What is the Government going to do about the fishing? Will it shove them under the trawler as well?

Have you my answer?

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on this Bill today. Let me state from the outset that safety must always come first. Every family, every worker and every pensioner has a right to know that the fuel heating their homes and cooking their dinners is safe, properly regulated and overseen by a system that is fit for purpose. Safety cannot, however, become a convenient excuse for forgetting rural Ireland or for piling more paperwork, fees and levies onto small operators and local communities who already strugg…

We need an urgent debate this week with the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment regarding An Post. The announcement that the cost of a stamp is increasing from €1.60 to €1.80 comes at a time when post offices are closing all over the country and the current contracts are not stacking up. A post office in Durrus in my constituency is closing on Friday. The Government cannot stand idly by as we leave rural post offices to close one by one.

Tens of thousands of people in this country smoke cigarettes. Tens of thousands of people use vapes. Those are the facts. A lot of these people do so as a bit of a relaxant. We have to understand that is a fact in this country. We tend to think that we should ban everything. This Bill proposes a full ban on the sale of single-use vapes and when it comes to children, I fully agree that no child should ever have access to these products. Adults are a different matter, though. Adults know the risks. Many adults use va…

An Garda Síochána estimated that 27,000 people turned up last Saturday. There were 3,750 tractors there. Thankfully, there were no incidents. These are community people who want to protect the health of people. They were not all farmers; there were business people and people who have an interest in the health of the citizens of their country. There has been serious confusion coming from the Government with regard to Mercosur. We did not have a clear picture last week. The Taoiseach was saying one thing and the Mini…

On a point of order, I asked the Minister of State to clarify whether Barry Andrews, Regina Doherty or Seán Kelly will be voting with Ireland or voting with Ursula in a couple of weeks' time. The Minister of State has to give clarity on that.

It is hugely important.

This issue once again exposes a growing divide in the country between those who live and work in rural Ireland and those who comment on it from a distance with little understanding of what life is actually like on the ground in rural Ireland. Foxes are a real and present danger to livestock and livelihoods and, increasingly, to public safety. Only last week, there were reports of a woman in Cavan being attacked by a fox. That is not something that rural families ever expected to hear. It is, however, a warning of w…

I have none. I have never been to one in my life.

It is not her speaking time. Respect the House.

A disgrace.

I welcome to the Gallery representatives of the fishing sector. I see Patrick Murphy, whom I met on Sunday, and others there. They have always had the heart of the fisherman at the forefront of their efforts. Fishers are going through a dreadful situation. The previous speaker referred to a sellout but, in fact, we did not sell out; what we had was taken away from us. If we got something for it, that might be something, but we did not. We find ourselves in a farcical situation and it has been heading that way for a…

I have very little time. This has to be appealed in every court in our land and in Europe. We have to stand up to them. It is up to the Minister of State. It is up to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. It is up to this Government to now stand with Irish fishermen. If it does not, and we see that happen in the next month, it will be an abject failure and the Government will be to blame.

To start with, we in Independent Ireland extend our sincere sympathies to the families of all those who lost their lives in Australia in the past few days as a result of the Bondi Beach tragedy. What happened last Friday in Brussels was nothing short of a disgrace. It was a betrayal of the Irish fishing industry and of every costal community in this country. Ireland has been stabbed in the back by those who call themselves our European partners. The outcome of the EU Fisheries Council negotiations for 2026 quotas r…

-----protect what is left of our industry before it is whipped off the map. If we do not, mark my words, the Irish fishing industry will not survive another decade.

Will the Government challenge this in courts going forward?

Let us be honest: a task force is political theatre. It will not restore quotas, it will not save jobs and it will not undo the betrayal of last Friday. Ireland has been stripped of the Hague preferences, with our share cut to less than 9% while others walked away with 91%. That is piracy, not partnership. I met many trawler owners in Castletownbere on Sunday. They tell me that 30 articulated lorries come into Castletownbere every week and leave it with Irish fish out of Belgian, Spanish, French, UK and German traw…

Could we have statements this week on Mercosur? It is of very serious concern. We saw what happened with fisheries last Friday. We cannot have that happen with agriculture. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael MEPs are more or less making statements saying they are going to support it, and we want the rest of Europe to go our way. We need statements on that.

I have also called for statements on Uisce Éireann. It is very hard to get it here.