Rory Hearne

This motion gives the Irish Government the opportunity to fulfil its moral, ethical, legal and democratic obligations to act to prevent the genocide that is being committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Israel is pursuing a campaign of collective punishment against the Palestinian people, destroying entire cities and forced displacement camps where people have nowhere else to go. It is a…

That is not right.

When did I say that?

I never said there was no role for the market. That is a lie.

That is a different thing from-----

You are going to have to do more.

Until their tenancy ends.

When is a rent too high?

Today the Taoiseach said that rents are supposedly not going to increase but we know it is the case that rents will increase as a result of the measures brought in today by the Government. We are in the midst of an emergency that the Government accepts is an emergency, with rents higher than they have ever been in the history of the State - they are completely unaffordable and unsustainable - and …

Of course they can; they are doing it every day. How many evictions took place last year? There were thousands and thousands of evictions. They can evict a tenant through the sale of the property to a family member. Landlords are already on the radio saying that they are leaving properties vacant for two years so they can charge the market rent. They now know that next March, they will be able to …

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion today on voids in council housing. I have worked for many years in the area of public and council housing. One of the key issues is that local authorities, historically, for the past 30 or 40 years, have been not just undermined but effectively decommissioned in their role in housing. I remember this clearly from when I worked in council housing in…

Stop our Central Bank selling Israeli bonds then.

As the Taoiseach knows, a genocide is ongoing in Gaza now. The Central Bank of Ireland is facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds. I repeat that the Central Bank of Ireland is facilitating the sale of bonds funding genocide. Deputy Micheál Martin is the Taoiseach and leader of this country. Will he intervene with the Central Bank immediately, speak to the Governor and ask him to immediately stop Ir…

I am asking the Taoiseach to please intervene and stop the Central Bank facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds.

Will the Taoiseach intervene then in other ways?

You have been in government for five years.

The horror going on in Gaza right now is beyond words. The UN reports that 14,000 babies could lose their lives in the next 48 hours unless aid is allowed in. It also states that almost 1 million children are at risk of famine. More than 16,000 children have been bombed and murdered by Israel in Gaza. These numbers, every single one of them, represent a child with parents. How can we as a common h…

Under Standing Order 35(3), I would like to propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister for housing come into the House and take questions on the housing emergency. It can no longer be called a crisis; it is an absolute disaster. Commencements of residential units have collapsed to a ten-year low. The Government's plan is failing disastrously. Does the Minister have any-----

-----ideas to turn this around? He needs to come into this House and tell us his plans.

My question also asked about the Minister for housing.

I asked a question specifically about the Minister for housing.

Is there not an obligation to respond?

The Taoiseach probably saw the figures yesterday that showed that the average rent in this country is now over €2,000. My question is simple and straightforward. The Taoiseach and his Government accept that the housing crisis is no longer just a crisis. It is an emergency. How, in that context, can he agree with the Minister for housing, who said, as quoted in the Irish Examiner yesterday, that th…

Because we also said there needed to be a period of time.

The rent caps. That is what I raised.