We had protests all last week around the country for fuel. Waking up yesterday morning, a lot of these protesters were receiving fixed penalty notices and fines in the post. My office has been inundated with phone calls and messages about the stress and mental health strain they are forced to put up with. They protested because they could not afford to keep their businesses running and now they are being handed fixed penalty notices with fines from An Garda Síochána. It is another slap in the face. These protesters told me that yes, they could walk to Leinster House and they could walk the streets. Nobody listens to people who do that. We had hunger strikers outside the Dáil for weeks on end and they were not listened to. We have had SNAs outside who were not listened to. The protesters felt that the only way they could be heard was to disrupt. As Senator Ruane said, protest is disruption. They are now being hit with these penalties on a day where the Mental Health Bill is coming before us.

This Bill is going to be guillotined. There are over 300 amendments and the Bill is going to be stopped today. Our job in here is to make sure that the Bills that come through are scrutinised and come out of this place as good as we can make them so they do not have to come back in with more amendments to them. It is disgraceful to guillotine a Bill of this importance at this time when so many people are under so much stress. We need to extend the time for the Mental Health Bill and I will be opposing the Order of Business for that reason.