worse. There is no greater illustration of the failure of COP27 and the failure of this capitalist system to address the climate crisis than the absence of a commitment even to phase out fossil fuels. The failure to recognise that and include it in the text speaks to the power of the fossil fuel lobbyists, 636 of whom were present at COP27, and the commitment of governments to…

I did not say that it was.