Micheál Martin

We have always had that tradition in the House where we try to respond to issues that people will raise with us. I respect the mandate. People are elected here. Again I come back to this. The most fundamental obligation after a general election is to form a Government. I take that seriously, along with the Tánaiste.

The Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parties were short the requisite majority to form a Government that could last four to five years. That is the genesis of this in terms of the Regional Independent Group wanting to co-operate----

The Deputy has made it very clear from the outset and set the precedent on day one of this Dáil. Total disruption, total opposition. She said before the Dáil even convened that there would be total opposition. In the Sinn Féin tradition, I know what that means.

I know what that means. You have form in this. I say to the Deputy that she showed a complete lack of respect yesterday for the Ceann Comhairle, her party did and she did, in terms of the behaviour in the House. It is going to be very difficult for any Ceann Comhairle in future Dáileanna. The next Dáil will have the same problem because you have now created a new precedent. I regret that.

We are now in a new position where, if you successfully barrack down and intimidate people enough, you will try to get your way.

We cannot allow that to happen. The Government side is not going to allow that to happen.

I genuinely believe that what you have done yesterday and since day one of this Dáil when you did not want the constitutional obligation of the Dáil fulfilled-----

---you have set the tone for how this Dáil is going to go.

Yes, it is a very serious issue. It will be profound if it is not satisfactorily resolved by dialogue. A trade war would have a very serious impact on GDP and GNI, in other words, the income of the nation. It could potentially have a serious impact on employment. It is the most serious challenge facing this Government. We had a number of meetings on Monday in respect of it, the Tánaiste and I with…

Deputy Bacik got the briefing yesterday. It is ongoing. The contacts with Commissioner Šefčovič, the President of the Commission and the US Administration are ongoing.

First I would ask that there would not be industrial action. We have 28,500 more staff working in the health system now than there were at the beginning of 2020. That is an increase of about 24% in staffing levels within the health service. I acknowledge that population growth has been significant but by any yardstick there has been consistent, huge and increased investment in our health service a…

I remember when former Deputy Mick Barry, Deputy Murphy's colleague, was first elected to the House he said on his first day that there is a saying in France to the effect that you must bring the politics of the street into the Parliament. That has always been Deputy Murphy's view.

Exactly. He does not agree with parliamentary institutions.

It is no surprise to me that he would threaten more mayhem and chaos next week because that is what he does. In terms of the Order of Business, we have had a charade for quite a long time whereby the Business Committee meets for a lengthy period-----

-----and an Order of Business is allegedly agreed. We then come in here, and people stand up and sit down and say they do not agree the Order of Business. Sometimes we lose ten or 15 minutes when other Deputies could have the opportunity to raise issues specific to their constituencies or that they are concerned about.

No. We are allowing Deputies to have a greater say and not to be dominated by yourself and others, who tend to dominate and take ten minutes of other people's time every time they oppose, sometimes for superficial reasons-----

In respect of Leaders' Questions, no party here is in any way losing anything.

Some parties have gained more and will have more time on Leaders' Questions. I would favour Friday sittings for legislation because I do not think Government time is enough in terms of-----

-----getting legislation through. We are a legislative Chamber; not just a debating Chamber. If the Dáil wants to sit longer, I have no issue with that at all.

I agree with the Deputy. This needs to be urgently reviewed. I will ask the Minister involved to do that. Chronological age does not determine a person's health and fitness, in particular in a modern era where, thankfully, the population is living longer and lifespan is increasing. There are huge issues around having enough drivers for school transport. Our systems need to be far more agile and n…

The Government is very supportive of the motorway. I understand it has gone through the various planning stages. There will be a further review of the national development plan and I expect the project will be included in that. As the Deputy knows, the project has gone through route selection and so forth. It is something that people eagerly await. We have seen the transformative impact that bypa…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I know he perhaps did not want to identify the plight of a young boy. I will certainly speak to the Minister for Health to see what we can do. I understand there should be a CAMHS-ID team available. I will follow up on the matter and see what we can do to help.

I agree with what the Deputy said regarding how the Ceann Comhairle was treated yesterday. We have invested significantly in national roads funding. I take on board what the Deputy said. As I say, the national development plan gives us an opportunity to review and refresh these proposals. We have invested heavily in the national road network but, obviously, we need to do more. The Department of …

As I said earlier, the Government will update the national development plan. We hope to have that ready by July and roads will be a part of it. We are conscious of the serious congestion issues and delays for people on the N11. We will also be investing in public transport, which is very important for the future sustainability of transport. There will be a parallel approach comprising roads, publi…

There are established and well-tried industrial relations procedures to deal with any disputes that arise, particularly in our health service. As I said, there has been a significant increase in healthcare staff in recent years, higher than any comparable period before 2020. For any new health facility, there will be engagement on the staffing arrangements for the new facility. That is not new in…