She did take some of my time.

It really concerns me and many of the Taoiseach's grassroots and lifelong supporters that nowhere in the 1,900 words of the programme for Government section on the shared island unit does it mention a united Ireland. That is why many supporters of the Taoiseach's party are leaving and joining Sinn Féin. I can only speak from my experience in Mayo on that. This concerns me as the Taoiseach and his partners in the Government have not acknowledged their constitutional obligation to achieve a united Ireland. There is n…

It almost-----

That is not what I said.

Taoiseach, please do not patronise me.

That is exactly what the Taoiseach said.

Neither do I.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Mac Lochlainn, for tabling this important motion. The commercial fishing industry provides an essential source of income for many people in communities along the coast of Mayo and elsewhere across the island. We have always asked that rules that are introduced be proportional and reflect the realities on the ground, but EU regulations are too often designed with member states with far larger and more industrialised fishing industries in mind. The blame in this case lies closer to home, …

This week, Mr. Colman O'Rahilly in an editorial rightly wrote: "One stroke of the minister's pen can drive revitalisation of the entire western seaboard". Never a truer word was said. Will the western rail corridor be included in the economic plan that is currently being framed?

I agree with everything the Minister said. He does not have to sell the project to me or my colleagues in the Chamber, but we need action on it. This is a shovel-ready project and the time for tweaking and talking is over. We are impatient. We need the Minister to do what he says he will do. The reopening has been included in every plan, including the sustainable public transport infrastructure plan. The regional spatial and economic strategy reads: (a) It shall be an objective to deliver the Athenry - Tuam - Clare…

I have a related question.

I welcome the Minister's announcement that he will intervene in respect of accommodation costs. I will change my question. Does he think it is fair that utility companies such as Electric Ireland are incentivising people to go online to pay their bills? People are being asked for a deposit of €300 if they wish to continue paying at their post office. I am really concerned about the impact this will have on post offices. Has the Government examined the impact this will have on the operation of post offices?

I thank the Minister for his statement. While I do not wish to go over what has already been said, regardless of the outcome of the Internal Market Bill, and whether it is passed or not, the whole process involved has demonstrated very clearly to us what we would have already known, which is that we cannot trust the British. It should put us on a whole different level because, while east-west relationships are crucial, we have learned we cannot trust the British establishment. I commend the Minister for the stance …

One can work with them but one should not trust them.

The Bill is in many ways a step in the right direction and banks and financial institutions need to be held accountable for protecting their customers and for being scammed and facilitating illegal activity. As previously stated, this Bill is intended to transpose this fifth EU anti-money laundering directive into Irish law. The directive represents improvement in exposing the secretive ownership structures often used for tax evasion and other illegal activities. Notwithstanding the progress made, the proposal was …

From Monday, 85,000 students will attend universities in Dublin. Tens of thousands of those will be criss-crossing the country. The Minister's instructions were that higher and third level institutions should consider enhanced protective measures. What does that mean and what is the Government's plan? For instance, should these students go home at the weekend and is the Minister fearful of them spreading the virus? For students who are being asked to pay for accommodation months in advance, will they get their mone…

I thank the Minister of State for his statement. It is disappointing that he cannot support this motion as it is. I think that shows a misunderstanding of the situation and I will outline why. I am speaking in respect of the 227 registered taxi drivers in Mayo in particular. They provide an essential service, especially for rural Ireland. These operators still have to worry about their car loans, tax and NCT costs. I spoke to taxi drivers from all over the country yesterday. Having heard their stories, I commend my…

The pandemic has delivered the sharpest, deepest and most dramatic shock to our economy and, indeed, society. We thought that Brexit, and everything we had to deal with there, and still have to deal with there, was a shock. We have now had six months to protect businesses and jobs. At an early stage, it was agreed on a global basis that austerity would not work, it was not the answer and we needed a Keynesian approach. My concern is that we are attempting to do that but we are not doing it nearly enough. We are not…

I ran out of time.

I send my best wishes to the Minister for Health and thank the Minister of State for stepping in this evening. My question is about Belmullet hospital, which serves almost 10,000 people. I want the Minister of State to explain to me the logic of refusing direct referrals from GPs in the area. Patients are being asked to travel 100 miles to 150 miles in a round trip to stay a night in the acute facilities at Mayo University Hospital before they can be referred back to Belmullet hospital. It makes no sense whatever a…