Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am speaking through the Chair. I respect the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, of course I do, but I am just saying, without interruption, if he does not mind, that we all know why that was not covered. It is the same with the national print media, which we are not talking about tonight because they are not included in the Bill.

He who pays the piper calls the tune, unfortunately. We open the Sunday newspapers and read the acres of ads for big businesses, whether Tesco, Dunnes, Aldi, Lidl or whatever you are having yourself and indeed the Marketing Institute of Ireland, MII. We have allowed these people to get too powerful and too close to political parties and the political parties are too close to them. We know that the story goes on and around and around. It is a case of, "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours".

As I said, it is timely that this legislation should come forward but, like Deputy Sherlock, I am a little distracted and confused as to why. Even though the Government had Deputy Micheál Martin supporting this new household charge, as I read in a statement, the Minister has not addressed it at all in this new Bill. He says it will take five years to implement. That is for one reason, which is that the Government with its confidence-and-supply arrangement has probably decided a date - any day soon - for the next general election and wants to get over the fact, even though Deputy Martin was in favour of it, as he is in favour of most other things the Government has done. He stands up here shadowboxing all right, saying he is not in favour of this and not in favour of that. We had that last week with the removal of our Garda headquarters in Tipperary. Deputy Cahill opposed it, and rightly so. He would because he is from Thurles. However, Deputy Martin said he was in favour of the policy, as was Deputy O'Callaghan, the justice spokesperson. We are playing a game here, a trick o' the loop, but our educated electorate see what is going on.

Going back to my local radio-----

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