I hope that what the Taoiseach is saying is that Jessica Sheedy will not have died in vain and that somebody else's life will be saved. However, that was 2018. Now, we are talking about Aoife Johnston. Where are we going? There has to be accountability within the hospital system. The other thing the Government has to look at is how much has been spent on legal fees fighting these cases and more over stuff that could have been fixed in the past five years if people had put up their hands and apologised. Bernard Glos…

This is something the Minister has inherited. It is before his time but it is within the remit of the whole House to rectify wrongdoing. People were put into institutions and used as free labour under terrible conditions. Their families were taken from them and they were dispersed with no records, and in cases where there were records they were hidden. I have met many survivors of mother and baby homes. John, a good friend of mine, has a daughter who recently got planning permission - it took two years to get it an…

Two years ago, I brought a truck to the Dáil and asked for the support of the likes of Sinn Féin and others across the House in respect of the fuel crisis. Did they support us? No. Did they vote on the last carbon tax? Yes. When there is an election, Sinn Féin turns to the people of Ireland and decides it needs to change. It has more faces than a Rubik's cube. It voted for carbon tax and "Yes, Yes" in the two recent campaigns. It then told people it was pushing for a "Yes, Yes" vote, but actually voted "No".

Every time there is an election, Sinn Féin tries to fool the people of Ireland. It is great that there is social media now, because we can see what Sinn Féin stands for. The local, European and mayoral elections are coming up. Sinn Féin will now try to say something. It proposed two amendments to strengthen the hate speech Bill. It tells people it is for the people of Ireland; it is not. It is a populist party that goes one way one minute and when something is not popular and it is not going up in the polls, it tur…

I also congratulate the Minister of State on her appointment and I look forward to working with her. The Government is the carer of the country, but it is not reflected down along when we look at the legislation in place on carers. Carers go above and beyond to care for people in their homes. In regard to the value for money they give, there is no Government agency or employee that can give that same care for the cost of payments to carers for the care that they provide. They travel to a person's home and give care…

I offer my deepest sympathies to the families here today for the loss of their children, sisters, brothers and relations on 14 February 1981 - a night of love. I was 11 years old then. I am now a father of four children, all of whom are the ages of those who died in the Stardust fire. I am now a grandfather. It has taken 43 years for the Government to say sorry. It has taken 43 years for all these families who have fought for justice for their loved ones to see this day. As a parent, I cannot comprehend what any on…

I will make this issue real for many people. Two weeks ago, I was approached by a 78-year-old man who has a son with a disability. His son is living at home. They applied for a grant for an adaptation to their car but were refused. They came back with an appeal. The Department wanted the 78-year-old man to drive to Dublin for the appeal. We asked could the appeal be reconvened to Limerick and the Department said it would do what it could in that regard. This man is 78 years of age and his son has a disability. His …

The Minister of State has been quoting figures from 2004 and other years. How many vehicles were on the road in 2004, the year for which he is citing those figures, compared with the number of vehicles on the road today? He said he wants to reduce the speed limits across the country, which will have a big impact on the transport network. What are we going to do? Our transport network cannot get people to the place they need to get to on time. Now, we are going to put more vehicles on the road at a slower pace, so t…

As an employer, I believe that we should work for the future. I am very lucky with the people I employ - the family as I call them. I have been self-employed all my life and I believe that working together, we create businesses together and we support one another's families. Businesses across all sectors are feeling the pinch. The only place not feeling the pinch is the Government coffers. We spoke about the VAT rate. To simplify it, if someone is paying €10 for a plate of food, since inflation went up, the cost we…

The first thing we need to look at is food security. The first people we need to look to are our farmers, including in tillage, to make sure we have food security. Across the country, we are seeing people who put food on our tables suffer big-time due to the weather. I welcome the scheme the Minister has introduced but it does not go far enough. It puts more pressure on people as they have to travel 75 km to avail of it. I spoke to a man last week who is the third generation of his family to work on his farm. He sa…

I am delighted for the Taoiseach. I wish him well in his position, as I do the other Ministers who have been elevated into positions. Once upon a time, Fine Gael was known as the farmers' party and Fianna Fáil was known as the workers' party. That is no more. It is very shocking for people who were members of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to see the way those parties have gone since they joined the Green Party in government, and that they have forgotten the people who put them there in the first place. Once upon a time…

I am going to speak the facts. Last week, I got an email from the local authority to say that a 4,500 sq. ft premises, Thomond House, had been sold in Galbally. Nobody in the community was contacted but the local authority sent us an email. Despite a lack of services there, they want to move 31 people into 4,500 sq. ft. I have been involved in housing women, children and vulnerable people from Ukraine.

Will the Deputy let me speak or is he too ignorant to shut his mouth for two minutes?

Can I be allowed to speak or are the Deputies going to continue to speak across me? I have nothing to declare but I have helped women and children from Ukraine by putting a roof over their heads in areas in Limerick. I also looked to protect them and give them the space in the area to make sure they can develop and be involved in our community. By putting 200 people-----

Sorry, Chair, but they have cut across my time. I have only got 30 seconds to talk and the looney tunes have been allowed three minutes to cut across me. With all due respect-----

I would appreciate that and to be given time to speak. From the point of facts, putting 31 people into a 4,500 sq. ft building with no services to get them in and out of there makes no sense. They also want to put 251 people into a school with no facilities.

Again, these looney tunes are still talking.

Well, they are because they keep interrupting while I am talking facts. Ireland is not saying that it does not want to protect the people of Ukraine. Yes it does but it wants to give them a quality of life, not put them in tents or in buildings with no services. These Deputies want our own Irish people to sleep on the ground.

That is what I am talking about, if they would let people explain.

I will, Chair.