Consultants have admitted it was a mistake-----

That is what they said.

On the terms and conditions.

Terms and conditions-----

Hundreds are dying in the country.

Yes.

I am saying it was a political fashion at the time to close accident and emergency departments.

I do not believe it was evidence-based.

Where are-----

We would love it too.

Agriculture in Ireland is in a state of crisis. I do not say that lightly. Every year a large number of farmers are leaving the sector. The number of farmers has reduced significantly throughout the State over the past decade. According to Teagasc, which analysed the income of farmers, a full third of farmers were making a loss from their business. They were either going into debt or poverty. That is an incredible situation. The current average salary of a beef farmer is around €16,000, a fraction of the average in…

That is funny because Fianna Fáil backed my Bill previously.

Fianna Fáil actually supported the Equitable Beef Pricing Bill. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is asking me to explain a Bill that his party is already on the record as supporting when it was in opposition.

I would be happy to reintroduce that Bill to the Minister.

At the moment we have factories which can, at times, push the price below the cost of production.

I am getting fierce heckling from the Minister so I can only assume that I have piqued his interest in the debate rather than in his phone-----

That is good. I am delighted the Minister is engaged now because it is important that he engages with this debate. The Government must make sure that the body created by this Bill has teeth. That is really important because we have many State agencies with particular roles in overseeing the implementation of legislation that do not have teeth. The truth of the matter is that the first key element is resources. We can have all of the good laws on the planet but if we do not have the resources necessary to implement …

I welcome the representatives of the dentists to the Gallery to listen to the debate. It is frustrating to hear the response of the Government to what has been put forward by the Opposition. For years the dental sector in this country has been on the brink of collapse. We know it is at breaking point across the country, which is staggering, given the importance of dental care to so many people. The heart of this problem is administrative. The problem with the administration in so many sectors in this country is tha…

There must be an opportunity to question the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, in the Dáil. This goes to the very heart of the functioning of the political system in this country. The reason we have declarations of donations is because we need transparency to see what influence businesses and developers can have on the political system. For decades, this country was hammered by the fact that a golden circle bought influence through donations to Ministers. This created incredible damage that we are still paying for now. In …

On Saturday, there will be a national day of action against accident and emergency department overcrowding throughout the country. For the first time in the history of the State, hospital campaigns throughout the country will work together and will show up in numbers outside hospitals throughout the State. A total of 15 hospital campaigns will be involved in the national day of action against hospital overcrowding. An incredible feat is being undertaken. There are leaflets and posters, and mobilisation is happening…