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

I want to come in on the same point. People in Navan who have been identified as possibly having Covid have also been told they cannot get the test in Navan and have to travel, which does not make sense from any perspective. The idea of people with Covid circulating on the public transportation system or in any manner does not make sense. We are asking people to stay put as much as possible yet we are asking these people, who are most likely to have Covid, to travel for testing. It does not make sense.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to ensure the provision of an equitable price for beef to farmers operating in that sector, in order to ensure that it is a sustainable means for them to earn a livelihood; and to provide for related matters. Many farmers in the country are finding it increasingly difficult to survive. Teagasc reckons that a third of farmers are currently making enough income off their farms to make a living. Another third of farmers are only able to survive because …

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

I wish the Minister of State well in his role. It is not an easy role but it is a vital one. It is also important to say that he should grab this opportunity and treat it like the opportunity of a lifetime. His actions could radically alter the lives of hundreds and thousands of people in towns and villages throughout the country. Drugs are affecting nearly every walk of life. People's brothers, relations, work colleagues, etc., are all being affected by drugs and drugs are affecting every part of Ireland. Inner ci…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am very glad that the Ministers and Ministers of State (Successors) Bill has reached Second Stage. A lot has happened since I first put the Bill forward. It seems like an age has passed in the history of the country since the Bill was tabled way back in the middle of the lockdown. We had a very strange situation following the general election. We had a period of 140 to 150 days when the political establishment got involved in a slow set, a merry dance, a very slo…

We believe there is no constitutional problem with the Bill. We have sought legal advice from constitutional lawyers on it and we use language in the Bill that is fully sympathetic to the language of the Constitution. The words were chosen to meet the needs of the Constitution. The Bill seeks that a new Dáil select and appoint Ministers. This is a key point. The Constitution demands what is necessary. It states a successor needs to be selected from the new Dáil and appointed to the position of Minister. That is exa…

I received a message from a doctor in the past couple of days. He stated: I have luckily had no patients who have died of coronavirus. I have had at least three though who have had delayed cancer diagnoses due to the shutdown of services and the delay in services. These will almost certainly die. I have others who are desperate to be seen by specialists but are hitting a brick wall in trying. The shutdown of the health services is killing people. That is a startling statement for any doctor to make and it is not an…

I will give the Taoiseach another example if I can. The National Suicide Research Foundation collects data on self-harm presentation from emergency departments throughout the country. These important data were suspended in the vast majority of these hospitals until the end of June. Even today, self-harm data are still not being collected in all of the emergency departments throughout the country. Face-to-face consultations for serious mental health issues are radically reduced. I understand that as many as 70% of t…

I welcome and fully support this motion. One of the biggest mistakes of this whole pandemic has been that so many key, life and death services have been stopped by the previous Government and have been kept closed by this Government. For the past number of months we in Aontú have consistently called for the reopening of the health services. We have said over and over again that these services must return. Back in June I raised it with the then Minister, Deputy Harris, and when I asked him, he confirmed to me that h…

I add my voice to many of the other voices from the Opposition. Legislation is an incredibly important element of what we do here and of the lives of the people outside the House. People live and die by legislation that is created in this House. We are discussing legislation here that has very far-reaching effects in Irish society. Obviously, vulture funds are a negative element of Irish society. As the previous speaker said, they have had phenomenal access to the Department of Finance over the last number of years…

Speaking on my own behalf-----

Accountability is an extremely important part of any democracy. If this country has suffered in the past, it is because of lack of accountability. The Government has all the cards in its hands. It has its offices and the human resources to be able to push through so much of its political agenda. One of the major elements of accountability is the ability of Opposition parties, especially smaller ones operating on fresh air in most cases, to hold the Government to account. Pushing our voices into the graveyard shift …

Tá cúig nóiméad agam agus táim ag roinnt an ama sin leis an Teachta Naughten. Gabhaim míle buíochas le mo chomhghleacaithe sa Ghrúpa Réigiúnach as an mBille seo a chur os comhair na Dála. Gabhaim míle buíochas leis an iarSheanadóir, Pádraig Ó Céidigh, a chum an Bille seo, agus le Cáit Nic Amhlaidh as an gcabhair a thug sí dó. Is Bille an-tábhachtach é gan dabht. I thank Ms Linda Murray who owns a small business in my home town of Navan. She is one of the many business people throughout the country who have been for…

I lend my voice to the rake of tour bus operators around the country whose overheads have not reduced, but whose income has been radically reduced. Tour guide operators, which are not bus operators themselves, are also suffering massively. They are saying that loans are not enough and that they need grants to get them through the situation they are in.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to ensure the prompt appointment of successors to Ministers and Ministers of State who have as a result of a general election ceased to be members of the Oireachtas; and to provide for related matters. This Bill comes on the back of the incredibly long negotiations required to form a Government at the start of this year. There were more than 140 days of negotiations before a Government was formed. That is a shocking length of time. It dwarfs the prev…

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

This is an absolutely disastrous deal for Ireland. Ireland is one of the most heavily indebted nations on the planet. We currently have a higher debt per capita than Greece. Our debt is well north of €200 billion, and after the next five years of the Covid-19 crisis, it is likely that will be added to significantly. It shocks me that these types of major decisions made in the EU are continuously made on the basis of our GDP figures. These are leprechaun figures, which grossly overestimate the level of wealth that e…

An féidir liom ceist ar bith a chur ar an Aire?

Is ceist an-sciobtha í. Tá fadhb ann i gContae na Mí mar gheall ar thithíocht nua atá á tógáil i Ráth Chairn. Tá An Bord Pleanála tar éis iarratas pleanála a fhaomhadh a scriosfaidh Gaeltacht Ráth Chairn ina iomláine. Tá an fhadhb sin ag teacht chun cinn arís agus arís i ngach Gaeltachta eile. Caithfidh an Rialtas a bheith sásta srian a chur ar chead pleanála sa Ghaeltacht maidir leis an líon teaghlach atá sásta an Ghaeilge a labhairt atá ag dul isteach sna háiteanna sin. Tá Gaeltachtaí leithéidí Ráth Chairn, Baile…