I did not name any names. The rules of the House are that when you do not mention a name, you can mention what you like.

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — the sectors in the Irish economy such as farming, fisheries, construction and more generally small businesses and households have in recent years been repeatedly exposed to severe economic shocks arising from major international events outside the control of the State, including the Covid-19 Pandemic, the war in Ukraine, instability and conflict involving Iran and the wider Middle East, and ongoing international trade disputes and tariff wars; — these events have contributed…

The contributions from the Government side and their colleagues show why we are in the position we are in. I spoke to some of those who contributed. They said they would like to see the people in the middle, the working class, looked after in this budget. One person told me he got elected the same day as the Minister of State, which was the same day I got elected. Since I got elected, they are the people I have been looking to have looked after. It has taken the Government six years to even come out and say that it…

Timmy do-little is at it again, is he?

There was a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health this morning. Members of the hospital group, including Sandra Broderick, and Mr. Mike Ahearne of the HSE are in the Gallery. I acknowledge the work they have been doing within the hospital sector in Limerick. They will be looking forward to the new hospital and the new wing. Is there a timeline for that?. Will it be a design-build project? Patient safety is a huge thing. One of the cases in UHL, which I have brought up in the House on many occasions, was that of …

I have already acknowledged the Minister in the context of the work that is being done in Limerick. We went through a very bad spell. The initial hospital of excellence was brought up in 2009. The people involved are no longer in the HSE, but they downsized Nenagh, Ennis and St. John's Hospital. It is great that the Taoiseach has acknowledged that the reverse needs to happen. That was one of the first things I said when I was elected six years ago. We need to ensure investment in health services. The Taoiseach has …

Good man.

The cost of living for people with disabilities has been highlighted across the Chamber. If we start off with disabilities and things we could have done even before we reached this point and which were asked for, Maurice Noonan, who is from Granagh, and his partner were here last year. They are both wheelchair users. They were here in the Chamber. Mr. Noonan told me about simple things that he lost out on in childhood. He is 25 years old; the same age as my son. He missed 18th and 21st birthdays as a result of the …

Independent Ireland was set up for one reason: to give a platform for Independents to work together. What is the difference between Independent Ireland and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael? We have a vote of conscience. Whether to remove the triple lock is a vote of conscience. It is a vote for the people of Ireland. It should not be up to the Government party leaders. Anything such as removing the triple lock should be an open vote in this House for Government parties at a minimum. The Government no longer fully represen…

On the scheme the Government brought out for the agri sector for the fuel, some of the sectors are saying that unless you are under an agricultural contractor you do not qualify for this scheme. We have an awful lot of plant hire people who do agricultural work but they do not qualify for the scheme. We have people who might be registered as being a plant hire company but do agri work, and they do not qualify for this scheme. Why is that? If you are doing agricultural work, you should qualify for the scheme. Also, …

We are talking about NAMA and its winding up. It is easy to wind up something when people would not talk to you. I will give a small bit of history, without mentioning names, of a case to do with the likes of NAMA and it not interacting with people in their times of trouble. I am talking about people who were in trouble in 2016, like a lot of other people in the country, and there was a judgment against them. The judgment was for €55,000, which was the sum owed. The order for interest was €9,000. In 2016, these peo…

The debate is on biodiversity and nature restoration but there is nothing here about the protection of human life. I am from a farming background and live in rural Ireland. I talk about people trying to get safely to school or the bus network or trucks trying to get to the shops with goods from the farmers, people trying to get to work and people trying to walk the roads. All the roads in Ireland are closing in. There is talk about the protection of wildlife, which pulls the mirrors off trucks, buses and cars and p…

How many people are living at home with their parents? That gives the Minister of State the answer, does it not? How many people today, with their families, are living at home with their parents? I know my children and their partners are. They are living with me. I am a building contractor. For them to be able to afford to build their own house is not viable because of inflation. They are saving hard but as hard as they can save, inflation is passing out what they can save. Those are the people who want to build th…

I am a father and a grandfather and also a public representatives. As a public representative, father and grandfather, I support families and people in all their decisions. I have listened to the debate today. I have listened to the debate outside the Chamber. We have to listen to everyone and all their concerns. The concerns I have come from the people I have listened to. HSE data show that between 2019 and 2024, 10,426 women who attended the first abortion appointment did not return on the third day. That means t…

Regarding a National Safety Camera Strategy, I have no objections to any of that but what I would like to see is some joined-up thinking. In a lot of areas in County Limerick at the moment, an awful lot of robberies are taking place, and the gardaí under pressure with the numbers they have. What I would like to see rolled out in the camera strategy is number plate recognition, which would help An Garda Síochána catch the vehicles of those involved in robbing people at night, during the day or whenever. It could tra…

I thank all the nurses in the country, especially five of them in a place called Athlacca in County Limerick. There is a family of six, with five girls and one boy, and five of the girls were nurses. They are Marie, Eileen, Noelle, Angela and Cliona. They are the O'Keeffes. I grew up with them. The whole family have dedicated their lives to care and nursing. It was unbelievable to see. I thank all of the families, male and female nurses across the country, for what they have done, for the care, and for the families…

I will be supporting this Bill. No one has mentioned the elephant in the room. This Government signed off on allowing networks to charge up to €120 per megawatt hour. It costs €50 per megawatt hour to produce electricity but the networks are allowed to charge up to €120. People in some areas have gas and alternatives. They can swap between different groups to get cheaper rates. In rural areas, we are lucky to have ESB at times. People in rural areas only have one choice. If something is not broken, they will not fi…

I need the Taoiseach to listen very carefully. He keeps standing up here and keeps mentioning the protests in this country and the war. I will put on the record why the protests happened in this country. They happened because of the increase in taxation on fuel. I will show the Government how it can counteract this, and I have said it on numerous occasions. The Government should cap the price of fuel from which it takes tax. It is the same as income tax for every worker in this country. I will give a summary. At th…

They are in arrears on repayments for their trucks and tax arrears, so they cannot qualify for the Government's package. For everyone in this country, the Government would cap the fuel prices at €1.70 for white diesel. That would mean it would not have had to put the package in place for hauliers and everyone else in this country. It would include the package that the Government is coming out with. What that would come back to is that if you cap it, it creates stability across the country, and also creates forecast…

No problem.