And in the Seanad.

That is exactly the reason, when we launched our alternative budget today, we allowed for a decrease in wages and salaries for Deputies and Senators. It was to ensure that an increase could be given to councillors. I am sure everybody here would agree with that, even Fianna Fáil Members.

Now we know where the €1.5 million is going.

No interruptions, please.

They are picking on me again, a Chathaoirligh.

Sometimes the Senator invites crossfire.

There needs to be fairness but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. People have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

Today sees the launch of Sinn Féin's 2020 alternative budget. It is the ninth alternative budget from my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty. We look forward to the day when he will be Minister for Finance presenting the actual budget. This alternative budget is fair and ambitious. It is based on the premise that people should not live their lives squeezed between billing periods. Very simply, it demonstrates what Sinn Féin would do, how it would end the rip-off and give workers and families a break while securing Ireland's future if there is a crash-out Brexit, and even if there is not a crash-out Brexit.

We provide for a radical departure from the failed policies of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. These provisions include two free GP visits for every person without a medical card to ensure that nobody is delayed in going to the doctor because they are worried about the cost.

It was awful to see people in wheelchairs wearing wet gear outside the gate today in teeming rain asking for home care packages. There is something radically wrong when such action has to be taken.

This budget has also allowed for the introduction of an emergency freeze on rents and brings in rent relief, which would save renters the equivalent of one month's rent each year.

It also contains measures to end the insurance rip-off, first, in terms of the levies charged currently by Government that would bring down insurance costs by 5% but also in terms of the legislation needed to address the situation within that.

We would invest an additional €300 million to give people with disabilities and their families a break, including the introduction of free travel for children aged five to 18 and helping families by reducing the cost of childcare by an average of €100 per month.

Something is seriously wrong when the vast majority of people have less money in their pockets now than they did when Fine Gael, supported by Fianna Fáil, came into power three years ago. The reasons for that are obvious.

No. They had not-----

Tell that to the people protesting outside the gate. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are making bad short-term decisions that are costing the taxpayer billions of euro and they are failing to intervene to deal with the out of control costs.

Before anybody says it, and the Leader will probably say it when replying, everything in this alternative budget is fully costed. I ask people to read it to see how things can be done differently. It is fully costed. It shows that we can end up with a surplus and have a contingency fund. It would not be a rainy day fund where we would be constrained in how we use that but a fund that can deal with the issues of Brexit as well as everything else. My colleagues will talk about different aspects of this alternative budget when they contribute.

I do not intend to say very much about Brexit but I will say that Mr. Johnson's non-paper is a non-starter and a non-event. Every word out of his mouth brings a united Ireland closer.

I am not averse to that. Belfast is a rather nice little city and it would be good to have it back.

Following the very good debates we had on screening for genetic disorders, I have been preparing legislation in the area, which will considerably broaden the Irish screening programme. I have had excellent assistance from a parliamentary draftsperson and I pay tribute to that effort. I hope to introduce the legislation before Christmas. In the light of the debate we had, about which everybody on both sides of the House was positive, as well as the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, I hope we can get the legislation through and do something to save the lives of 50 children a year who needlessly die.

I wish to raise an issue in respect of National Breastfeeding Week. I have raised many times in the House the lack of supports for women who wish to breastfeed but do not have the opportunity. One of the major concerns is Brexit, which is imminent. People might ask how it will affect breastfeeding but the only breastfeeding milk bank is in Northern Ireland. As yet, there is no clarity as to how mothers and infants in need will have access to the bank should a hard Brexit occur. While the photo on the front page of The Irish Times is welcoming, with the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, launching National Breastfeeding Week, it should be remembered that UNICEF has criticised the HSE for withdrawing funds from the baby friendly health initiative, which had a major impact on improving the rates of breastfeeding in hospitals throughout the country, two years ago. In August, UNICEF was stinging in its criticism of the HSE for withdrawing the funding.

The rate of breastfeeding is now approximately 55%, which is quite low by European standards. Given that it is National Breastfeeding Week, I hope there will be more than photoshoots, such as a programme to support mothers and their infants throughout the country. Mothers in urban Ireland, through the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street, receive considerable support but that becomes patchy as one moves out of the capital city. I would like there to be many more initiatives and more funding than photoshoots. It might be worthwhile, at some stage, to hold a full debate in the House on the low rates of breastfeeding in Ireland.