I move:

Wednesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 2) (Qualifying Conditions) Regulations 2023 (without debate)

- Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of Planning and Development Act (Exempted Development) Regulations 2023 (without debate)

- Motion re Twenty-Fourth Report of the Committee of Selection (without debate)

- Further Revised Estimates for Public Services 2023 [Votes 38 and 40] (to be moved together and decided without debate by one question)

- Construction Safety Licensing Bill 2023 (Second Stage) (if not previously concluded, to be interrupted and stand adjourned at either 5.30 p.m. or 1 hr and 40 mins after the conclusion of Taoiseach’s Questions, whichever is the later)

Private Members' Business shall be the Motion re Support for Household Energy Bills, selected by Sinn Féin.

If not previously concluded, Thursday's business shall be the resumed Second Stage of the Construction Safety Licensing Bill 2023, to stand adjourned at 6.30 p.m., if not previously concluded.

Private Members' Business on Thursday shall be the Motion re Transport Support Schemes for People with Disabilities, selected by the Regional Group.

Proposed Arrangements for this week's business

In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as set out in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(i) Government business shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned at either 5.30 p.m. or 1 hour and 40 minutes after the conclusion of Taoiseach's Questions pursuant to Standing Order 46(1), whichever is the later, with consequential effect on the commencement time for private members' business; and

(ii) notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 34A(1), oral Parliamentary Questions pursuant to Standing Order 46(1) to a Minister other than the Taoiseach shall not be taken and topical issues shall be taken on the conclusion of private members’ business, with consequential effect on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil;

2. the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 2) (Qualifying Conditions) Regulations 2023 shall be taken without debate;

3. the Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of Planning and Development Act (Exempted Development) Regulations 2023 shall be taken without debate;

4. the Motion re Twenty-Fourth Report of the Committee of Selection shall be taken without debate; and

5. the Motions for Further Revised Estimates for Public Services 2023 [Votes 38 and 40] shall be moved together and decided without debate by one question which shall be put from the Chair.

In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that:

1 the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(i) the Dáil shall meet at 10.30 a.m.;

(ii) in accordance with the Order of the Dáil of 25th April, 2023, oral Parliamentary Questions pursuant to Standing Order 46(1) shall be answered for not more than 90 minutes and by a Minister or Ministers from one Government department only;

(iii) no private member’s Bill pursuant to Standing Order 102 or motion for a Committee report pursuant to Standing Order 160 shall be taken;

(iv) private members' business pursuant to Standing Order 159(1) and Standing Order 169 shall be taken for two hours on the conclusion of the suspension of sitting pursuant to Standing Order 25(1); and

(v) topical issues shall be taken no later than 6.30 p.m. and the Dáil shall adjourn on the conclusion of topical issues; and

2. if not previously concluded, the proceedings on the resumed Second Stage of the Construction Safety Licensing Bill 2023 shall be interrupted and stand adjourned at 6.30 p.m.

An bhfuil sé sin aontaithe? Is that agreed?

It is not agreed.

Last week, the Taoiseach described the proposal for a question-and-answer session with the Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Niall Collins, as a "kangaroo court" and the Government voted to block it. The result was a deeply unsatisfactory statement by Deputy Collins last Thursday in which he failed to clearly state whether he knew that his wife had expressed interest in the land when he participated in the decision to put it up for sale. He referred to a number of offers received by the council. He mentioned three in particular but failed to note that two of those three offers actually came from his own wife. He did not disclose who the second proposed purchaser of the land was, with whom the council was dealing up until quite late in the process.

We are discussing the Order of Business.

I object to the Order of Business on the grounds that we need a question-and-answer session with Deputy Collins this week.

We need an urgent debate in this House on the extraordinarily high price of groceries. The biggest daily issue facing households throughout the country is the extraordinarily high price of bread, milk, butter and eggs, the basic staples on which we all depend. Last weekend, the major supermarket multiples, in an almost synchronised fashion, reduced the price of milk overnight, on the same day and by practically the same amount. I am deeply suspicious as to how and why that happened. We know that the cost of producing goods is coming down but the cost to consumers is still extremely high.

On the Order of Business, please.

We need a debate on this issue in the House and, in the meantime, I call on the Taoiseach to engage the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, and enable it to carry out an investigation into price gouging and competition in the retail grocery sector in this country.

On behalf of the Rural Independent Group, I call for a debate in the House on the madness that is going on with the importation of wood chippings from Brazil, peat from Latvia and anything else from any other part of the world that we feel like, rather than using our own peat and allowing farmers to cut down their own forestry to be used here. We need an urgent debate in this House. The green tail is wagging the dog and it will keep wagging until the tail falls off. What is happening is insane. We need a reasonable debate on this to try to effect a change to these stupid policies.

On the cost of living and the high grocery prices that people are facing, we are seeing evidence now that inflation is slowing down. It peaked at around 10% and is now around 6% and we expect it to fall to 5% by the end of the year. While inflation slowing down is not the same as prices coming down, there is some evidence that some prices are coming down. Certainly the price of petrol and diesel peaked quite some time ago. We are now seeing the price of milk and butter coming down, given the announcement today by one of the supermarkets.

When it comes to the CCPC, I wrote to it in November in my capacity then as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It has the powers to investigate price signalling and cartel behaviour. It has the resources to do that. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, are following up on that. I specifically asked the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, to bring forward the next meeting of the retail forum in order that we can engage further with retailers. He will take action on that in the next couple of days. I want to be clear about this. Retailers and other businesses increased prices when input prices went up. That is understandable. If input prices are coming down, then they now need to reduce the prices that they charge consumers. I am clear about that. We are going to be monitoring it.

What about my issue?

There were two other questions.

Sorry, yes. In regard to the issue on wood chips, I do not have any information on that but I will come back to the Deputy on it, if he lets me check it out.

Everybody knows what is going on.

In regard to the issue raised by Deputy Paul Murphy, again I want to be clear about what I meant last week. It is the job of Dáil Éireann to hold Ministers to account. Of course Ministers should come in here and make statements and answer questions in regard to their ministerial responsibilities. However, this matter does not relate to the Minister of State, Deputy Collins's, ministerial responsibilities. It relates to events of the Bruff area committee, 16 years ago. That is a different matter, in my view.

It was the same with Deputy Barry Cowen. The issue with Deputy Cowen was not about ministerial responsibilities.

If Deputies are going to come in here-----

It was the same with Deputy English and Deputy Troy. Ethics in public office.

-----and account for their actions that are not related to their ministerial functions, why is it that the Deputy did not come in here? He detained two women against their will in Jobstown several years ago.

No, I did not. There was a trial that found me not guilty.

We are on the Order of Business in relation to-----

That is scandalous. Another abuse of privilege.

What happened then?

Deputy, thank you.

It found him not guilty of a particular offence-----

Of detaining two women.

You did.

Taoiseach, we are on the Order of Business, in regard to the issue that has been raised.

The Deputy was found not guilty of a particular offence-----

A scandalous interference with our courts, the media, the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, the Dáil. You do not respect any of them.

-----but given that case was even more recent than the Bruff local area division meeting, why is it not appropriate for Deputy Murphy to come in here?

I am very happy to come in here and answer questions. I went through a trial and if the House can change the order, I am happy to answer any questions, to facilitate any questions that exist.

We have had the questions. I am putting the question in relation to the Order of Business.

I did not get an answer, to be fair. The Taoiseach said he does not know about the wood chippings. The children on the street know about the wood chippings and the peat-----

Deputy, please, resume your seat.

-----coming from Latvia to supply our power stations that used to use turf. That is not an answer and he is the Head of the Government.

Deputy, resume your seat. I have allowed the questions. I have given latitude. I have allowed the Taoiseach to respond. They are the answers.

He did not respond. He should know about this. It is not North America.

We are going to eat into the time and I will not continue in regard to the additional people who will not get in if I do not have Members' co-operation. Is the Order of Business agreed to? Agreed.