2026-06-18

Inniu, d'fhoilsigh coiste tithíochta an Oireachtais tuarascáil shuntasach. Is é an moladh is suntasaí ná go dtabharfadh Rialtas an Tánaiste cosc éigeandála ar dhíshealbhuithe gan locht isteach arís. Tá an ceart ag an choiste. Tá géarghá le cosc den chineál sin anois níos mó ná riamh. Tá cíosanna ardaithe go dtí leibhéil nár fhaca muid le 25 bliain anuas. Tá an easpa dídine ag dul i méid i gcónaí agus taifid nua á mbriseadh gach mí. Tá líon na ndíshealbhuithe anois ag an leibhéal is airde ó aimsir an Ghorta Mhóir. Tá cúlbhinseoirí pháirtí an Tánaiste féin, Fine Gael, ag iarraidh ar an Rialtas gníomhú chun cosc ar dhíshealbhuithe gan locht a thabhairt isteach arís. Today, the Oireachtas committee on housing published a major report. This report makes it clear that the Government is not doing enough to tackle the housing and homelessness crisis. It calls on the Government to introduce an emergency response to the crisis, including a ban on no-fault evictions. This call comes from TDs of all parties, including Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. The committee is right. Such a ban is needed now more than ever. The situation was bad enough but the Government's rent hikes legislation has made things even worse. The consequences are plain to see. Rip-off rents have now jumped to their highest levels in 25 years. Homelessness rates continue to rise, breaking new records every single month. Evictions are now at the highest level since the Famine. As a result of the Government's legislation, we have seen an alarming increase in the number of evictions since the start of this year. Many people and families now find themselves in desperate situations, seeking a new place to live. Those who can find a place face paying thousands and thousands extra in rent. Those who cannot find a place are left in awful situations. We are talking about working families with good jobs and sometimes with two incomes. We are talking about older people who have paid rent all their lives and parents who are robbed of the security they need to build a good life for them and their children. It seems that everybody sees how bad things are except for the Tánaiste's Government. Even the Government parties' own backbenchers who helped drafted this report are now calling on the Government to act to reintroduce the ban on no-fault evictions. The writing is on the wall. If this intervention is not made immediately, many more people will be forced to move back into their parents' homes or insecure situations or, even worse, will find themselves in homelessness. There are many steps we can take to protect people. A ban on no-fault evictions would provide people in housing difficulty with the safety net they need. It would relieve stress and pressure and give these people the security they need. It is not just Sinn Féin that is urging the Tánaiste to do this. This is a cross-party call for his Government to move with urgency and ambition to stem the flow of evictions. The Tánaiste now has an opportunity to make a real difference. For too long, the story of housing in Ireland has been a story of pressure, stress, desperation and hopelessness. That story can be changed, however. That tide can be turned. Hope can be restored for people who just want a secure home for them and their families. However, it has to start with better decisions. The Tánaiste has to make one of those decisions today. He has to make that difference. Will he tell people that he will make that decision and reintroduce a ban on no-fault evictions, as members of parties across this House have called for?

I thank Deputy Doherty for his question and I thank the Oireachtas committee on housing for its work. The committee report published this morning makes 14 recommendations. Of course, we will work our way through the report and consider all of the recommendations, as we do with all committee reports. Page 5 of the report states that these committee recommendations arise from hearings held on 16 December last year. A number of decisions and actions have been taken by Government since then. As I look through the recommendations, I am pleased to say that many are in train or in place. The report calls for a greater focus on prevention and for increased funding, which we are providing. Very importantly, the committee recommends that the best interests of the child must be a key priority in addressing homelessness, and I believe everyone across the House can agree on that. We agree and that is why legislation is being brought forward to amend the Housing Act 1988 to ensure that consideration is given to the best interests of the child in the process of making decisions on accommodation for households. This is a key ask of many of those who work with homeless families across the country. The report also seeks a child and family homelessness prevention plan. I am pleased to tell the House that this plan will be published before the summer recess. It is important work. We do not want to see anybody homeless in Ireland but we all particularly want to see progress made on children in homelessness. This plan is intended to drive a real focus on preventing children and families entering emergency accommodation while also providing enhanced supports for children who do experience homelessness. It will also include measures to accelerate exits and to reduce the time children and their families spend in homeless emergency accommodation. This was also a recommendation of the report. The committee also recommends engagement with stakeholders. There has objectively never been more engagement but Government is always open to hearing any ideas from across this House as to what more could be done. Since this committee hearing in December of last year, we have seen the legislation come into effect on 1 March 2026. That puts a range of protections in place in respect of tenancies. As the Deputy will know, we have extended the rent pressure zones nationwide. These now include the Deputy's own county of Donegal, which was previously not included. We brought in six-year tenancies. That is very important. We now live in a country where the majority of tenants are covered by an effective no-fault eviction ban. There was a debate in this House as to the right way to do that and there was debate about making sure that policies did not result in smaller landlords, those with one or two houses, leaving the market, causing a supply challenge. However, it is a statement of fact that there is now an effective no-fault eviction ban in place for the majority of tenants in the country. That also acts on a recommendation of the report. We are also continuing a record level of investment in social housing, with €2.9 billion in capital allocated to support the delivery of social homes. We will continue to do that. The report is welcome. I take the Deputy's raising of the important issue of housing in the spirit intended. There is no more important domestic issue. However, it is not true to say that this cross-party report says that the Government should bring in a no-fault eviction ban. The cross-party report says "The Committee urges the Minister to keep all options under review including an emergency ban on no fault evictions". Of course, the Government keeps things under review. Let us not misrepresent the good cross-party work that was done in relation to this report.

The Tánaiste cannot seriously make up his own facts. He has twice said that it is a fact that the majority of tenancies are effectively subject to a no-fault eviction ban. That is not true and I think the Tánaiste knows that. This provision only applies to new tenancies and not existing tenancies. It also only applies to tenancies with large landlords. Please stop making stuff up. I know it is very difficult to defend the situation the Tánaiste finds himself in but a bit of truth and honesty would be welcome. The committee is very clear. Not enough is being done and we need an emergency response. The Tánaiste is right that the hearings were held in December but the committee only launched its report this morning. What has happened since December? Rents and house prices have continued to rise, homelessness records have been broken over and over again, and the number of evictions has gone through the roof because of Government legislation allowing landlords to increase rents over and over again. Something has to give. The Tánaiste is not listening to Sinn Féin, to advocacy groups or to people who are under serious housing pressure. Perhaps it is time for him to listen to some of his backbenchers, who are saying that there is now a need for an emergency response. The Tánaiste can shake his head all he wants but the reality is that we are seeing more evictions. We are seeing rents at their highest levels in 25 years. Despite this, the Tánaiste somehow thinks that everything is rosy in the garden and that the Government is doing everything it needs to. There is a need to introduce a ban on no-fault evictions at this point in time. The Government needs to relieve this pressure and this stress for people. There are options. The Government can stem the tide. It can take measures that will make a meaningful difference in people's lives. I again ask whether the Government will bring forward a ban on no-fault evictions, as has been recommended.

While Deputy Doherty can speak for Sinn Féin, he certainly does not speak for Fine Gael backbench TDs or Senators.

They speak for themselves.

I have seen what they said.

I speak for the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party.

It is here in black and white.

It is not helpful for the people at home or those in the Gallery for people to shout me down. The reality is that I speak for the Government in his House today and, as its leader, I speak for the Fine Gael Party. We will follow our policy agenda, which is clearly published, while the Deputy will come into this House and continue to oppose and object every positive measure that we bring forward. Of course, the comments that I have made in relation to no-fault evictions apply to tenancies in place since the legislation came in. How could it apply to anything else? We have put that in since the legislation in March. The Deputy knows that------

So, it is not the fact.

It is not the vast majority.

-----to be true. We have also taken a number of other measures, including this week, with more than €800 million through the housing, activation and infrastructure office to help counties right across this country to put in place key enabling pieces of infrastructure that are required to deliver more homes. Housing is an emergency in this country. Housing is a real challenge. The cross-party committee has done good work. Do not misrepresent what it has said, though. It has not said to bring in a no-fault eviction ban. It has said to keep all things under review. It has made 14 recommendations. Many of them are under way. Many of them merit further consideration. They will, of course, all be taken very serious.

In the Rotunda, there are consultants on public-only contracts receiving payments for delivering babies while covering for their private colleagues. On Tuesday, I told the Taoiseach that this was happening at Cork University Maternity Hospital, CUMH, too. The Taoiseach admitted that he did not know anything about this. Today, it has been reported in the Irish Independent that a long-standing professional fee arrangement had been in place among consultants in CUMH. The spokeswoman for the HSE said, "This a private professional arrangement between some consultants in which Cork University Maternity Hospital plays no part". While it is no doubt true that hospital management plays no part in administering the payments, it organises the rosters that facilitate this practice. It appears from reports today that rosters are being changed and this practice has been stopped in Cork this week. However, no such confirmation has been forthcoming from the Rotunda. We also know that there are major issues at University Hospital Galway where public consultants are being asked by management to do lab work for a private hospital. While some are refusing to do this, this is nonetheless leading to huge delays, including in tests for life-threatening conditions such as cancer. As a result, lab work is being outsourced for both public and private patients to commercially run labs. This is at enormous expense to the public purse. This is not just about consultants and public-only contracts getting extra payments for private work or billing insurers for work for private patients. It is also having a real and negative impact on the care of public patients. These are patients whose lab work is being delayed while private work is done. These are patients whose health and lives are being put at risk. The whole point of the public-only contract is to improve our health system and level up care for public patients so that they are receiving the same continuity and quality of care as private patients. Instead, at the Rotunda and the CUMH, rostering gaps were being filled for private consultants. This appears to be stopping at CUMH, but what about the Rotunda? Has the Rotunda been instructed to stop this practice? Has University Hospital Galway been told to stop asking public consultants to do lab work for private hospitals? What is the Tánaiste doing to ensure that the public-only contract is being enforced around the country?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. At the outset, I agree with him on the importance of the public-only consultant contract. It is something that arose from one of the better days or better periods of time in this House where the Government and Opposition worked together on a vision for the future of the health service called Sláintecare. I was the Minister at the time. The Deputy's former party leader, Róisín Shortall, chaired that committee. It has produced a good blueprint that we are all working our way through. It has taken some of the day-to-day politics in terms of policy direction out of health. That is a good thing. I want everybody who works in our health service, no matter what role they play, to understand that this Oireachtas speaks with one very clear voice when it comes to public health policy and we all expect it to be followed. I also agree with the Deputy that there has been progress. We see the benefits of the public-only consultant contract. I will not go through them all, but as an example, St. Vincent's University Hospital has brought about a Saturday hub with participation by 40 consultants. In Wexford General Hospital, we now have weekend consultant cover in emergency medicine, surgery, paediatrics and gynae services. In University Hospital Waterford, we have seen a minimum of 26 consultants rostered at the weekend with outpatient diagnostics running until 8 p.m. during the week and on certain weekends. I use these as examples of where when this is applied correctly, we can see the real benefit in terms of public healthcare. In relation to some of what has emerged, I acknowledge the Deputy and Deputy Rice's work on this. The idea of anybody being given a gift or paid to do a nixer effectively is not in line with the contract. It is not an improved HSE arrangement. It is not something that the Department of Health, the Minister for Health, the HSE or the Government would condone. Measures are now being taken to ensure that this practice ceases with immediate effect. My understanding is that the HSE chief executive is currently engaging with all the regional health areas and the regional clinical directors in relation to this practice. I wish to make a couple of other points because people - certainly not the Deputy; quite the opposite to him - sometimes try to muddy the waters in relation to this. As would be the case in all specialties, the maternity consultant on duty in any hospital is responsible for the care of all patients requiring attention regardless of whether they are private or public. This idea that if a consultant is on call, they have to be given some sort of gift or payment is not how it works. Doctors know that, too. Cross-cover between consultants is routine. It is an expected part of how our public health services are delivered, ensuring continuity of care. Any suggestion of private financial arrangements in this context is inconsistent with contractual obligations, raises concerns and risks diverting time and resources away from treating public patients. We have seen no tolerance from the Minister for people who sign on the dotted of a contract and do not adhere by it. The Deputy can be sure that the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is working intensely on ensuring the full implementation. Speaking as the Minister of Finance, and lest anyone be of any other view, I wish to say that any income, be it direct or indirect, gained from employment is taxable. Revenue has standard audit compliance procedures that it operates across all sectors. Whether it is payment in the traditional way, a gift or a nixer, please be aware of the taxable obligations on any income derived through that.

There are patients waiting on test results who want answers in relation to lab work at University Hospital Galway. They want to know what is being done in terms of their test results, which they need a quick turnaround on. Their health and lives depend on a quick turnaround. They want answers as to what the Government is doing on that. The Tánaiste has not addressed that at all. He may say what the Government is doing about that. It is welcome that the HSE is following up on this, but when are people going to know that these additional payments that are in breach of the public-only contract have stopped? We are seeing more and more things emerging about breaches of the public-only contract. What is the Government doing to ensure that the public-only contract is being enforced? Is it waiting for a drip feed of things to emerge around the country? Is it being proactive in ensuring that the taxpayer and public are getting the service that they are paying for and deserve?

I assure the Deputy that there are few more proactive Ministers than Deputy Carroll MacNeill. She is fully committed to the implementation and enforcement of the public-only consultant contact. We have already seen strong national uptake of the contract, with 3,416 consultants signed up as of the end of May, including 1,220 new entrants. There are over 2,000 consultants who switched from the older contract as well. We now have a health service where 69% of all consultants working in our hospitals are now on the public-only consultant contract. This represents a lot of progress in the time between now and 2023 when it was introduced.

I asked about breaches.

I know. I will get those. Consultant numbers have also increased significantly. Regarding any breaches, the Minister for Health and the wider Government have shown that they simply will not be tolerated. There is a process under way - I have briefed on this at the Cabinet subcommittee on health - within the HSE and led by the chief executive, regional health area by regional health area and hospital by hospital, to make sure there is full compliance. The Minister is very eager to keep engaging with the Deputy's colleague, Deputy Rice, as Chair of the Oireachtas health committee on this. That committee is a useful place to continue monitoring progress. This can be a game-changer for the delivery of public health. When someone signs on the dotted line and takes the larger salary, they are expected to deliver on those terms just like anybody working in the public service.

"Certainty, clarity and stability for the rental sector" were the words of the Minister for housing when he introduced his disastrous rental reform Bill in February. He did mention the word "eviction" once. As predicted, this new law has caused carnage in the private rental sector - not stability, just chaos. There were over 7,000 notices of termination in the first three months of the year. That was a 51% increase on the year before. It is the highest level of evictions ever recorded. There are record and ever-growing levels of homelessness, with 5,604 children now officially homeless. It is a terrible record and the new normal. It never gets the media coverage or outrage it should. Whether they are from Ireland or not is irrelevant; it is a child without a home. This week, the Tánaiste had a go at local authorities but the problem they have is the lack of powers to act whether on dereliction or homelessness. The Labour Party has long campaigned with Focus Ireland to require local authorities to take the best interests of the child into account when working with families who present as homeless. The Government has failed to act on this for nearly a decade. There are many things we can do to address evictions and homelessness. We all know we need more supply but the Government has been saying that for a decade and the problem keeps getting worse. The housing committee today published an important report on homelessness. It includes 14 recommendations, all suggestions those of us in opposition have previously called for in some form or another. We know preventing homelessness is the best use of resources. It keeps people in their existing home and is much more cost effective. The Chair of the committee, Deputy Carrigy, was correct on "Morning Ireland" when he said no child should have to spend any period of time in homelessness. This committee, which has a Government majority, has called for a child homelessness strategy, an emergency package of measures to reduce homelessness and, critically, is open to an emergency ban on no-fault evictions for a defined period of time. We have the highest level of evictions since the Famine and the Government has the power to do something about it. Will it stand up for the thousands of children without a home? There is a Government housing Bill going through the Dáil right now. Committee Stage resumes today at 12.30 p.m. You can introduce a ban on no-fault evictions, stem the tide of rising homelessness and protect the best interests of the child. I ask the Tánaiste for a straight answer - if it will not ban evictions, what will the Government do before the summer recess to reduce homelessness?

I agree with a variety of things the Deputy said but I fundamentally disagree with the baloney and spin coming from some local authority officials in relation to dereliction. Deputy Sheehan represents a county and city with an excellent record in tackling dereliction. Last time I checked this country has one national set of laws. It is quite simple; I am not buying into this idea that all local authorities are performing equally well when it is simply untrue. Eleven did not bother collecting a cent. I can find more derelict properties in County Wicklow on my nightly walk than the entire local authority can find in the course of a year. We have to take this deadly seriously, speak with one voice as an Oireachtas and when we say dereliction is a scourge, put in place a variety of measures to help people fix it such as the living city initiative, croí cónaithe with the vacancy grant and CPO powers. Some local authorities are doing a bloody great job and we thank them for that. Some are not treating this like an emergency. It is as simple as - no one is going to change my mind on this but we are going to change the law because they cannot be trusted or depended on to deliver on this so we will bring in the powers to rectify this through the Revenue Commissioners. I know this from my own councillors. They tell me they raise it week in, week out at council meetings across the country. Councillors are frustrated about this as well. Dereliction is a scourge. Everybody needs to take it much more seriously including local authorities. Some like Limerick are doing great but some are not doing well at all and it is not on. In relation to the best interests of the child, I agree with the Deputy as does the Government. We will amend the Housing Act 1988 so that it will be very clear that in the decision-making process on accommodation for households the best interests of the child are included. I also agree with the Deputy and the committee on the child and family homelessness prevention plan. It is committed in the Government's national housing plan. It will be published before the summer recess. I will make sure the points in that committee report, if they are not already encompassed, are given further consideration because it is an important area we all want to make progress on across parties. We made changes on the no-fault eviction ban in March in relation to new tenancies and a no-fault eviction ban except for some small landlords. That was an attempt to get the balance right between increasing renter and tenant protections and supply. We also expanded RPZs and brought in six-year tenancies. They are practical measures. Next week we will see the rural planning guidelines to help make it easier for people to build in their communities. In the budget there will be dereliction taxation to help to tackle dereliction. This week saw housing activation funding to try to get housing going. Every day, we take more measures together to try to make a real difference. We saw in the past that a blanket no-fault eviction ban resulted in a significant spike in notices to quit when it was lifted. We need to be careful. That is why the wording of the report is quite careful in asking that we keep matters under review.

The Tánaiste said local authorities cannot be trusted or depended on. That is an outrageous statement. It is the centralisation of power in the Custom House that has weakened the ability of councils to build new homes, prioritise children in homelessness and tackle dereliction. The measures the Tánaiste spoke of regarding security of tenure are completely undermined by the market rent reset mechanism baked into the legislation which allows landlords to reset rent to the market rate in between tenancies, exposing renters, the most vulnerable people in housing, to record double-digit rent increases. The Tánaiste's own backbenchers are talking about the need for a ban on evictions. What emergency measures will he take before the summer recess? Why will he not recognise that only a ban on evictions will actually reduce homelessness?

I am really confused with the Deputy's position on dereliction because he is defending the system rather than the people the system is meant to represent. People are being let down by inactivity on the derelict sites levy. I gave the Deputy an open goal and said his own council is doing a great job. Limerick is one of the best. It has no superpowers the rest of the country does not have except maybe on the GAA pitch. There are 11 local authorities that did not collect anything. It is not good enough. Deputies can come into this House, kick me around and say the Government needs to do more on housing; that is fine. The Government has a major role to play in housing but so does local government. It is unacceptable that more than €26 million could have been collected was not. We saw in the excellent journalism of "RTÉ Investigates" bizarre baloney in the excuses why this had not been taken more seriously. I am not commentating on this; I am acting. That is why this week I brought forward proposals to bring in a derelict site tax because if they do not take it seriously we will. The Deputy is defending the system but it is letting young people down. I have the table here; it is available. Look at the local authorities that did not collect any money and did not think there was any dereliction in their own county. It is not good enough. This Government is not living by arbitrary deadlines of what more are we going to do by this or that date. Every day we come to work we take more concrete actions help to tackle homelessness. This week it was the housing activation funding across the country including the Deputy's county. The child and family homelessness action plan is the next major step we will take before the summer recess.

Over the past week or so the Tánaiste has been very critical of county councils which he said think they have "done enough" on housing. He said, “There’s too much sluggishness in parts of the system, in terms of zoning land." Laois cannot be counted as one of them if one looks at what it has done on zoning this week. It has exceeded the Department of housing's targets. We need more affordable and social housing and cost rental but it has gone well past the targets. On zoning, this week Laois zoned lands on top of what is already zoned for an additional 8,200 homes. That is a population increase of between 25,000 and 30,000 in a county with about 95,000 of a population at the moment. It is in the top three highest population increases in the State. This was demanded by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Government. I have no problem with it but the facts are we do not have the infrastructure in the county. The funding allocation this year under the national development plan announced earlier for roads was zero. Cash is required. We need a new primary school in Portlaoise, Coláiste Dhún Másc secondary school needs to be fast-tracked, Coláiste Íosagáin, Portarlington, needs to be built and Saplings Special School in Graiguecullen is dependent on the goodwill of strangers apparently. The N80 bypass in Mountmellick is long promised; the Tánaiste saw it himself when he was there a year and a half ago. It is urgently needed from Fairgreen to Kilminchy roundabout. The N80 goes through a highly populated area and HGVs hit the rail bridge and are chugging along through the market square. The whole place is choked up. Three of the very large land banks zoned this week are on the path of the Portlaoise northern orbital route which is there since my time on the council and before that. That needs to be constructed. There is a critical shortage of wastewater infrastructure in some of the towns and villages that have been earmarked: Borris-in-Ossory with 160 homes; Ballybrittas with 114 homes; Ballinakill with 58 homes; and Graiguecullen with 437. All of them need wastewater infrastructure upgrades or network connections. A primary care centre is needed in Portlaoise. That needs to be built. Laois County Council has provided whatever infrastructure and facilities it can with the limited resources it has. Any of the Ministers who have been down - including the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, who did not invite me when he was coming but came and sneaked in even though he was only about a quarter of a mile from me - will have seen what is being delivered in Laois. The chief executive officer of the council and the councillors are saying they have done their bit, will do more when they get the money and will come up with whatever money they can as well, but the funds have to be provided for those projects. Will the Tánaiste get the chequebook out and make sure that we get those pieces of infrastructure, including roads, wastewater facilities, schools, a primary care centre and sports facilities, that are needed in the county?

I thank Deputy Stanley. Firstly can I say, because fair is fair, that Laois is a good performer when it comes to housing. I have my sheet here. There is nowhere to hide here, by the way. The data is there. It shows who is doing a good job and who is not doing a good job. Laois has actually done quite a good job in relation to dereliction. I think there were 13 derelict sites levied during the year 2024. Laois has performed pretty well when it comes to housing delivery. It has done very well on the housing delivery targets and in relation to zoning. I acknowledge that and I thank the county council for its work in relation to that. I am told by my colleague and friend Deputy Aird that this week Laois did receive good news in relation to funding, I believe it is €10 million, for the new road in Portlaoise. I think it was successful in two projects in relation to the housing activation and infrastructure office as well. The Government is doing its part. One of the reasons we set up the housing activation office - Deputy Stanley does have a valid point in relation to this - is that infrastructure is a key enabler for housing, 100%. That is why this week we allocated more than €800 million in funding to projects right across the country. We intend to build on that. The Deputy might that remember call 1, which is the round we have just given out, was only open to local authorities to apply for funding. In the future I think we will look at going beyond local authorities to give opportunities for partnership with private industry and with developers as well. The Deputy mentioned sports clubs. The sports capital funding will be opening very shortly and I expect clubs in the Deputy's own county and right across the country will benefit. The Governmental will receive an update on that this month. That is important too. We have a lot of funding. The Deputy said to get the chequebook out. We have a lot of funding allocated in relation to infrastructure. We intend as a Government to spend €275 billion on infrastructure between now and 2035. One of the collective challenges that central government and local government will have is speeding up delivery. This is why getting the Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026 passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas before the summer recess is a key enabler of delivering on some of those projects. Schools are a real issue, 100%, and I know there are a lot of pressure points, particularly in high-demand population areas. There will be further allocations in relation to school funding from a capital point of view in the time ahead. The list that has been published is not the final word on the matter. There will be a need to do more and the medium-term fiscal plan the Government has published has unallocated capital that we will be able to return to again. I hope education can benefit from that. I push back slightly when I hear this idea that the councils are willing to build a few more houses if we are willing to give them A, B or C. It is not that. It is not binary. There is a housing emergency and everybody has a responsibility to do everything they can to build homes so our young people can get out of the box rooms and into their own homes. It is not the case that they will do it, but they will only do it if they are given us this. They need to do it. They need to do their job. It is a national emergency and they should get on with it. However, they will find in partnership a Government willing to work to put in place that key infrastructure to make sure we do not just build homes but also build sustainable communities.

I have to say to the Tánaiste that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, the Minister, Deputy Browne, the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, have all been in the constituency. It is kind of like an election year, but it is good to see them all down there. The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, was the only one who did not tell me he was coming. Yes, funding has been allocated and that is fair enough, but the roundabout the Tánaiste is talking about that one of those is earmarked for is nearly built. I passed it very early this morning on my way here. There are big projects. The Portlaoise northern orbital route, PNOR, and the N80 in Mountmellick are key. The Uisce Éireann scheme for small towns and villages needs to be delivered on. We need to see that happen. We cannot increase the population of the county by 25%, 26%, or 27% without putting in extra infrastructure, and that is on top of what is already zoned. I appeal to the Tánaiste to go back and look again at this. On the cost of housing, I heard the debate the other night with the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and Deputy Sheehan from the Labour Party. Back a number of years ago when Fine Gael and the Labour Party were in government, the Kenny report came out. Mr. Justice Kenny was not a member of the revolutionary Marxist party of Ireland or the Maoist Shining Path revolution.

I ask Deputy Stanley to conclude.

He was a conservative man but he came up with a very practical solution regarding the cost of land.

Tánaiste-----

The cost of land is one of the things driving up the cost of housing. The Government needs to go back again and look at this.

I think my friends in the Labour Party are suggesting they were not in government then.

That report came out in 1973, so neither of us were born then.

Yes. Neither Ged nor I were born so we cannot be held responsible for that one.

It is good report though.

There are a couple of serious points there. This is the first time I have ever been in this House while somebody seems to be bemoaning so many Ministers coming to Laois. Deputy Stanley obviously has not met Deputy Willie Aird. It is easier to go to Laois and try to deliver. We intend to continue to visit. Deputy Stanley is right that there is no election for quite a number of years, be assured of that, but there is a hell of a lot of work to do. We intend to be out and about on the ground in communities, including the Deputy's good county of Laois, working with communities and trying to deliver. We are delivering. We are delivering a lot when it comes to infrastructure. There were two announcements of projects this week for Laois through the housing activation office. Every €3 we are going to spend on capital over the next number of years is going to be spent on housing or infrastructure to enable the delivery of housing. That is an important thing to say. I want to acknowledge that there is good partnership. I get a bit spiky every now and again when there are different parts of the system that needs to do more. I think that is part of our job. In general there is good partnership between the Government, local government, approved housing bodies, the LDA, and bringing in Uisce Éireann and the ESB. Everybody has to work together if we are to rectify these issues. I take the point that Deputy Stanley makes about water and the like. The change we have made to allow developer-led infrastructure in smaller communities will make a difference in County Laois, as will the rural planning guidelines, which I expect to go to Cabinet next week.