The House has agreed that for the duration of the emergency only the rapporteur's report of the Order of Business will not be read out but will be taken as read. Arising from that, there are three proposals to put to the House today. Is the proposal for dealing with today's business agreed?

We requested the Government to publish the draft regulations that will replace the regulations which will soon expire and which are having such a profound impact on people's lives, and that we would debate those regulations in this Chamber. I am aware that the Government is hiring additional public relations companies to assist it with its message, but yet it cannot come into this Chamber to submit its regulations to proper scrutiny, to have them debated and to get agreement.

As that is not happening, Sinn Féin will be opposing the proposed Order of Business.

We too in the Rural Independent Group have significant concerns. The lack of clarity is astounding. Today's announcement brought no further clarity. The regulations were changed last Thursday week when the Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020 was debated, voted on and passed by the House. The regulations were supposed to run out last Sunday night, but I do not know whether that happened. The Taoiseach could not tell me that when I spoke to him. We do not know where we are. Why can the Taoiseach not explain the situation to the House? Why is the Government taking on well known and high-powered PR companies? The people want empathy. They do not want sympathy anymore but want support and clarity instead. They are not getting them and we need them, so we are not happy either to support the proposal.

This matter was the subject of some debate at the Business Committee. Does a member of the Government wish to respond?

The business of the House should proceed as planned. The Business Committee made a decision. I note that the Business Committee meets every week and makes a decision, but that decision is then queried in the House and a vote called on it.

That is not the case.

The Taoiseach is damn good at it himself.

On a point of order, the Taoiseach knows well that there were five dissenting voices at the Business Committee when it came to agreeing the schedule.

This roadmap is pretty much the most-----

This is not about the roadmap. It is about regulations that were debated last week and are being continued.

We have had a very serious announcement about public health restrictions. I think it is crazy that the matter is not being debated this week in the House so that it can be explained.

I wish to register the ongoing opposition of Solidarity-People Before Profit to the changed speaking arrangements which were, in our view, deliberately designed to minimise the voice of the smaller parties. We will continue to oppose those changed speaking arrangements. I point out that trying to gag and silence some voices in the House is not the way for the Government to bring everybody with it. Last week, we saw an example of what that will mean when the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, was not present for the contributions of the lead spokespeople of approximately five of the groupings in this House. That is unprecedented.

We cannot have a detailed debate on the matter. The Deputy has made his point.

I thought the request made by Deputy Mac Lochlainn related to the regulations that are being renewed this evening-----

Yes.

-----to continue the level 2 restrictions and which were the subject matter of comprehensive debate and a vote last week in the Dáil.

That was to do with a different matter.

It happened. There was a big debate last week. It would be very unusual to be debating regulations weekly.

That is not true.

The Taoiseach, without interruption.

These are public health measures that must be introduced this evening and continued in accordance with advice from NPHET. I presume all Members wish for the Government to follow the advice of NPHET and implement the regulations.

I have no issue with the broader plan being debated. That is a fair point to make. The Business Committee has set parameters in respect of the Order of Business for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, as it is entitled to do. We would welcome a debate on the Covid plan for the next six months. I have no issue with that at all, but it is a separate matter from the regulations.

Is the proposal for dealing with Wednesday's business agreed to?

Not agreed.

I call Deputy Mac Lochlainn.

We also raised this issue last Thursday. We are asking hundreds of thousands of workers, students, teachers, doctors and nurses to work in conditions that we are not demanding of ourselves in these Houses.

The imagery from the Convention Centre is appalling. It is a cavernous space with huge gaps between us. It is not sustainable so our party has put forward proposals for the third time. They are currently being examined. We will oppose the Order of Business every week until we get all Dáil business back to Leinster House and we have a similar standard for Deputies and Senators as we expect for hundreds of thousands of workers, students, teachers, doctors and nurses.

As the Ceann Comhairle knows, the Independent Group has consistently opposed sittings in the Convention Centre and has asked that we would come back here to Leinster House when it is safe to do so, with a view to examining the possibility of having 1 m social distancing. I have nothing against the Convention Centre and I compliment the staff here and in the Convention Centre for looking after us. As the Ceann Comhairle is aware, we also put forward a position paper which we have discussed. I thank him, and Charles Hearne, for the interim report issued today, and I believe we will discuss it again on Thursday. I am happy with that progress but I agree with the reasons outlined by Deputy Mac Lochlainn. We are creating a bad image. We should be able to work and show leadership when we expect hundreds of thousands of people, and children in schools and everything else, to work in restricted places. We should do our best here. I believe we are doing our best with the examination of this report, so I am happy to wait until Thursday's meeting to discuss it again.

Does anybody else wish to contribute? I have to say I am somewhat at a loss, and the way they vote is a matter for Members, because we are actively engaged in pursuing and investigating the proposals made for a return. I do not understand what that has got to do with the Order of Business but it is the Deputy's prerogative.

Can I respond to that?

You can if you want to do so.

Today, we were presented with a paper that rebutted the very proposition we were agreeing last week so I do not see the necessary progress and we will push this to a vote.

That is very constructive.

It is, yes. It is clear. We do clarity.

Is the proposal for dealing with Thursday's business agreed to? Agreed.