Stepped up or stepped down, whichever.

The facts are there.

It must be an election.

Where are they?

In the city.

It is 42 years later.

False promises.

Same here.

I have been a building contractor all my life and I know to build houses we need infrastructure. The discrimination this Government has against putting infrastructure around this country is evident. All the Government wants to do is build its numbers in Dublin so it can get extra people in the Cabinet, rather than spreading it around the country so other people can get affordable homes. The Government cannot build houses because it cannot recognise value for money. I will tell the Minister of State why. It is becau…

Why does the Government not?

It is because the Government is the same thing over and over again. Three years ago, a house cost €120 per sq. ft and the Government took 13.% on top of that which was €16,200. Today, it costs €200 per sq. ft and the Government takes €27,000. That is for every 1,000 sq. ft of a house from people who are working and paying for their own houses. That is what the Government is doing. Then it squanders it and gets no value for money. I mentioned earlier that people have been looking for a sewage system in Askeaton, Cou…

The Government has proved that it and the Minister of State's Department know nothing about business. Deputy Micheál Martin has said that the issues in respect of the hospitality sector need to be revisited. That is what he is saying now. Why is that the case? The Government did not cost it properly. The increase in VAT and the two increases to the minimum wage have affected businesses. With the increases in social welfare and the minimum wage that the Government is giving out, it has taken all of that back again a…

Why does the Government get it wrong all the time? I have a business background and have been self-employed nearly all my life. I have an education in life and in business because I am in business. Why does the Cabinet get it wrong all the time? The Government likes percentage models. How many in the Cabinet are businesspeople or come from the farming or community sector where they have been involved in their communities? The breakdown of the budget explains why the Government gets it wrong all the time, even from …

We have seen media reports of Sinn Féin's kangaroo courts and how they were doing their things. I see today that the Government is trying to do the same type of thing. All of us here are 100% for child protection. Trying to use it for media spin and political gain is the wrong thing to do. We are here to protect children. That is what we are here to do. This kangaroo court system that you are trying to do and the populist thing you are trying to do is totally wrong. We talk about Tusla. There are some very good peo…

It is ironic that we are talking about the Social Welfare Bill on a day when the hospitality sector, as well as hairdressers, shopkeepers and childcare workers, all marched across Dublin and arrived at Leinster House. Many speakers raised the issues with the VAT rate and spoke about how many closures we will have in the hospitality sector. Many people who spoke about it showed how many businesses would close down because of the Government's failure to protect the hospitality sector and all of the other businesses. …

Respect the Chair now, please.

The whole purpose of this Bill is to pull parameters from An Taisce. We look at our local authorities and the development plans in our areas. Those plans are debated and agreed among our county councillors, who are elected in every district to represent their areas. They sort out their development plans for the growth of housing and businesses across our counties. When they go for planning applications, An Taisce puts in objections. Many development projects have been objected to by An Taisce, which is funded by th…

Is the election coming? All you have to do is look at the Government's social media to find people saying the handouts have started to try to fool the people of Ireland. After the mistruth when the Government said it was going to go the full term, it will be interesting how the Taoiseach handles this when he comes back after he told everyone in the country the Government was going to go the full term. Now it looks like the Government is handing out sweets. I welcome any funds that come back to the people of Ireland…

When will the discrimination stop for the counties that have been promised delivery of sewerage and water systems for decades? I have said this before and I will say it again. Forty years ago, the Government promised a Fianna Fáil councillor in Askeaton that they would have a sewerage system. Now look at Glin, Abbeyfeale, Oola and Dromcollogher. Two thirds of Limerick county has been starved of funding that has been promised for decades by the same Governments. I am not talking four years and two months ago when th…

Why has this Government got so much money to spend? It is because of its tax regime. The Government loves inflation. When housing doubles in price, the Government gets the double the tax. When a house that once cost €250,000 now costs €450,000, the Government now has a tax intake of €53,524.23 in VAT if a person buys a new house. That is why the Government has the money. Schools get a small budget and have barely enough to survive. The Government will make schools very accountable and only give them a small budget,…