-----and the rest of the Deputies-----

Deputy Boyd Barrett had literally one third of the time-----

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide, in the interest of public solidarity, for the reduction of salaries of Oireachtas members during the currency of certain restrictions implemented in connection with Covid-19; and to provide for related matters. The object of this Aontú Bill is to bring about a 25% cut in the salaries of Deputies and Senators during Covid level 5 and level 4 lockdowns. I will explain the reasons I believe this is just and the right thing to do. There are t…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

This State has carried out very important and good work in the past number of years in investigating and researching how previous generations have treated young children and mothers. Some of the findings that have been published so far are shocking and heartbreaking. It is important that this generation does not overlook the many young children who are in very difficult straits at this time. This focus on our own generation is extremely important because it allows us to have a positive effect and to fix the situati…

When Covid-19 first flared in Ireland last year, I asked the Tánaiste, who was then the Taoiseach, to stop the flights which were coming in from northern Italy. He said "No", and when I asked why, he said that the European Centre for Disease Control, ECDC, was advising against it. I asked what was the ECDC's rationale for advising against it and the Tánaiste said that he did not know. I was shocked at the time that the leader of a country would make a decision of that import without understanding the rationale for …

Last Friday, a 69-year-old man known as Iggy, who was originally from Poland, was found dead in a laneway off Little Catherine Street in Limerick city. Pauline Casey and Sarah Beasley, an Aontú representative and homeless activist in Limerick, knew Iggy from their work in helping the homeless. They spoke to Iggy on the night he died. This was especially poignant for Pauline because she had lost her sister Louise on the streets in 2016. I know that gardaí in Limerick city are involved and that efforts are under way …

I also raised at that time the fact that homeless people who were not from Dublin and who were presenting to homeless facilities were being turned away and told to go back to their own counties. This was despite the fact that another arm of the State was telling them not to travel because of the Covid-19 restrictions. Months after I raised that issue, the Minister appeared on the "RTÉ Investigates" programme and he seemed to be shocked by what had been uncovered, even though I had brought details in that regard to …

People listening to this debate will think that it is absolutely scandalous and flabbergasting that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage does not know the number of people who die in homelessness in 25 of the 26 counties in this State, that there is no process to collect information in this regard or collate it centrally and that such information is not at his fingertips. If he cannot analyse or measure a critical problem of lives being lost, how in God’s name is he supposed to be able to fix it?…

Aontú is a left-of-centre Irish republican grassroots movement. We seek a prosperous Ireland where, when one works hard, takes risks and invests time, effort and resources, one receives a fair economic return for that work. We understand that there must be a spark in the economy, an incentive that will drive people to achieve for their family. We also seek a safety net for families with regard to housing, healthcare, education and income when times are tough. We seek a society that is cohesive, which is important t…

That is because of all the inequality in our society.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 to make specific provision for sentencing for certain offences in relation to pets; and to provide for related matters. I thank my colleagues Deputies Canney and Verona Murphy for co-signing this Bill. In the past year, the issue of pet theft has come into sharp focus for many families around the country. Covid lockdowns have seen many welcome new pets into their families, which has ca…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I am glad that the First Stage of my Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) (Amendment) (Pets) Bill 2021 passed here in Leinster House. I am glad to get another opportunity to discuss this important issue with the tabling of this amending legislation today as well. Obviously, pets are very much members of people's families. Anybody who has lost a pet or anybody who has had a pet die, will tell you that it is heartbreaking. People grieve because they lose their pets and people grieve because their pets die. Thi…

I will address the issue of fishing. While I have the Minister's ear, I will raise one other issue. Is he aware that a number of serious allegations have been made about VAT fraud, insurance fraud, illegal state aid, environmental fraud and corruption in the poultry industry? Alo Mohan from County Cavan has stated that his business, which had a turnover of about €2 million, has been put out of business due to his refusal to participate in what he calls an illegal VAT practice. He claims that Revenue is aware of the…

I will bring it to an end here. Given how serious this is, will the Minister meet with Alo Mohan and other campaigners to see if we can find a resolution to this?

I will indeed write and know that former Ministers have had letters written to them in this regard. On fishing, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, has admitted that fishers will be disappointed with the deal achieved with Britain with regard to fishing concessions. As the Minister responsible for the marine, did the Minister raise objections to the deal and if so, where did those objections materialise? What effect did they have?

I asked if the Minister objected to this in any way and if that had a material outcome. I imagine that what the Minister has said is a long way of saying that there was no official objection by him, the Department or the Government with regard to what the Minister, Deputy Coveney, said is a disappointing outcome. Ireland's coastal share of fish will shrink by at least 15% over the next six years. The mean reduction of fishing available for EU member states is 9%. Ireland's reduction significantly surpasses the aver…

I welcome and support the motion. We all remember when, just before Christmas, the Government voted against paying student nurses and the wave of disappointment and anger that rolled across the country the days after the vote. Young student nurses, some with their faces still bearing the marks of the face masks they wore on 12-hour shifts, looked at their TV screens as Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party votes, one after another, torpedoed their chance of getting paid. Numbered among those who voted against stud…

More than half of the 2,460 people who have died with Covid-19 in the State died in nursing homes. In December, two thirds of the deaths that occurred were due to outbreaks in nursing home and hospital settings. Outbreaks in nursing homes doubled to 52 just last week, while cases of Covid-19 in nursing homes increased by 500%. The latter gave rise to 24 deaths in the past week alone. God rest each of those individuals. Currently, there are 800 staff missing from nursing homes across the sector. The issue is so crit…