The decision that has been made today on hospitality is absolutely disastrous. It will push tens of thousands of people in the State further into poverty. It is completely wrong that this decision has not yet been the subject of democratic discussion in the Chamber. Either Irish restaurants and pubs are more dangerous than their counterparts in the rest of Europe or our Government is alone in Europe in not being able to make a decision in this regard. There must be a debate on the matter this week.

Ireland is alone now in Europe in the banning of indoor dining and drinking. Pubs and restaurants here have been closed longer than in any other European country. Tens of thousands of hospitality workers are out of work at the moment and being pushed into poverty. Many businesses are operating in a zombie state, surviving on Government supports. Young people are now being threatened with a two-tier citizenship, whereby civil rights will be for some but not for others. Then we have the ongoing problem with regard to…

Is it better to stay indoors and be afraid it may rain or walk outside because it may not rain in the future?

I move amendment No. 1: ( a ) To delete the following: "— women’s reproductive healthcare would be put at risk and their safety endangered if subject to Catholic ownership and ethos;" and (b) To insert the following after "the new hospital be fully owned and governed by the State": "and further: — commits to no private healthcare services being carried out on the site of the new National Maternity Hospital, pursuant to the Private Members' Motion on National Maternity Services [Vol. 983, No. 8] brought in June 2019…

It is a disgrace that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage leaves when Opposition Deputies are speaking. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin changed the rules of the Dáil so that their speakers would come first in these debates. They pushed Opposition voices further towards the end of the debates. That means that the Minister typically leaves before Opposition Deputies get to speak, despite having listened to his own Deputies in his parliamentary party meetings. Before Christmas, I raised the fa…

The Government's mismanagement of the hospitality sector has been a car crash. The collateral damage has affected many pubs and restaurants, some of which have now been closed for 420 days. No other country in Europe has closed hospitality for so long. In research I have done today, I can find no other European country where indoor dining in restaurants is closed. Denmark and Finland had roughly the same level of mortality as this State and have had roughly the same level of vaccinations. They managed to open their…

I did not say that.

This issue is not just going to last for two weeks. Even when pubs open for indoor service around 5 July, we will have a situation where many people will not want to go indoors to eat and drink. We will also have a situation where capacity indoors will be less and, therefore, pubs and restaurants will need extra capacity outside. This issue is going to last right through the whole summer. Then there is the question of insurance, which has not been considered. Many pubs and restaurants have applied for insurance on …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an rún seo. I hope the parties will support the Aontú amendment to ensure convergence between the pension ages in the North and South of Ireland. At the moment there is a difficulty with regard to the pension in the North of Ireland. It is symptomatic of the two-tier Ireland in which we live that when it comes to retirement, there is one rule for the elites and another for hard-working men and women. Deputies, whether they get voted out of office or resign, will leave with golden handshakes to s…

I understand an amendment has been sent into the office.

My apologies. I will check that and revert to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Okay. We will sort that out. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I am very happy to-----

I would be very happy to furnish an amendment to both my colleague, Deputy O'Reilly, and yourself, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I will resolve that. Thank you.

Climate change is a real issue and climate change undoubtedly has to be dealt with. However, it has to be dealt with fairly and justly. The term "just transition" is in the Bill but the truth of the matter is that the people who are affected do not trust the Government on what it says about a just transition. I will tell the Minister why they do not trust the Government. The fact of the matter is rural Ireland has suffered radically in recent decades in this country. We have a city state developing in this country.…

The Greens have always worn the clothes of a parliamentary party that is democratic and wants to work with everybody to achieve objectives. That pretence has been shed significantly today in what has happened. We have a situation where every single Opposition amendment has been refused. A good Dáil will work when legislation is rigorously tested and when the wisdom, knowledge, experience or influence of half the representatives of the people of Ireland are at least listened to, or they have some input. The Green Pa…

I move amendment No. 2: To insert the following after "and that industry contributes to the overall cost of remediating defective properties": "— the Government must launch a full public investigation into how defective material was sold into the housing market in such quantity and for so long, and that those responsible are held to account.". Tá mé buíoch as an rún seo atá os ár gcomhair inniu. I pay respect to the people of Donegal and Mayo who have come up to Dublin in their thousands today. It is a big thing fo…

I have carried out a good bit of research in recent months on funding for Traveller accommodation. The responses I received to my parliamentary questions are absolutely shocking. Unbelievable information has come back in the past couple of weeks. In 2017, local authorities drew down €4.8 million from an allocation of €9 million. In 2018, local authorities drew down €8.6 million from an allocation of €13 million. In 2020, all of the €14.4 million in funding was drawn down but no breakdown was given on what counties …

I will do my best to get to the points fast. Today, we see the Government guillotining this Bill. The act of guillotining a Bill is in itself a phenomenally undemocratic act. It cuts out the Opposition's ability to push and challenge the Government to make sure that the laws it is introducing are actually correct. It is a guarantee that the law will not be tested properly before it is implemented. Accordingly, it is very likely the law will be significantly poorer as a result. This guillotining is being done by one…