I am sharing time with Deputies Paul Murphy and Mick Barry. I thank Deputy Ó Broin for bringing forward the motion. Anything that gives us an opportunity to highlight the housing crisis and the plight of renters is very welcome. I support overwhelmingly the thrust of the motion. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and Deputy Devlin's attempts to defend the Government's position and their countermotion are threadbare in the extreme. A few weeks ago, I described the LDA legislation as a heist where the Government had opene…

The Irish Wildlife Trust, IWT, recently issued a very stark warning about the biodiversity crisis, which is often forgotten in the context of the equally urgent crisis of climate change. It is very important for us to remember that biodiversity collapse could spell the end of our ability to live on this planet. One of the areas the IWT pointed to was the critical importance of the marine environment. It, like many other organisations, is deeply concerned about the ramming through of the marine planning framework an…

What about the relevant project?

What about the legacy project?

The Taoiseach should answer the question raised by Deputy Barry, and earlier by Deputy Paul Murphy, on chosen representatives of ESB technicians being recognised by the ESB, a semi-State body, and on respecting the right of people to choose their own representatives in a legitimate dispute about outsourcing. The Taoiseach should intervene in this regard as a matter of urgency. I want to raise the co-ordination by Departments in key areas, such as providing schools for our children. I raise this because the lack of …

Will the Taoiseach get on to the Minister about it?

The violent scenes in the North over recent weeks were a worrying reminder of how the institutionalisation of sectarianism can lead to these sectarian outbursts. If we are to challenge that and achieve the unity of this island and the end of partition, and undermine the conscious stirring-up of sectarianism by forces such as the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, we have to offer a better alternative, not just joining together two somewhat dysfunctional states. We cannot hope to convince people in the North to become …

Among the industries and groups of workers in this country are the approximately 25,000 taxi drivers who have been crucified by the impact of Covid-19 public health restrictions. That will continue for as long as other sectors on which they depend for their income, such as music, entertainment, events, tourism and aviation, are affected. However, their appeals for specific assistance to deal with the debts they are accumulating, their ongoing costs and a financial package to help them survive and recover have been …

Taxi drivers have a number of simple demands, none of which have been met. They have asked for a financial package of supports to cover their fixed costs, which were estimated by the NTA a number of years ago at €11,000 a year. Those are debts they have been accumulating and they have been excluded from the schemes to support those fixed costs. They have asked for a moratorium on the issuing of licences. They have asked for the taxi advisory committee to be replaced with a body that allows them direct access to the…

I am sharing time with Deputy Bríd Smith. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan and I objected at the Business Committee to the original plan of the Government to attempt to push through this motion on the marine planning framework without debate. I am glad we did so. It is clear the Government wants to ram this through in order to silence legitimate concerns and questions by people concerned with our precious marine environment, including groups such as fishermen. Only a few weeks ago, I raised the issue of private developers w…

It is not agreed.

I will take ten or 12 minutes. There will be definitely eight, if not ten, for Deputy Barry.

Maybe.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for looking after our interests. I appreciate it. When the school student climate strikers came out on the street in this country and across the world, they shouted and had on their banners and placards the slogan "System change, not climate change!" They also loudly shouted about the need for a just transition as being absolutely critical to delivering the radical climate action we need to stop climate disaster. This Bill should be a reflection of the demands and aspirations of those sc…

I hope he is going to stay for my contribution.

I am sharing time with Deputies Paul Murphy and Barry. I thank Deputies Ó Broin and Conway-Walsh for using Private Members' time to bring forward this Bill. Most importantly, I commend and congratulate the USI on what already appears to be a successful campaign of people power. That should be said. As a result of its campaigning on this issue, it appears that it has forced the Government to respond, somewhat belatedly, in respect of an issue that has been raised from the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, the…

In the last couple of hours, I have been informed by the four national representative taxi groups that the Garda has banned their planned protest, which was due to take place outside Leinster House tomorrow, on Merrion Street. This is a shocking development. There would be no threat to public health because the taxi drivers were going to be in their cars. That was clearly outlined to the Garda, yet the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, has banned the protest on public health grounds. Given that the Criminal Justice …

It is not agreed. I held back on speaking to Thursday's business until now. The Ceann Comhairle knows I raised this matter at the Business Committee last Thursday. The idea we will pass a motion on the national marine planning framework on the basis of a 50-minute debate is utterly unacceptable. For the Taoiseach to suggest that we are somehow trying to paralyse the process is utter nonsense. Unless we have proper planning of the marine environment and offshore development, we will end up with the sort of wild west…

Some of these companies are riding roughshod over these people.

In five days, Abdulrahman al-Sahdan, who is a Red Crescent humanitarian worker from Saudi Arabia, will be sentenced by the Saudi regime to 20 years imprisonment for a tweet. Him and about 70 other democracy activists are facing sentences of between ten and 30 years each. They are persecuted by the Saudi regime, which, let us remember, carved Jamal Khashoggi into pieces in the Saudi embassy in Turkey, almost certainly at the behest of Crown Prince bin Salman. This young man will get 20 years in prison for a tweet ev…