Very good.

They are begrudgers.

It has not.

The programme for Government includes a commitment to convene a citizens' assembly on drug use. I am sure the Taoiseach saw some of the harrowing coverage yesterday of what has been described as an epidemic of crack cocaine use in Tallaght. People’s lives and communities are being destroyed, yet the total figure allocated to address crack cocaine use in budget 2022 across the entire State was €500,000. Funding for the Tallaght Drug & Alcohol Task Force remains €100,000 a year lower than it was ten years ago. That f…

I see the Minister, Deputy Ryan, had an article in The Irish Times last weekend in which he approvingly quoted Greta Thunberg saying, "No more blah, blah, blah." It is supremely ironic. How else can the words and actions of this Government on climate be described but as "more blah, blah, blah"? To take the example of transport, last week the Government announced a target of up to a 50% reduction in emissions in transport in the climate action plan. This week, we heard that a key investment in public transport infra…

It is leading the way for the pharmaceutical companies. It is killing people. It is disgraceful.

I am going to assume that the Minister of State heard about and read some of the extensive coverage over the past couple of days regarding the tsunami of crack cocaine use in Tallaght. I hope she also read the report by the TDATF or that the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, has. The bottom line is that this is an appeal for help from those on the front line. The report in question states: "it is by far the biggest single problem facing the services and communities of TDATF, it is of epidemic proportions and if it…

Actions speak louder than words. Unfortunately, the actions of the Government show that it is not taking this issue seriously. In the budget a month ago, the entire spend allocated for measures against crack cocaine usage throughout the entire country was €500,000. It is nowhere near adequate. Let me spell out what an extra €1 million in funding for the Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Task Force would mean. It would mean €400,000 for front-line, community-based services. That translates as one additional staff member per…

There were 3,726 Covid-19 cases confirmed yesterday. This is the highest figure since January. Schools are on the front line of the fight against Covid-19 and they are not getting the support they need from the Government. Back in September, the Government decided to stop contact testing and tracing in schools. In this Chamber I described this as a hear no evil, see no evil policy and the Taoiseach said that was an unwarranted comment. Now we see the consequences of this policy. Will the Taoiseach reverse the mista…

Look at five- to 12-year-olds. I am not saying that.

They need HEPA filters.

I will be very brief. In September, the ban on large trawlers fishing within Ireland's inshore waters was lifted following a Court of Appeal judgment. These trawlers are extremely damaging to our coastal environments and fish habitats. They damage our marine biodiversity. They are also damaging to the interests of small fishers. They do not practise a sustainable form of fishing and they should be banned. These massive trawlers have consistently overfished sprat in particular, killing seven times the level recommen…

He would need an hour.

The UN emissions gap report gives lie to the empty rhetoric of world leaders in Glasgow. In analysing the new nationally determined contributions, it outlines that what has been agreed thus far by various states would mean reducing carbon emissions by only 7.5% by 2030, as opposed to the 55% level that is agreed to be needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C. We are on a trajectory to 2.7°C, which would be disastrous. The continuation of the widening of the gap between the soaring rhetoric and the disastrous inactio…

Capitalism is responsible for the climate crisis - sure. The Taoiseach thinks capitalism is not responsible. That is fine.

Come on.

I will focus my remarks on COP26 and the coup in Sudan. The Taoiseach’s doublespeak on methane is precisely the kind of blah, blah, blah, that Greta Thunberg was warning about. Yesterday he signed up to a global target of 30% reductions in methane by 2030, the absolute minimum necessary, and today he says that Ireland will not even try to meet that target, by setting a 10% target instead. The Taoiseach and the Government, it seems, are fully committed to other states tackling climate change. Fair play. I wonder do …

I will be sharing time with Deputy Mick Barry. I will make several different points concerning Covid, but particularly on the repressive powers the Minister proposes to extend now. We oppose those repressive powers and their extension. It is striking to compare the approach taken by the Government in extending significant restrictions on civil liberties to its approach concerning protections and supports for ordinary people. The Government has already cut the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, by €50. There is ano…

The central issue here is simple. When Covid hit, student nurses and midwives stepped up to the mark and went above and beyond the call of duty in the fight against Covid. Last year, under pressure from student nurses, from the left and from People Before Profit, the Government finally recognised they deserved to be paid and gave them the healthcare assistant rate of €14 an hour. However, then Scrooge-like it took the money back, offering only a pitiful €100 a week support, which is less than €3 an hour. Workers in…

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the retired County Kerry judge, James O'Connor, about whom I have previously raised shocking cases of abuse of power and an example of institutional sexism. When I last raised the cases with the Taoiseach, he said, "I am very concerned about it and about what I have read today in the articles the Deputy mentioned. I will give further consideration to this and revert to the Deputy." What conclusion has the Taoiseach come to in terms of avoiding this happening in the future?