2026-01-27

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Eighth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Commission on the Future of the Family Farm Bill 2024 (without debate) - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the exercise by the State of Article 20 of the Treaty on European Union authorising enhanced cooperation on the establishment of a Loan for Ukraine (to conclude within 60 minutes and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025 (Second Stage) (to adjourn after 90 minutes) Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Emergency Mental Health Services, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - Statements on the Infrastructure Plan (to conclude within 2 hours and 25 minutes) - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Signing of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data* - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data* *Two separate motions – to commence no earlier than 4.30 p.m.; to be debated together and brought to a conclusion within 1 hour, with questions to be put on each motion separately - International Protection Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to adjourn after 3 hours and 24 minutes) - Revised Estimates for Public Services 2026 [Votes 11, 12, 14, 15 and 17-19] (back from Committee) (without debate and to be moved together and decided by one question; any division claimed to be taken immediately) Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Emergency Winter Payment for Disabled People, selected by Social Democrats. Thursday's business shall be: - Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025 (Second Stage, resumed) (if not previously concluded, to adjourn after 1 hour and 54 minutes) Thursday evening business shall be the Second Stage of the Regulation of Drones Bill 2025, sponsored by Deputy Roderic O’Gorman. Proposed Arrangements for this week’s business: In relation to Tuesday’s business, it is proposed that: 1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders: (a) the time allocated to Government business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business and the Dáil may sit later than 10.48 p.m.; and (b) private members’ business shall be taken following proceedings on the Second Stage of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025, with consequential effect on the commencement times for the items following in the ordinary routine of business; 2. the proceedings on the Motion re Eighth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 3. the proceedings on the Motion re Commission on the Future of the Family Farm Bill 2024 shall be decided without debate; 4. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the exercise by the State of Article 20 of the Treaty on European Union authorising enhanced cooperation on the establishment of a Loan for Ukraine shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto: (a)the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:- - opening speech by a Minister or Minister of State – 10 minutes; - speeches by representatives of Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, Social Democrats, Independent and Parties Technical Group, and Independent Technical Group – 7.5 minutes per party or group; - speeches by Other Members – 7.5 minutes in total; and - a speech in response by the Minister – 5 minutes; (b) members may share time; and (c) any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; and 5. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025, shall be interrupted and stand adjourned either after 1 hour and 30 minutes, or where no further member is offering, and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the first speaking round shall be in accordance with those contained in the table immediately below (to be read across, not down); and (b) members may share time. In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that: 1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders: (a) the time allotted for Government Business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business and the Dáil may sit later than 9.30 p.m.; (b) in the event that the Statements on the Infrastructure Plan conclude before 4.30 p.m., the sitting shall stand suspended until 4.30 p.m., when the order of business shall resume with the Motions on Proposals which recommend Council Decisions for the conclusion and signing of an agreement with the Swiss Federation on the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data; (c) any motions to be taken without debate shall be taken on the conclusion of proceedings on the Second Stage of the International Protection Bill 2026; and (d) the weekly division time shall be taken on the conclusion of proceedings on any motions without debate; 2. the Statements on the Infrastructure Plan shall not exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the statements, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the sequence contained in the table immediately below (to be read across, not down); (b) following the statements, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and (c) members may share time; 3. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Signing of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data and the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data shall be taken either at 4.30 p.m. or on the conclusion of the Statements on the Infrastructure Plan, whichever is the later and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto: (a) the two motions shall be debated together, with separate questions put on all proceedings thereon; (b) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:- opening speech by a Minister or Minister of State – 10 minutes; speeches by representatives of Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, Social Democrats, Independent and Parties Technical Group, and Independent Technical Group – 7.5 minutes per party or group; speeches by Other Members – 7.5 minutes in total; and a speech in response by the Minister – 5 minutes; and (c) members may share time; 4. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the International Protection Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned after 3 hours and 24 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the first speaking round shall be in accordance with those contained in the table immediately below (to be read across, not down); (b) where speeches conclude before the 3 hours and 24 minutes have elapsed and no other member is offering, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, whereupon proceedings shall be brought to a conclusion; and (c) members may share time; and 5. the following arrangements shall apply to the proceedings on the Motions for Revised Estimates for Public Services 2026 [Votes 11, 12, 14, 15 and 17-19]: (a) the motions shall be moved and decided together by one question which shall be put from the Chair; (b) the proceedings thereon shall be taken without debate; and (c) any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately. In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that: 1. notwithstanding, anything in Standing Orders: (a) topical issues may be taken earlier than 7.24 p.m. with consequential effect on the commencement time for Second Stage of the River Boyne Task Force Bill 2023, and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil; and (b) the Dáil on its rising today shall adjourn until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, 4th February, 2026; and 2. the proceedings on the resumed Second Stage of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025 shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned after 1 hour and 54 minutes, and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the speaking slots from the arrangements for the resumed first round from Tuesday 27th January, 2026 shall be continued from the point at which they were adjourned; (b) where speeches conclude before the 1 hour and 54 minutes have elapsed and no other member is offering, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and; (c) members may share time.

Are the arrangements agreed to? No, there is dissent.

The chairperson of Bord Bia has to resign. Every single farming organisation in this State has said it has no confidence in him and he has to go. How on earth can we have a chairperson at Bord Bia promoting Irish food abroad when the primary producers have no confidence in him and want him to go? This is a crazy situation. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, needs to sack him, simple as that, as called for by the farming organisations across this State. We need the Minister to come into the Chamber and account for this failure to act on the demands of the farmers across this country.

I remind Deputies they have 30 seconds each.

We need a serious discussion in here about Garda leadership, the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, after what happened in Limerick yesterday, where a retired superintendent and four gardaí were found innocent on 39 charges. That took seven years. How much did this bloody well cost the taxpayer, and it is not finished yet? It is not acceptable. We need a debate on this. The Garda Representative Association, GRA, has called it a witch hunt.

The Deputy has had 30 seconds. I call Deputy Gibney.

We need to discuss in this Chamber how this came about. The public demands answers.

The Taoiseach said in 2013 that the triple lock is at the heart of Irish neutrality. The Government proceeds to say it supports neutrality while it advances its plans to abandon the triple lock, even though, in poll after poll, the people say they want to protect Irish neutrality. We need a serious discussion about it this week.

One of the disastrous consequences of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act is that it will fuel even further homelessness and people being forced into emergency accommodation because they cannot find an affordable rental property. For weeks now I have been asking at the Business Committee for an emergency debate on the record levels of homelessness and people in emergency accommodation. There was the Simon Community report and I am getting loads of cases.

Thank you, Deputy.

I am getting elderly people as well as families.

Yes. The time is up. I call Deputy Michael Collins.

We need an emergency debate on homelessness.

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. We had a 70% cut on the mackerel fishing quota and the whitefish - haddock - close to the beginning of December, I think. A task force was meant to be set up but from that day until now, we do not seem to have heard anything. The fishing industry has very serious concerns that it is going to be forgotten yet again.

Thank you, Deputy.

We need a debate on the Dáil this week on where we are at in relation to compensation for fishermen.

Deputy Kenny, do yo have an amendment to move?

I do. Under Standing Order 35(3) I wish to amend Wednesday's business to include statements on the politicisation of the announcement of special classes, which is causing distress for families and school leaders. I raised this two weeks ago and it has happened again since that. I ask that time be allocated in this week's schedule to debate the issue.

Thank you. The Chief Whip to respond.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I will not be accepting that amendment. In relation to all the issues that were raised by the various spokespersons, we can consider all of them on Thursday. We have a really busy schedule in the next few days. We have the Child Care (Amendment) Bill this afternoon, there are two items of Private Members' business from the Opposition with one on mental health and the other on disability, we have statements on infrastructure and we have the International Protection Bill. The Order of Business stands as discussed last Thursday.

Thank you, Chief Whip. Are the proposed arrangements for the week's business agreed to and the proposed amendment negatived?

Not agreed.

Before we proceed, I urge members to stick to the minute allocated to them.

What does the Government have against renters? Its new legislation guts rent pressure zones and allows rents to be reset to full market levels between tenancies. From 1 March, this will have the effect of driving rents even higher. Who demanded the introduction of the Bill that has been brought forward? It was not renters, who are drowning under record rents, or small or medium-sized landlords. The Bill was written for one group only, namely the vulture funds and corporate landlords that are gouging renters month after month and charging €2,500 or €3.500 for very ordinary homes. From March, new tenants will be hit first. Students will then be hit. Year by year, increasing numbers of renters will be forced into paying uncapped market rents. The Residential Tenancies Board has indicated that one quarter of tenancies turn over every year. This means that means that within a few short years most renters will be paying full market rents and that rents will soar. This is the Government's choice. Can the Taoiseach accept that its legislation will increase rents for new tenants and, over time, for the majority of tenants?

The Deputy is engaging in polemic and political propaganda. The bottom line is that the legislation will not have any impact on the 240,000 people who are currently renting. The bottom line is that for the 240,000 people currently renting, this legislation will not have any impact. It is only for new tenancies that start on 1 March. The core element of this is national rent regulation. What we are talking about is national rent control across the whole country. This will strengthen protections for renters through the introduction of tenancies of minimum duration. It will mean an effective end to no-fault evictions, the establishment of a rent-price register and arrangements to reset rent market rate only every six years. Why is the Deputy against this?

And new tenancies.

Why is she against that level of protection for renters?

Hear hear.

I want to raise the emergency affecting communities across this island as a result of the fallout from Storm Chandra. A friend sent a photo of a woman's car floating in her driveway in south Dublin. Enniscorthy looks like a lake and the M50 was closed due to flooding earlier. There are power cuts, battered homes, stalled commutes and flooded homes. It is nearly a week to the day since the Government voted down a Labour Party motion on flexible and remote work, one that put forward practical ways of addressing the real difficulties so many people face due to congestion on our roads. Those difficulties were absolutely exacerbated today due to weather. People who are sleeping rough and in tents due to failures in housing are particularly vulnerable in storms and, of course, it is a year since the devastation of Storm Éowyn. Our thanks go to front-line workers fixing the mess. What does the Government have to offer households which will be struggling to meet their bills and to cope with the storm’s impact? What urgent support can be given to restore amenities, being conscious that local authorities have seen staff numbers falling and therefore have a shortage of staff to deal with the fallout?

Storm Chandra has had very severe impacts. High winds and heavy rain are being experienced across the country, with very significant impacts in the areas the Deputy has outlined. That is fully understood. It is why the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's national directorate of fire and emergency management met with all of the local authorities and the other key response agencies in advance of Storm Chandra to ensure preparation ahead of the storm. Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford and Cork were significantly impacted, but it is fair to say that flooding impacts are across the country. Bunclody and Enniscorthy in particular have experienced severe flooding to homes and businesses. Local authority teams are on the ground assisting. The Department of Social Protection will assist on the ground with households affected by flooding and provide immediate needs payments and other supports, where required. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment will activate the business and community flooding support scheme.

I call Deputy Gannon.

I return to the scourge of scramblers. Despite the assurance the Taoiseach gave earlier, the fact of the matter is it should not have taken as long as it has taken to get to this point. The legislation passed in 2023 to give effect to the control of scramblers and enforcement had provision for a prohibition on the use of scramblers in urban communities. Last night, I watched a person of extraordinary courage, Siobhán Lynch, 24 hours after the death of her daughter, stand in front of her community and family and say she would place her own devastation alongside her courage to campaign to end the scourge of scramblers in our communities. She will need support. Does the Taoiseach have a timeline for enacting a prohibition on the use and, I would argue, the sale of scramblers in our areas?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue, which, as he knows, was raised earlier.

Sorry.

I said-----

It does not matter. This is questions on policy and legislation.

I fully accept what Deputy Gannon said in relation to the courage, actions and compassion of Siobhán Lynch in terms of looking at the wider situation and making sure this will never happen again, and how devastating the loss of Grace has been for her mother, father and entire family. It is utterly devastating. The legislation passed in 2023 allows for the banning of such vehicles on public roads. That is something that will be done.

Did the Cabinet agree this morning to press ahead with abolishing the triple lock without holding a referendum? If it did, why is the Taoiseach reneging on the promises he personally made to the Irish people in order to get the Nice and Lisbon treaties passed? It now seems crystal clear, despite the Tánaiste promising me just last September that alternative safeguards would be introduced, that there will be no safeguards whatsoever to ensure our soldiers can only be sent on genuine peacekeeping missions. Has the Government rejected the all-party recommendation of the Oireachtas committee for a formal legal review to be carried out before Irish troops are sent into harm's way without UN approval? Under the new laws, the State could have sent troops to fight in Iraq. It would be able to send troops to fight and die for Trump wherever he decides to if it decides to go along with it.

I thank the Deputy. The time is up.

Instead of the Taoiseach taking these life-and-death decisions, why does he not allow the people to decide in a referendum?

The Taoiseach to respond. If the Deputy goes over the 60 seconds-----

He should make his arguments and we will make ours, and let the people decide in a referendum.

It is an absolutely ridiculous suggestion. We have a very honourable and proud peacekeeping reputation in this country. All Government parties are absolutely committed to that peacekeeping tradition. It is because of that tradition that we need to change the law. We cannot have Russia dictating when we enter a peacekeeping mission or not. That is the actual truth of it. The Deputy wants Russia, the US, China and the other P5 members to have a veto on when Ireland participates in peacekeeping.

I want the people to decide.

The Security Council has been paralysed for over two decades now. The situation has changed utterly. Where a country invades a European country, just as Russia has invaded Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of young people, the devastation of civilian infrastructure, the destruction of energy infrastructure, and the freezing of the people, the Deputy is saying it should have a veto on where our peacekeepers should go. Cop on.

I thank the Taoiseach. I call Deputy Michael Collins. The Taoiseach's time is up.

I am saying the people should have a right to decide.

That is enough, Deputy Murphy. I call Deputy Collins.

Why will the Taoiseach not give the people a referendum?

This is a straightforward question and Irish farmers deserve a straightforward answer. Did the Taoiseach or any member of his Government give any commitment or assurance, or make any side deal, formal or informal, to the European Commission to support, facilitate or not obstruct the approval of the Mercosur trade agreement? Yes or no? While on an official visit to China, the Taoiseach made statements that were widely understood at EU level as supporting Mercosur. Within 24 hours, that position changed. What exactly happened in that 24-hour period? What information emerged? What decision was taken, or what agreement fell apart that explains the reversal? There are claims circulating in Brussels that Ireland reneged on an understanding with the Commission to back Mercosur. Will the Taoiseach categorically state to this House whether that claim is true or false? If false, will he confirm that no such deal ever existed? Anything less than a clear answer leaves farmers entitled to conclude that something is being withheld.

The Deputy's assertion about my statement in China is incorrect. He should look at the transcript of it. I said on that occasion that progress had been made on the insertion of safeguards into the Mercosur agreement. Safeguards were introduced by comparison with where things were over a year ago. Significant safeguards were introduced. That is all I said, and that needed to be acknowledged. I also said we had deep concerns in respect of Mercosur beef standards and referred to looking for further measures. The agriculture meeting was due to be held that day in relation to sanitary and phytosanitary matters and a potential regulation of the Commission in respect of pesticides, standards and so forth. As the Deputy will note if he checks, I finally said the Fine Gael leader and I would meet the leaders of the Independent component of the Government that evening to formalise the Government's position, so there was no change between my statement that morning and our decision later.

I raise again the urgent need to improve services in Cavan and Monaghan for persons with disabilities. The present totally inadequate day activation unit at Rathcorrick, Cavan town, needs to be replaced with a modern facility that caters properly for the needs of service users. A new day activation unit must have the capacity to provide for increased numbers of attendees. The young adults in need of the service have waited for far too long for an appropriate modern unit. I am anxious to have the proposal for substantial investment in Drumlin House day services in Cootehill progressed quickly. New facilities are needed to provide properly for an increasing number of trainees. Day services, provided in an activation unit or training centre, are vital for the well-being of the young people, who, with their complex needs, face particular challenges day in, day out. I continue to support the parents in their efforts to have such proper facilities provided at both sites.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. Clogher House is a day activation unit premises based in Rathcorrick, County Cavan. The HSE advises that there is a comprehensive submission for capital funding for new day services and for premises to replace Clogher House, in line with the national HSE new directions policy for adult day services approved in 2024. HSE disability services and HSE Dublin and North East capital and estates concluded a tender process for a leasehold site in Cavan, which was approved in July of last year. Letters have now been issued to the successful and unsuccessful tenderers and once all outstanding issues are addressed, the HSE will look at engaging with the preferred provider on milestones and the programme of delivery. I will engage with the Minister, Deputy Foley, directly on the expansion and redevelopment of Drumlin House day services in Cootehill. I understand that an allocation of €7.5 million was provided towards the expansion of Drumlin House in 2024. I will further engage with the Minister in respect of that.

I want to shine a light on an anomaly that exists with regard to the eligibility for the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant. I refer to mature students, if you like, who continue to live at home with their parents for obvious reasons because they cannot acquire a property of their own. The parents' income is assessed as part of the eligibility, which is a little bit of a burden on the applicant. The same applies to students returning home from abroad. If they do not have private accommodation, or their own accommodation, they are assessed under the parents' means, which is a little bit unfair.

The issue of assessment for SUSI is a complex one in regard to the scenarios the Deputy described - a mature student over 23 years of age or an emigrant returning home. Perhaps it needs some investigation and revisiting. We are preparing budget 2027 at the moment. That work is under way. It will be guided by fairness and getting the most help to the most people. I will take on board the Deputy's comments and feed them into the discussion. If he wants to send me a note afterwards, I would be happy to take it and have a look at any examples the Deputy might want to highlight.

The tragic death of Grace Lynch, a young 16-year-old Finglas girl, has caused consternation and anger in our community. The illegal use of scramblers is a major issue in communities throughout the country. Recent legislation to deal with this, as we warned, did not go far enough. While there have been seizures of scramblers in Finglas and Ballymun, no charges have been brought in regard to their illegal use. The policy of not going after these scramblers gives them carte blanche to do what they want on our roads and streets and in our parks and is a recipe for further serious incidents. We need to look at strengthening legislation and giving the Garda the proper resources and training to tackle this scourge.

I thank Deputy Ellis and I fully appreciate his anger and that of the community he represents. Other Deputies have communicated that to me as well. First, the existing legislation is strong and needs to be implemented. If there is a need for further legislation, we will gladly work with the Deputy in that respect.

There are no penalties-----

Deputy, please. It is not back-and-forth.

We are seizing the vehicles but there are no penalties.

We will pursue that. We will work with the Deputy and others in the House-----

Please.

-----if there is a necessity to strengthen the legislation. The new Garda Commissioner spoke to the Minister for justice this morning. The Minister rang him and met him to discuss this. The issue of enforcement will be intensified in respect of scramblers.

And those wearing masks. We need to deal with them.

Deputy, please.

There is a pursuit policy there and obviously there are balances in regard to protection of lives and so on. I fully understand where the Deputy is coming from and the anger he has articulated on this.

Yesterday, I met with a delegation of former employees of CIÉ. They are members of a pension scheme who have not had an increase since 2008. That is 18 years, and we are all conscious of how the cost of living has increased during that period. Furthermore, to compound issues for members, many were paying a class of PRSI that allowed them no access to a contributory pension. They have been campaigning for a long time to have this issue resolved and last May, an agreement was reached between the trade unions and CIÉ management for a 5% increase. However, eight months later, the increase has not been applied. I understand it must go through a somewhat bureaucratic process with the Department of public expenditure and be approved by CIÉ. Could the Taoiseach discuss this with the Ministers, Deputies Chambers and O'Brien, to try to expedite the successful conclusion of the agreement?

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue in respect of CIÉ pensions. He is correct; an agreement was arrived at. I have spoken to both Ministers. My understanding is that nothing is holding it up and the Minister for public expenditure is clear that he wants this delivered. I will get full clarity and precision for the Deputy in relation to that but I am pursuing it as well.

First, I thank the Taoiseach for making his very successful trip to China and the rewards we got as a result of it. I raise the issue of Portarlington Garda station in County Laois and ask that its operation be restored to a full-time, 24-hour service. Portarlington is the second-largest town in Laois with a population of 9,000 people. The station serves not only itself but a wider area, including Emo, Killenard and Ballybrittas. It is a significant concern to the local community that this is a large area and served by a part-time Garda station. Residents do not have a nearby front desk and are forced to travel to Portlaoise for passport verification, to report incidents and to get community support. I recognise the work being done to strengthen Garda numbers nationally. However, given Portarlington's size, growth and location, I strongly believe the town needs a Garda station operating 24 hours a day. I ask the Taoiseach to engage with the Minister for justice and An Garda Síochána to make the opening of this station 24-7 a priority.

I thank the Deputy. It is a very sizeable and important town. Thankfully, we are getting numbers through Templemore with good flow and recruitment. I will talk to the Minister for justice in respect of the presentation the Deputy has made today to see what we can do to get that to a 24-7 service.

The Government has loads of money now.

Deputy, it is not back and forth.

The Government has loads of money. It was closed down when there was no money but now the Government has loads of money so I want it opened up again-----

Deputy, it is not back and forth.

We have to spend responsibly but I get the Deputy's point.

I know but you are spending very little. You will not take your hand out of your pocket at all.

Please, Deputy Aird. You will not be picked again if you cannot conform to the structure of the debate. I call Deputy Denise Mitchell.

The staff at Northside Home Care Services are back in work today after being on strike last week and they have not ruled out further action. These workers provide supports to some of the most vulnerable in our community. Some of the staff I met on the picket line in Coolock have been doing this job for over 25 years and they were not included in the pay deal for section 39 workers because they were reclassified. Instead of management and the HSE engaging with the union, the HSE threatened their jobs. It warned that it would organise replacement labour from private companies. Now we have the prospect of more industrial action throughout this sector. My question is: when are the workers who do the same work on behalf of the HSE going to receive the same pay for that work? Will the HSE engage with their unions as a matter of urgency?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. At one level it is complex but, at another level, it is straightforward, if that makes sense. There are issues there. We will talk to the Minister and the HSE to see if this issue can be satisfactorily resolved, averting any necessity for further industrial action. We appreciate the work that is being done there.

I have to plead with the Taoiseach to stop the rent reset that is going to be contained in the residential tenancies Bill. Since he made the announcement last year, he has unleashed havoc on thousands of renters out there who are facing a notice to quit this spring. This has been presented as short-term gain in terms of higher rents and evictions in order to get the longer-term gain of greater supply. It is utter nonsense. This is not some sort of diet. These are people's homes and they have nowhere to go. There are people coming through my clinics who are facing notices to quit. They have nowhere to go in the Dublin area, with rents of over €3,500. They cannot afford it and there is an irony here in regard to what the Government is introducing. The State is going to be on the hook for paying for these higher rents over the long term. My plea to the Taoiseach is to abandon the rent reset. There are other parts of this Bill that are very welcome, such as the rent register and other parts but the Taoiseach has to abandon the rent reset because we are throwing renters to the wolves. The last thing I want to say is that there are many of us in this House who are safe and secure in our own homes. We are not experiencing what renters are experiencing out there in terms of a precarious future with nowhere to live.

Over 240,000 people who are currently renting will not have their tenancies impacted by these measures.

But there is-----

No.

That is an important point. I welcome the fact that the Deputy is at least the first person on the left to welcome the rent price register. Listening to everybody else, you would imagine Armageddon was about to befall us and there was nothing at all to be recommended. This Bill fundamentally strengthens rent protection and protects renters much more effectively than anything that has gone before this legislation. The catalyst for this was the recommendation by the Housing Commission for the reform of the rent pressure zones because they were a temporary, ad hoc solution. They were never going to sustain. We needed clarity for investment into the future. We need investment, so the reset is important. We need investment down the line. We cannot provide the €20 billion per annum. We are doing about €9 billion per annum on housing. The Department of Finance says we need €20 billion between public and private to get 50,000 to 60,000 houses per year. That is the challenge. We need to get the right balance between protection of tenants and facilitating further investment in the market.

A public building has been vacant in my constituency for several years. I would like to know what the Government is doing to rehabilitate vacancy across public agencies, with value for money at the core of that. In October 2025, I asked Transport Infrastructure Ireland about a 125 sq. m vacant kiosk at the Ranelagh Luas stop in Dublin 6, to which it replied the long-term use was still being considered and it had no timeline for that use. It confirmed to me last week that it was requesting €500,000 from the National Transport Authority to bring it back into use just two years after it was last operational, but the final use was yet to be confirmed. As one commentor on a Reddit thread remarked, it is mad that a little place like that in one of the richest suburbs in the country is vacant. What is the Government’s policy on how long public agencies under its remit should take to bring vacant buildings like this one back into use?

We want buildings brought back into use as quickly as possible. We have the living city initiative and so on. With the greatest respect, we have given clear policy directions to public agencies but, as Taoiseach of the country, I cannot start arbitrating on every single building in every single area across the country. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that. It should get moving on it and get it sorted.

Is two years acceptable?

No, of course not. They should get it resolved.

I acknowledge that local authorities have autonomy in managing the defective concrete blocks scheme but yesterday homeowners were denied transparency. A decision was made not to livestream defective concrete committee meetings where important decisions are made about people’s lives. The councillors who voted against this access represent a deliberate and serious failure to meet acceptable standards of transparency. Homeowners want to know who supports them. The vote yesterday showed who did not support them. They shut people out of decisions that are being made about their lives. The public can and do see this is a betrayal. The country can see what is happening in Donegal. Denying access in these circumstances is unacceptable. These people are victims. What powers or guidance exists around transparency for homeowners? Does the Taoiseach agree that refusal is contrary to public interest, trust and transparency?

Refusal of what?

This is regarding the defective concrete committee meetings at council level. They were always broadcast live. A vote was taken yesterday to deny that and now they have been cut off.

I cannot be interfering in every single local authority in the country in respect of every procedural vote they have. We need to have some degree of balance in the House. I am not in the business of running Donegal County Council.

No, but this is the biggest scheme-----

I do not mean that in a facetious way but it is a fact. I am not aware of the precise nature of what transpired but the entirety of the council is made up of councillors democratically elected by the people of Donegal. Councillors take decisions on a regular basis, either weekly or whenever they meet. We have to have some balance on the separation of responsibilities - I will not say powers.