Are you telling RTÉ what to do now?

I have plenty of manners.

I am just making a point.

We in Aontú will be opposing the extension of this legislation. We are the only political party in the Chamber that has opposed each extension of these measures. Governance of this country is at a low ebb. It is incredible that even today, details of NPHET's proposals concerning potential restrictions were leaked to the media before that information was even given to the Government. Nobody thought of giving that information to the Opposition to allow us to look at these recommendations. Now we have a situation wher…

What list are you on?

The Taoiseach is running at €600,000 raffle with a licence that is meant for a charity. Is it not cynical and extreme that Fianna Fáil, a party that reaped €3.4 million from the State last year, is now applying specifically under a charities licence to raise funds? A charities licence is for people who are in real need. You could not make this up. I ask the Tánaiste a simple question. Is Fianna Fáil a charity? Is it wrong for Fianna Fáil to use charities legislation to raise funds as a political party?

For a maximum of €10. It is a maximum of €10, but if it is a charity, it goes to €20.

I put in an amendment on the particular point I am going to address but unfortunately I, like many others, was restricting my movements during Committee Stage of this Bill and was not able to attend from outside the precincts. Therefore we were not able to put this amendment on today's paper but it relates to the amendment being discussed at the moment as it concerns VAT on fuel. This is a real point. I genuinely want to bring it to the Minister's attention for consideration because it is an important issue. It is …

The first question is whether mandatory quarantine works. Mandatory quarantine was introduced at a time when people were talking about zero Covid and when there was a strong belief, at the start of the whole process, that it was possible to put a fence around the country and protect it from incoming viruses and variants. I do not think anybody would agree that zero Covid could possibly work at this point in time. I also do not think anybody would agree that mandatory quarantine actually works, because the minute a …

I think it is incredible that a Bill that is supposed to be about the saving of lives has seemingly turned into a debate about the ending of other individual human beings' lives. Many people watching the debate will be quite confused. On Government powers, if you give Government powers, as sure as night follows day, the Government will use those powers. That has been the way of every step during this pandemic. On the pre-flight test regarding vaccination status, that is an admission that vaccines do not stop transm…

Will the test that was taken in Ireland suffice even after the person has travelled to another country and come back?

You could go to South Africa.

The truth is that the Government is travelling blind. It has been blindsided. I am not necessarily saying it is the Government’s fault, because many things have happened that people did not accept. I am not saying anybody could be fully aware of what is going to happen but the Government was going to wrap up NPHET in October. This is how close we were to the Government saying it was all done and dusted. Mr. Paul Reid said that, once we reached a vaccination rate of 80%, all restrictions would be lifted in the State…

Fáilte ar ais, a Cheann Comhairle. Much of the domestic economy is radically suffering. The hospitality, travel and entertainment sectors are in big trouble. Many have reopened after long closures just to find they either have to close again or partially close. Nightclubs opened on 22 October and then effectively had to close a month later. Pubs and restaurants are telling me they have had widespread Christmas party cancellations during one of their busiest seasons. The constant stopping and starting and changing i…

I have supported some health measures. My job is to challenge and hold to account.

Absolutely.

That is good news.

On one hand, the Government is calling on parents to reduce children's social and human interaction and, on the other hand, it has refused to provide for timely PCR tests, free antigen tests or any contact tracing at all in the childcare and early learning sectors. Staff are currently waiting for five days for PCR tests, which is leading to wholesale absences in that sector. They are still forced to buy the antigen tests for around €8 because the discount stores are selling out within 20 or 30 minutes at the price …

I ask the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to meet-----

-----with the stakeholders within the sector.