The State's response to the latest wave of Covid-19 can be described as haphazard and somewhat chaotic. It lacks urgency, cohesion and rationality. This is particularly evident in the approach to antigen testing, which is more like Lanigan's ball - in again and out again - than fact-based and deliberative. As we now know, the Government led pharmacists and retailers on a merry dance during negotiations to agree a subsidy for the tests, before abruptly walking off the dance floor. The Minister for Health, Deputy Ste…

I will not mention the lack of capacity in testing, chaotic scenes at vaccination centres or the lack of action on ventilation in schools. I raised questions specifically on antigen tests. How can the Taoiseach guarantee affordability and quality? The current European direction states: "The performance of antigen tests is self-assessed by the manufacturers prior to their release." The group chaired by Professor Mary Horgan, which examined this issue, made very clear that it does not recommend specific tests for use…

It is reasonable to expect there to be regulation.

Does the Taoiseach not think there should be regulation?

Should there be regulation?

Not for the public.

The Taoiseach is doing nothing about quality. There is no regulation.

I object to the Order of Business. First, many of us have amendments down for the planning Bill, which certainly fails to address the reduced standards in planning in recent years. It is not acceptable that such an important Bill should have Committee Stage rushed in the House. It should go to the committee for proper consideration and amendment. Second, the Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill has not been published yet. We do not know what is in it. It is only reasonable that we should be given an opportunity to consi…

It is planning actually.

The Bill before us seeks to increase the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission funding from €422.27 million to €462.505 million, an increase of more than €40 million, which is a vast amount of money. It is not exactly clear what the purpose of the increase is but we are told there is a plan to employ 111 additional staff over the next three-year period. All of this would happen while secretarial assistants continue to be denied a living wage. There is no doubt some money should have been set aside to address the matt…

It is interesting to hear a succession of Fine Gael Deputies welcoming this Bill without a word about the damage their colleagues did in recent years through the introduction of the whole SHD nonsense and the related planning changes in respect of mandatory guidelines. There was not a word of apology for destroying many parts of Dublin city, in particular, and creating what will become the ghettos of the future, namely, the high-rise, low-quality apartment developments that litter our cities. There is a need for an…

Is the Minister denying it was 61 occasions on which he was lobbied?

Is the Minister denying that or saying the lobbying register is not accurate?

Will the Acting Chairman ask the Minister to behave himself for a short while? There were 61 occasions on which the CIF lobbied this Government on housing. Who is actually calling the shots here? Not only that, Irish Institutional Property, whose members include property firm Cairn Homes and IRES REIT, the biggest landlord in the State, has made 18 representations to Government. It lobbied the Government on 18 occasions. The Minister will be familiar with the problems associated with this kind of approach where dev…

Will the Minister please allow me my time? Returning to the Bill before us, it is good that we are getting rid of what was a disgraceful initiative introduced by then Minister, Deputy Coveney, to completely disregard the role of local authorities and local councillors, ignore city and county development plans and ram major developments through at the behest of developers. The SHD process was about ignoring local and democratic views in what constituted the good planning and development of areas and ruling out the o…

It is important to consider this debate in an historical context. Irish Governments have traditionally had a minimalist concept of their role in respect of civic morality. The weakness of this ideology is evident in most of our public services. From the foundation of the State, public services were outsourced, predominantly to the Catholic Church. It was allowed to control the delivery of education, health and social services. This, of course, gave it a monopoly on social teachings and sexual morality. Not only was…

The Government's approach to antigen testing is just not good enough. In the midst of a fourth wave of the virus, after two years, the health service is clearly under enormous ongoing pressure. The Government tells us our best weapon to stem this surge is personal responsibility. People are trying. Most of them are doing their best. Why is the Government not giving them the basic tools they need to win this fight? There are too many missed opportunities and mixed messages to even mention. Why has the Government yet…

The Taoiseach really did not shed much light in that response. Two weeks ago, the CMO advised that anybody engaging in so-called high-risk activities, most of which simply involve going out or meeting with other people, should do an antigen test twice a week. That was the most recent advice - that if people are out and about and mixing, they should do an antigen test twice a week. Antigen tests are very expensive. The Minister for Health said initially that it was his intention to make antigen tests available free …

And antigen testing.

I did not say there was.