I remind the House that we have agreed not to read out the Order of Business, but instead take it as read. Arising from its circulation, there are four proposals to put the House. First, is the proposal for dealing with today's business agreed? I call Deputies Mac Lochlainn and Boyd Barrett.

We requested time for statements on the winter plan for Thursday and note that has been agreed.

The announcement from Bus Éireann that it will close its intercity Expressway services to Galway, Limerick, Cork and Belfast is an extremely disturbing development. I ask that time be made available this week to discuss this issue and try to arrive at a solution that allows those vital services to continue.

The Taoiseach will be aware that there was consternation last week at the failure of several organisations and the Minister to attend the committee on Covid. I am sure he will agree that it is seriously problematic that NPHET will not appear before the committee again this week. The Minister will be before the Dáil on Thursday for two long sessions of statements, and rightly so. That is welcome but NPHET must also be accountable and must engage with public representatives on very serious developments. We need clarification on these matters.

Last week, I brought the attention of the House to the fact that the acting Chief Medical Officer and NPHET were not coming before the committee on Covid despite having been invited. It is a completely unacceptable situation.

Before the weekend, I discovered from the Covid committee's secretariat that NPHET would not be attending again despite the consternation and debate in the Dáil last week. NPHET was due to attend today but will not be doing so. I wrote to the Covid committee over the weekend to express my dismay about this situation. It beggars belief that the acting Chief Medical Officer and NPHET will not appear before the Covid-19 committee in a time of rising infections and anxiety about the current situation and the Covid strategy. It seems to suggest an unwillingness to have open and transparent discussions about the strategy.

Furthermore, I will object once again to the order of the debates. It is another example of why this manipulation of the order by the Government is a problem. The Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill will commence this evening, but several of the party and Independent groups will not get to speak in the first round of speeches. That is unacceptable. This is an important Bill about the future of forestry, but once again whole sections of the Dáil will be excluded from the opening round of the debate.

I am also concerned and I support Deputy Boyd Barrett on both issues, the first of which was NPHET not appearing before the committee. Three weeks ago yesterday, we had a briefing for group and party leaders. Last week, the Taoiseach promised that there would be another shortly. When will we have that briefing?

We are the Rural Independent Group, but because of the Government's manipulation, we will not get to speak tonight on the first round of the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. That Bill is badly needed because untold damage is being done in rural Ireland and, indeed, urban Ireland in terms of the lack of timber for roofing in houses. The Government continues with this charade every week. Last week, I was sitting in the Chair when several Government backbenchers did not turn up. The debate could not be followed. It is not fair to the other groups if they do not know when they will be on because the people listed before them do not turn up. Bills will collapse. We will not let them if we can help it, but it will happen. Even to the best of our ability, we cannot monitor these debates. This situation is wrong.

I will discuss three issues briefly. First, our group will not have the opportunity to speak on the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill tonight even though we have tabled 12 considered amendments to it. An opportunity needs to be facilitated.

Second, we have been promised briefings. Statutory instrument after statutory instrument is being introduced in secondary legislation relating to Covid-19. These instruments have far-reaching implications for every citizen in the country. Some of them are contradictory and are causing abject confusion, but we have yet to receive a briefing on any of them.

Third, can I get clarity from the Taoiseach-----

Deputy, is there some specific briefing-----

Yes. I would like clarity from the Taoiseach on the winter plan, which will be debated in the House on Thursday. When will we see the detail of that plan? None of us yet knows what will happen in the country, but we are supposed to be debating the plan on Thursday.

I will add my voice to the points on NPHET. It is the most powerful organisation in this State currently and the decisions it is making are having a significant impact on hundreds of thousands of people around the country, yet Deputies have not had an opportunity to tease those questions out and hold NPHET to account. I know of Deputies who have asked journalists to ask NPHET questions, which is an incredible situation. We need the opportunity to make the decisions that are being taken transparent and open.

First of all, not everybody shared the consternation last week. Deputies can create their own consternation and some of them are quite good at it. They practice-----

What does the Taoiseach mean?

What I mean is that it had already been arranged last week, prior to the consternation, that there would be presentations from the HSE and from the Minister this week. Not within the timelines last week, but the following week. That was agreed, actually, by the Covid committee. That is my understanding.

It was not.

Hold on, please. Equally, I am saying-----

That is not true.

Wait, Deputy. Can we let the Taoiseach answer?

People are saying that we will not have time. There is an hour and a half on the forestry Bill. An hour and a half.

Shameless.

The Taoiseach's own party thinks this is criminal.

What is being suggested is that nobody on this side of the House should have any opportunity to speak at all.

We are not saying that.

That is what is being said.

That is a total misrepresentation.

No one is saying that.

When one boils it down-----

Nobody is saying that.

The Taoiseach's parliamentary party meetings-----

A Cheann Comhairle-----

Please, can the Taoiseach respond without interruption?

It is only an hour and a half. Divide up an hour and a half as much as you like. The Minister will be coming in.

Twenty-minute slots.

The point is, we would love more time for the Bill this evening-----

Government Deputies are not turning up.

-----because this Bill is essential for the future of jobs in many rural communities.

It is very positive that the Bill is being debated. We would welcome more time for the debate but Deputies will have an opportunity to speak because the Bill will be debated again tomorrow. The consternation is about the hour and a half given tonight and Deputies saying that not everybody will get to speak in that hour and a half.

That is not true.

Let us get real and have some sense of perspective. Not everybody can speak in an hour and a half. The change has been that many backbenchers in the larger parties are saying that they have entitlements as well and they want an opportunity to speak on issues. It is a fair argument and that is all I am saying. Not everybody can be accommodated within an hour and a half but there will be more time tomorrow for the debate on the Bill. I presume people will----

Not enough time.

We would welcome more Government time but the Dáil business is very crowded. I am looking at the schedule and it shows a very crowded timetable. Deputies are already looking for more time to debate matters concerning Bus Éireann, which I agree is a serious issue. It is a question of how to divide up the time for the remainder of the week. That is the $64,000 question. It is not for me to decide but we will try to facilitate people as best we can.

The Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020 is a good Bill and it is important to debate it.

It is too weak.

If it is too weak from Deputy McGrath's perspective, it is probably too strong from somebody else's perspective. I am satisfied that it is needed to deal with the crisis within the forestry industry. We need to get on with it and get it done. I do not know whether time can be made available for other matters such as the Bus Éireann issue. I will leave that to the Business Committee.

We are dealing with the proposed business for today.

What about the briefing?

My understanding is that NPHET will be meeting on Thursday, having assessed and reviewed the situation across the country. That is its primary duty. NPHET is not the most powerful body in the country.

It is.

It provides advice to Government and the Oireachtas. Last week, I thought I would be attending a European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday. As it transpired, that meeting was cancelled due to reasons beyond our control when somebody close to the President developed Covid-19 symptoms. As a result, the Council meeting was postponed until this Thursday and Friday. I will facilitate a briefing of leaders.

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

Is the proposal for dealing with No. 2, regarding Wednesday's business, agreed to?