Did you meet them?
Sentiment score: 0.00
Sinn Féin voted against the last excise cut.
Sentiment score: -0.27
Two minutes of this debate have been lost as a result of this interruption.
Sentiment score: -0.63
I obviously want to support the motion of confidence in the Government. I want to commence my remarks by thanking the Garda, our bus drivers, the public sector, and all the front-line workers who had to put up with a lot over the last week or so. I am a TD in Dublin. I and all my colleagues on the Government side know our constituents. We understand the difficulties that people have and the pressures they are under. We also understand that this is a global crisis. We here in Ireland are grappling with a global crisis, as is every other country in the world. I actually despair today, again, to listen to some of the political discourse that has been a political pantomime. What we have seen from some, though not all, in the Opposition is them abrogating their responsibilities as TDs and legislators here. They have a responsibility to work together to help our people and our country through this unprecedented crisis. On 25 March, when we brought the first package of measures forward, all of the Opposition, with the exception of the main Opposition party, voted against every excise cut that day. They voted against the actual support-----
Sentiment score: -0.12
They voted against the whole system-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
Níl mé ag éisteacht leis an fear-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
What I would say is that is a fact. Check the record.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I will move on, in the interests of this. What I have heard-----
Sentiment score: 0.12
That I am not. What we have heard here from Pearse and others is an example of Sinn Féin's behaviour today. What we have heard from some on those benches, though not all, has been literally despicable. What they have done is that any time a female Deputy or Minister stood up here they shouted them down. Ken O'Flynn should have a look back at what he has done. What I am conscious of is the people outside, the very people we all represent, who are really concerned about what is happening all the way across the world and in this country, about how they pay their electricity bills, about how they put food in the table and whether they will keep their jobs. If they are looking in at this debate today and some of the behaviour, the misogynistic behaviour, the nasty-----
Sentiment score: -0.01
The nasty and vicious-----
Sentiment score: -0.56
The nasty and vicious language-----
Sentiment score: -0.73
It was nasty-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, if I may proceed.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I think that none of us in government, and I hope none of you in opposition, have failed to grasp the gravity of the global crisis that we are in. It behoves all of us to do everything we can to protect our citizens, our businesses and the vulnerable as best we can. Are we going to be able to resolve every problem that is visited upon our citizens through one or two packages of financial support? No, we are not, but we are doing our level best to assist. To be fair to some members of the Opposition, I listened to contributions from the Labour Party, the Social Democrats and others such as Deputy Paul Gogarty. There are people who are actually really trying to put forward cases and ideas and, yes, to criticise the Government constructively, which is fine, or not to do so. Then I look at the main Opposition party, however. What did it actually bring forward? The Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, mentioned one line from the Sinn Féin motion referring to do everything we can on energy prices. Sin an méid. The fact of the matter is-----
Sentiment score: 0.20
This will be my final question. This evening we will bring forward financial resolutions to cut fuel bills and to bring forward measures, such as for the road hauliers, which is €40 million per month in support. The question, and it will be on the Dáil record, will be who will support that and who will actually vote for it.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I think-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
I am not going to be shouted down by Pearse Doherty, who is a late bloomer to democracy-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
We have very serious matters to deal with in this House-----
Sentiment score: -0.06
-----and measures to bring forward to support our people. I hope-----
Sentiment score: 0.20
I hope that those on the Opposition side will discharge their responsibilities appropriately and stop trying to just consistently score political points. They could not care less about the people.
Sentiment score: -0.10