Earlier this afternoon, a limited number of TDs gathered at Leinster House in order to pass emergency Covid-19 legislation.
The majority of the new rules and legislation revolve around social welfare payments and detaining people who have tested positive for Covid-19.
The topic of a temporary rent freeze and ban on evictions is expected to be introduced also.
At the time of writing, these measures have not been introduced but they're likely to be announced by Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy later on Thursday.
Without downplaying the severity of what was discussed in Leinster House, for many people, the leader of the Green Party, Eamon Ryan, offered a few moments of levity while he was speaking in the Dáil.
"Can we keep our hardware shops open? I know that's not the most important thing, or whatever, but if we kept our hardware shops open and if we have to work from home - or be at home for a period - well, let's paint the back of the house with the paint from that hardware shop.
"Let's get every south-facing windowsill in this country and let's plant our seeds in the next week. So, if there is any supply crisis in two to three months time - and this hits hard - we have our salads ready to go," he said.
In the interest of fairness, there is some weight and truth to Ryan's remarks, however, during his St. Patrick's Day address, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that "we will keep our essential services, supply chains and utilities operating" and that Ireland's production and supply chains will remain open.
However, these weren't the only remarks that Ryan made in the Dáil that were interesting.
They may take our freedom but they'll never take our SALADS....#coronavirus #Coronavirusireland #COVID19ireland pic.twitter.com/TjFts61220
— Caolán Mc Aree (@Caolanmcaree) March 19, 2020
Take a look at Ryan's opinions on the recent videos that went viral which showed people in Temple Bar pubs that were ignoring the government's advice about self isolation and social distancing.
Granted, Ryan's points are completely valid but we applaud how he managed to combine Temple Bar, Italia '90, Neil Diamond, and the Irish supporters to make his point.
Take a look.
Green party leader Eamon Ryan "sweet Jesus, you couldn't make it up" referring to people in pubs last weekend pic.twitter.com/y13RM3OH5g
— RTÉ Politics (@rtepolitics) March 19, 2020
