Simon Harris

-----with €48 million being the cost for hairdressers - the beard trimming. This will benefit. There are over 150,000 people working in the hospitality sector and, I will be very honest, this is not about reducing the cost of a cup of coffee. I am not going to lie to anybody here; it is not about that at all. This is about supporting employment. It is about saying to the coffee shop owner, restaur…

I said to the Deputy earlier, and I am happy to say it again, that I do not doubt his bona fides or that of his party in wanting to support small businesses. I do not doubt that at all. We just have a different policy approach to this. I also made this point, and I will make it again, that we had an election. In that election, I stood in coffee shops, restaurants, pubs that served food and hotels,…

I join Deputy O'Flynn in extending my sympathy to the friends, family and fellow sisters of Sr. Colette Hickey. What an incredible age and, indeed, an incredible life of service and impact on people, particularly in Cork. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis. I thank the Deputy for extending his sympathy to her in the House. I thank Deputy O'Flynn for raising this issue. I do not dispute that it is…

I largely agree with the Deputy's analysis. We are still seeing the scars of that financial crash, where people who lost their home at a certain age are now ageing. We have to be prepared. That is one of reasons we are doing a specific body of work led by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, which will come to Government shortly. Alongside the reasons the Deputy pointed out, we are also seeing…

I thank Deputy for the work he is doing and for highlighting this. I welcome the people with us today and their heroic actions. I thank the Deputy for highlighting that too. I take seriously the point the Deputy made about lifeguards. I live on the coast as well, in Wicklow. In all weather, but particularly in this weather, people tend to flock to the beaches and flock to our seas. There is a legi…

I do not want the Deputy getting the wrong idea that I went to Raheny and did not invite him. It was a Fine Gael members' coffee morning. I was not sure whether the Deputy was ready for that invitation.

To balance my comments - what was the name of the-----

I met Conor in a good coffee outfit outside Raheny United.

They were very pleased to see the 9% VAT rate coming in next week. They spoke fondly of the Deputy too. The issues the Deputy raised are serious and I take them seriously. We are seeing bathing water quality continuing to be high overall nationally. Around 98% of our sites are meeting or exceeding the minimum standard. That is good. They are EPA figures. It does not take away from the Deputy's po…

I thank Deputy Clarke for raising the issue of the cost of living. I am slightly surprised she did because I was wondering cá bhfuil Mary Lou this week. I happened to see online that she is over in the United States at a Friends of Sinn Féin talk tonight. You can pay $250 at 6 p.m. to be a champion for change and she will throw in a free T-shirt-----

Pardon me?

No, I was just wondering where the Leader of the Opposition was.

I was wondering where the Leader of the Opposition was this week-----

----- to find out that when Sinn Féin is lecturing us in here in relation to the cost of living, it is charging $250 and throwing in a free T-shirt at a fundraiser.

The leader of Sinn Féin should be in this House doing her job.

The leader of Sinn Féin should be in this House instead of charging $250. This Government has a proud track record when it comes to supporting people. The package we put in place, which Sinn Féin voted against, reduced the cost of diesel and petrol and-----

-----reduced inflation by 0.6%. We expanded the fuel allowance-----

-----with the largest or second largest package in the European Union, while Mary Lou is over charging people $250 and-----

----- giving out free T-shirts.

As Deputy Hearne knows, because we discussed this at length when Sinn Féin raised this last week, my comments related to the new measures that were brought in and it is true that under the new measures new tenancies, the majority of people are covered on no-fault evictions.

Obviously, measures you bring in are prospective. We brought in a whole package of measures in terms of longer tenancies, making sure the RPZ was nationalised and bringing in an effective no-fault eviction ban for the majority of new tenants as well. I take very seriously the case the Deputy raised. I do not feel too comfortable about speaking about an individual case in the Dáil but if the Deput…

What people should do is slow down.

I try to be constructive in this House.

The problem is lots of people are dying on our roads. I am serious about this. If the assertion is the camera is wrong-----

If the assertion is the camera is broken, then I would ask someone to please look into the broken camera. If the assertion is that people are speeding and should not be getting a fine, that is not it.