Micheál Martin

In the forthcoming budget, this Government will respond to those most in need. We will test Sinn Féin. This morning, I heard Sinn Féin's spokesman talking about universal benefits for the high rollers. That is what its spokesman, Deputy Doherty, said this morning, that he wants universal energy credits for the high rollers. I will test you and your commitment and principles. Will Sinn Féin agree t…

More fundamentally, the Deputy ducked and dived on the question of the free trade deal between Europe and Canada. It has brought huge benefits to working people in multinationals and Irish-owned companies.

Jobs ultimately put bread on people's tables.

Sinn Féin's economic approach to trade matters in particular - it has opposed this trade deal for years and yesterday, it could not agree if it supported it or not - is a fundamental point.

If we do not continue to expand and grow trade, we will reduce the capacity of ordinary working people-----

-----to deal with the cost of living.

The fundamental difference between the Government and the Opposition is that we are action-focused and get things done on housing. I do not like to put this to the Deputy but I have seen nothing in the Labour Party's policy proposals on housing that would build anything extra. All the policy instincts of the Opposition is to oppose any measure the Government has introduced in the past six months. …

The Government is simply saying we are maintaining and increasing public investment in housing from the State, the largest actor in housing right now, while also creating the conditions to facilitate far greater private sector investment in house building and apartment building in particular, which needs to increase. The fundamental way to deal with housing is to increase supply significantly over…

You do; you said it in your manifesto and you doubled down on it only last week.

If one looks at first-time buyers, for example, the percentage of first-time buyers has been steadily increasing, from about 25% of all purchases in 2015 to just under 40% in April 2025. Real progress has been made, through the help to buy scheme and first home scheme, in enabling first-time buyers to get into the market and get their first homes. About 119,000 first-time buyer mortgages were draw…

I have not even started yet on the range of measures we have taken in the past number of months.

First, we do take responsibility. We are leading and have taken measures. The Deputy does not like the new planning design standards for apartments but that is addressing-----

-----a viability gap. There will have to be a range of house and apartment types built. There will simply have to be to cater for different elements of the market. Some people have said outside of Government that this will be positive with regard to single people seeking housing and apartments also.

The single-stage approval process for all social housing projects under €200 million has been decided on by the Minister and also the RPZ reforms, which the Deputy opposed. That is an action the Government took that increased, by the way, protection nationally but that will also increase greater investment for the private sector.

The Deputy just said, "No, no, no". Any measure designed to bring any private sector investment into the market the Deputy says "no" to.

The Deputy does. She consistently says "no" to that. The review of the national planning framework-----

----enables us to zone more land and guess what? Some of you people will be out there opposing all of that too when it comes to the local authorities.

First, I take strong exception to the Deputy's assertion that the Irish Government is funding genocide. It most certainly is not and never has.

Hold on, now; do not be twisting. The Deputy knows full well that ISIF was established as a separate organisation in terms of all of its investment decisions.

The Deputy knows Government does not get involved in investment decisions by any fund that is established. He knows that is the case. In terms of this specific issue the Deputy raised this morning, I will follow through on that. I ask him not to make the assertion because he must understand and know that this Government is fundamentally opposed to the Israeli war in Gaza.

Surely the Deputy knows that.

Surely Deputy O'Callaghan knows that when he meets Palestinian representatives in this country. The Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, met the deputy foreign minister yesterday in Europe, and what was the response of the Palestinian deputy foreign minister? To thank Ireland for the role it has played in terms of the Palestine question.

I met Mr. Filippo Grandi this morning, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. What did he say to me? He said: "Your voice matters. We thank you for how you have articulated in respect of the Middle East and other issues." That is what international people are saying about Ireland - that Ireland has taken a strong position in respect of the Israeli war in Gaza, and also a strong position regarding …

-----before the ICJ under the Genocide Convention. Very few countries in the world have done that. The record is there with regard to the decisions taken by the sovereign Irish Government at every single forum, be it the European Union or the United Nations itself. That is fundamentally where we are as a Government, and we will continue to do that. The more fundamental issue is how we get Israel …

The United States has a key role-----