I am very concerned by the leaks from the Cabinet yesterday regarding the extension of the emergency powers for another six months. I honestly believe that the Taoiseach and his Government have become an existential threat to our democracy. That the Government is trying to push this in here to control people, deny them their rights and freedoms and literally destroy their will to live is shocking. It is being done without any debate in this House. The Taoiseach has not met Opposition party leaders or group leaders since November. He is stonewalling everything. Stonewalling is his new mantra. He stonewalls when a question is asked and then he puts it back on the person asking the question or gives them a lecture. He will probably give me a lecture now in a minute. It is outrageous that the Government could contemplate extending the powers for a further six months. We are meant to be coming out of the crisis and we are meant to be opening up but this is what the Government is at. It is all about control. That happened in Germany in 1933 and that is how it started there.

It is unfortunate in the House of late that politics and politicians get compared to Nazi Germany. This is the second time in recent weeks that Deputy McGrath has articulated that and I think it is bringing the Parliament-----

-----to a low level, to be frank.

I call it as it is.

Public health is about saving people's lives and the only reason for the public health Act was the pandemic. No Government wants to be introducing the kinds of measures that we have had to introduce for the last 12 months but we do it on public health advice to protect people's health and to save lives. The legislative framework is required to enable Government to take those initiatives and it will be debated in the House. I ask the Deputy to refrain from using that kind of language. It is wrong. I think it is unparliamentary.

All right. I thank the Taoiseach.

It is a slur on our Parliament-----

It is clear to be seen.

-----and I do not think it should be allowed.

One voice, please.

I wish to raise the issue of tenants in receipt of homeless HAP. Several people have contacted me recently on this issue. I will refer to two of them. I was contacted by a young woman who is in receipt of homeless HAP. In 2018 she was paying €1,500 and getting the cap of €990 under the homeless HAP, which meant she was paying €510 as a top-up. Several years later, she has now received a rent review which is to be implemented on 6 June. Her rent is being increased to €1,730.22. That is €740 extra in the context of the top-up.

A couple with a child who are living in a two-bedroom apartment were initially paying a rent of €1,900 in 2018. They had a HAP top-up of €1,875, which is the maximum level. Their rent has been increased several times and they are now facing a rent of €2,096. That is an increase in the top-up to €221, from €25 several years ago. I raised this with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. It stated that it has seen this issue raising its head, as has Threshold.

I thank the Deputy. The time is up.

I am asking the Taoiseach to look at this strategically because, as he said earlier, it is about solving issues.

You are way over time now, Deputy.

I know we cannot increase the cap but a transfer should be put into place immediately.

I will speak to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, about those points. Perhaps the Deputy might forward them to the Minister as well just to illustrate them because, obviously, I do not have the detail of the individual cases or the council involved.