I support Deputy Hourigan's amendment. The purpose of my amendments Nos. 10 and 11 and Deputy Barry's amendment No. 12 is to extend the reasons for which the three-month period could be extended. In addition, they aim to tackle the housing emergency in the State. I almost felt sorry for the Taoiseach when he explained how all these radical measures are being taken now which he earlier told us were entirely unconstitutional, that we could not have a rent freeze or a ban on evictions. His argument was grounded in the…

I move amendment No. 11: In page 8, line 6, to delete “population,” and substitute the following: “population, or (iv) the need to tackle the housing emergency in the State,”.

I move amendment No. 12: In page 8, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “(iv) the financial hardship on tenants caused as a result of the Covid-19 crisis,”.

The last division demonstrated that there is a possibility to pass real measures that will make a difference to renters now, in the next half an hour. There is a potential majority to pass these things which will actually make a difference. It is up to the Independent Deputies who got votes from ordinary people, including many renters, to stick to the kind of promises that I am sure they made in the election and to vote for the interests of renters this evening. The second point I make is to Fianna Fáil. If these v…

I move amendment No. 42: In page 13, line 20, to delete “application.”.” and substitute the following: “application. (10) A person living in direct provision who has qualified and practiced as a dentist outside of this jurisdiction may also apply for registration.”.”. These amendments all have effectively the same purpose, namely, that for this range of medical specialties, doctors, midwives, nurses etc., we make sure that qualified people who are living in direct provision would be able to apply for registration a…

If I ask another question, does the Minister get to reply further? I would like more information, if possible, about how this can be resolved. Obviously, people in direct provision are not people with means, generally speaking. How can this be resolved quickly? How can the talents of these people be brought to bear in the fight against coronavirus?

People should look at what is happening at the borders of Greece right now. It is utterly horrifying and shameful. Of all of the disgusting things the EU has endorsed in the past decades, this has to be one of the worst. Dinghies of frozen refugees coming from a war-torn country are being turned away by a European coastguard. As tens of thousands of refugees from Syria, including mothers and children, approach barbed wire fences, they are being shot at by a EU police force - the Greek police force - and being hit b…

We face a very serious and potentially very dangerous situation. As this debate has been going on, the tenth case in Ireland has been publicised. It is being reported that this is the first case with no known link to northern Italy. The person who has unfortunately contracted Covid-19 was not in northern Italy and potentially got it from someone in this country. The worrying trends in other countries show the potential for exponential growth in the infection rates and the impact the virus will have on our society. …

I too will vote for Deputy McDonald for Taoiseach and vote against Deputy Varadkar and Deputy Micheál Martin. In doing so I will seek to use my vote to give effect to the desire for radical change expressed at the election. Before the election we heard from Fine Gael Ministers and various commentators about how the political centre would hold. It did not hold because the extreme neo-liberal centre, represented by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, and the interests of big business, landlords and developers who have benefit…