The Taoiseach is talking about creating a storm. This is a serious storm for the people who are facing a crisis at this moment. They are talking about signing up to something on 20 May. It is like signing a blank cheque. Are people going to have to sign up to something on 20 May, like signing a blank cheque? That is what we are asking. All we are asking for are clear guidelines as to what is going ahead. Are people going to have to sign up to something that they do not know what they are signing up to? There is no …

That is what I am entitled to do. That is what social media is all about Micheál-----

Sure, you cannot bring it in. The Taoiseach does not-----

We need a serious discussion in the Dáil about the mental health services in this country. A lot of centres are closing down and buildings are being lost. It is a serious issue that needs discussion. I asked for it some time back and it has not happened. I appreciate that we would have a debate on this week going forward.

Today, we will receive a report in the audiovisual room from Ireland's US driver licence exchange campaign on an unnecessary barrier faced by the Irish diaspora and returning citizens. I raised this issue many times. In November 2025, I asked the Tánaiste to liaise with the Minister for Transport to direct the RSA and the National Driver Licence Service to recognise previous Irish driving licences without an outdated ten-year time limit. This is a simple, administrative change. It poses no risk to road safety and w…

I beg the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's indulgence for a few seconds. I offer my sincere sympathy to the family of Councillor Joe Carroll, who died in west Cork, I suppose, suddenly enough. It is a huge blow. It is fitting that we are talking about Our Rural Future because he was a man who fought for the rural people. I was on the council with him for two years. I found him to be a gentleman. We might have fought inside it but we were best friends outside it like everybody else. I extend my sympathies to Sheila, Linda an…

Independent Ireland supports a lot of what is being proposed here this evening going forward. I would also bear the employer in mind. I do not think anyone has spoken here about the employer and the difficulties many employers have at this present time and which many employers have had for quite a period of time. It is about finding that balance between rooting out the wrong being done to employees in this society but still protecting employers who are trying to create jobs. Sometimes when we talk inside in the Dái…

We have been a long time talking about targets in this House and we are way off our game. To be honest, I have spoken quite a lot about Barryroe oil field and fossil fuels since I came into the Dáil, and I often got Deputies sitting to my right screaming and roaring back at me. After the past two weeks, they now know that we cannot do without fossil fuels. Common sense has prevailed. In fairness, I will be honest that I need education as well. There is no point in me just shouting that fossil fuels are the way forw…

He should at least apologise to the people of this country because he hurt people, and he does not need to do that. He is a former leader. He needs to advise maybe and not attack the ordinary people. There are over 300,000 people in energy poverty. How can we create a solution to this? Is it solar panels? The Green Party had to take the hit on this big time because it was in government. To run a home on solar power, and I have talked to experts about this, homeowners need up to €20,000 and they get a grant of €1,80…

In 2016, when the Taoiseach was in opposition, he said: ...political parties should not think Parliament is their possession and that they can control anything that happens. To date, we have had such an experience, where Deputies have been removed from committees because they voted against the Government's line. Why has he now done a 360° turn in trying to remove Deputy Danny Healy-Rae from the agriculture committee at 3 p.m. because he voted against the Government? This decision has to be reversed and we need a de…

The proposed development of a respite and day service support for individuals with an intellectual disability and an autism centre in Dunmanway is a live project. It is a project that has been discussed for over ten years. While it moves at a snail's pace, sometimes it stops. The former Minister of State, Anne Rabbitte, did a lot of work on it - I give her credit where credit is due - and had progressed it to the point of moving faster. In recent months, John and Mary McCarthy in Dunmanway donated the grounds so no…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this motion forward. As I do not have much time, I will just touch on some of the requirements in this motion. It looks to me as if people with additional needs are always the people who are suffering in this country and fighting to get basic rights. Special needs assistants are being treated unfairly and families are paying the price. The current system is rigid, cold and completely out of touch with what is happening on the ground. In schools, children who need support are left wait…

I want to raise serious and growing concerns regarding the proposed short-term letting and tourism Bill, and in particular the manner in which it is being progressed. The Bill has not yet been published, yet significant changes have already been signalled to thousands of small operators, family businesses and rural communities. Can the Minister of State clarify when the legislation will be published in full and why stakeholders have been asked to prepare for compliance in the absence of clear statutory text? Second…

The Minister of State is saying here that people will have to have complied by 20 May 2026. I spent the past seven or eight weeks in the Dáil trying to bring the Minister before us. I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State. He is not the correct Minister to be here because he has nothing to do with tourism. I am not disrespecting the Minister of State. He has to do it. He is busy enough without being dragged into this. It is a disgrace that a Minister for tourism in the course of seven or eight weeks has faile…

In the past month, Ireland has seen the damage we have done to our own economy by not being energy independent. We import fossil fuel and now we know how delicate this is. One major disruption and Ireland goes dry. We all know we must steer away from fossil fuels and towards renewables but the Tánaiste knows for today, tomorrow and far into the future, tractors, lorries and hi-macs will need fossil fuel to keep the country going. Since I came into the Dáil, I have been calling for the exploration of the Barryroe oi…

I appreciate Minister of State is here but I thought the Minister for energy would be before us today because the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, is before us every day of the week on every issue. He will soon become Taoiseach of the country. He had a great go at us on RTÉ yesterday. That is part of the game. This is a very serious issue. I am very critical of the Green Party because it spent four or five years in government and did not move us properly towards renewables and we are now left in a crisis situation…

I want to concentrate on the senior management in SouthDoc and their appalling treatment of a doctor and her patients in Clonakilty and its surrounds. Dr. Fiona O'Reilly has run an excellent practice in Clonakilty for many years. For health reasons, she is unable to do SouthDoc hours. Instead of SouthDoc working with Dr. O'Reilly, it has decided, in its wisdom, to punish her and her patients. Today, if you ring SouthDoc with an out-of-hours emergency, you are asked who your doctor is. SouthDoc will not attend to yo…

An inquiry needs to be set up-----

-----as to who made this shocking decision.

That is not good enough.