That is not what the Government did.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I thank those who have raised the central issue of ventilation in tackling the spread of Covid, for more than a year at this stage, in line with the science. They include Orla Hegarty, John Wenger, Dr. Kim Roberts and others who are on the expert group on ventilation. They have been very clear and very consistent on this issue, despite the fact it seems the Minister for Health is determined to ignore the expert group on ventilation, which was set up precisely to lo…

I will finish now.

I thank Deputies for the contributions to the debate. I welcome the strong support for the Bill and for taking action on the crucial issue of ventilation to prevent the spread of Covid and to give workers the right to clean air. I need to address some of the smaller questions that came up from Opposition Deputies first and then go to the question of the Government Members. A number of Deputies raised the concern that schools would not be covered by the Bill. I assure them that schools are definitely workplaces. Tea…

Will the Taoiseach respond to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, fiscal assessment report that was published today, which makes the central point that the Government has not budgeted for action on climate change or for the implementation of Sláintecare? This is in line with criticism we have made of the Government's approach to the climate action Bill. For example, outlining the scale of the plan at €125 billion, the vast majority of which is to be offloaded onto private individuals as opposed to the necessar…

It is clear that the new wave of Covid and the Covid restrictions are setting back economic recovery. In fact, we have seen people losing work or even losing their jobs as a result of the restrictions that have had to be brought back in. With the new round of restrictions, one thing that has been very definitely missing is another round of supports. Last year, the Government accepted and bowed to the pressure of the demands from the left and the housing movement for an eviction ban during Covid. With another round …

The Government is operating at a snail's pace when it comes to retrofitting housing across the country to improve insulation and building energy ratings, BERs. A new element of the problem was highlighted to me last week. In Limerick, much of the council housing retrofitting is being done through the regeneration thermal upgrades programme but it is not being done to the level necessary to meet Government targets. While the climate action plan sets a target of 600,000 homes to be raised to a B grade, it turns out t…

The Taoiseach has been in government-----

I want to raise with the Taoiseach again the question of HEPA filters in our schools. Yesterday the Minister for Health told RTÉ radio that the expert group within the HSE had looked at this, namely HEPA filters in schools, in great detail and its advice to the Department of Education and to the Department of Health is that they are not recommended. Exactly what the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, was referring to there is not clear from anything that is published on the relevant websites. The NPHET expert group on vent…

It was a Government decision.

Does the Taoiseach accept it was a Government decision?

The Taoiseach can check the record. We are extremely consistent on this.

The programme for Government has a commitment to universal healthcare. In light of the announcements yesterday, one has to wonder if that is going to be healthcare by Lidl's middle aisle. The way the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, attempted to explain this U-turn and retreat from the previous policy that the Government would subsidise antigen testing by saying that the market has done it by itself really required a brass neck. Does the Taoiseach not accept that price gouging will still take place for…

I asked about the antigen tests.

It is striking how out of touch with public opinion the majority of politicians in this House are. On the central issue of animal cruelty, as Deputy Whitmore has pointed out, it is clear that it is not only the Government, that is, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and, shamefully, the Green Party, that support handing over significant public moneys to the horse and greyhound racing industries, but also Sinn Féin and the Labour Party. Since we dealt with this last year, as this motion is an annual event, we have seen the appa…

Often in here, the Government accuses us in People Before Profit and Solidarity of being very ideological. How else can the Government's approach to local employment services be described except as purely ideological? The basic approach of the Government is what is the point of doing anything if it does not create a profit for some private company? On the other hand, the essence of the work done by local employment services, those who work there and job clubs, etc., is to provide a service for people and to assist …

I wish to share time with Deputy Barry. I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward the Bill, which we support. We support anything that will enable people to take the action that they want to take. The evidence strongly suggests that people are in favour of doing everything they can to try to contribute to the collective effort to avoid the climate catastrophe we are currently hurtling towards. That attitude of ordinary people obviously contrasts sharply with the attitude of the global leaders seen, unfortunatel…

On 19 October I asked the Taoiseach why the increase in the means test for fuel allowance was being delayed until next January. The Taoiseach told me that the Government decision was to implement the decisions with immediate effect on budget night. I then got a letter from the Minister, dated 15 November, telling me that, in fact, the decision is that the means test will not be increased until next January. Will the Taoiseach either correct the record of the Dáil or, preferably, correct the wrong decision to delay …

The new draft national risk assessment highlights a decline of people's trust in institutions as a risk facing the State. I would make the case that cronyism, corruption and a complete lack of transparency have meant that more and more people are disgusted by the politicians and the institutions in this State. I ask the Taoiseach to comment in that respect on the recent actions of his Minister of State, Deputy Troy. We know, thanks to an article by Mr. Aaron Rogan in the Business Post , that Deputy Troy, in his pos…

However, if nobody took the minutes of the meeting, there is no record of who was there.