In a week when we in the Opposition called for the urgent introduction of temporary targeted measures to alleviate the real hardship caused by the cost-of-living crisis, we are instead seeing urgency in the rushing through of Bills. Yet, there is no urgency in bringing forward measures that should have been done to address the cost-of-living crisis. Instead, we see five Bills will be shoehorned into five hours of debate on Committee and Remaining Stages tomorrow. These are significant Bills, including the remediation of dwellings Bill addressing the hardship experienced by many families due to mica, with no time for pre-legislative scrutiny and adequate consideration of the amendments. That is just one of the five Bills. Another is the Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill, about which many civil society organisations have expressed serious concerns. It is again being shoehorned in, with 45 minutes given to address Committee and Remaining Stages. It is simply not good enough for the Government to seek to order its business in this way. We oppose the Order of Business for that reason.

There has been no explanation from the Government as it seeks to rush through this legislation, and no explanation as to why quarries are still operating in Ireland producing substandard materials that are going into homes leaving families, communities and the entire State vulnerable. There has been no explanation from the Government regarding why the quarries that have produced substandard materials have not been pursued by the Government to recover those costs. Yet, it is trying to force all the discussion, and the more than 100 amendments tabled on this, into a debate that will last for less than two hours. That is simply not acceptable. It does not allow Deputies to do the job we want and are elected to do. On that basis, I ask the Government to reconsider this. We will oppose the Order of Business.

It is completely unacceptable that the Dáil would consider going on recess in two weeks' time when inflation is running at 10%. That means that ordinary households, workers and pensioners, have each lost around €3,500 in income. That is the reality. Yet, the Government expects them to wait until mid-September for action to be taken. For three or four weeks now, I have asked for an emergency discussion on the housing, homelessness and rental crisis, which is absolutely dire at the moment. The families in emergency accommodation who are facing eviction and who cannot pay their rent cannot wait until September for this House to address the crisis they face. I do not believe that we should go on recess until both the cost of living and the family homelessness and housing situation are addressed.

The Business Committee has been made a mockery of. There are five pieces of legislation being rushed through the House this week. I do not want to be repetitive but for several weeks, I have been calling for a debate on a vital sector, our third biggest industry in agriculture, namely, the pig industry. My requests have been forgotten and ignored. The House will rise for recess on Thursday week and we will forget about the pig farmers, many of whom I met at the Clonmel Show at the weekend. Some farmers who have been in the business for generations are leaving the sector. It is a shocking indictment of the Green Party, in particular, members of which are supposed to be so-called great democrats, that they have bulldozed these arrangements through the Houses. They are ringing us every second day of the week for pairing arrangements. We are not to be plucked off like that. We are the Opposition. We are not a fake opposition. The people are waiting in the long grass for the Government. We are opposed to the rushing of the business this week.

I agree with the points made by other Members on the rushing of legislation through the House. It is ridiculous that we are here for months, yet legislation is rushed through in the final few weeks of the Dáil term. I disagree with the rushing through of the mica legislation, in particular. The fact that only two hours are scheduled for Committee and Remaining Stages tomorrow is not right. It is wrong, given that the families affected have put so much effort into putting amendments forward and making this legislation workable. It should be taken on board. The efforts of the families should be shown some respect, given their plight.