Micheál Martin

-----through the reduction of VAT to 9%. That was a significant measure, which was attacked by large elements of the Opposition at the time. We put huge equity into EirGrid and we have put substantial equity into Irish Water, all designed to accelerate infrastructural development. We did that at the very beginning of the Government through the national development plan and through budget allocatio…

We have resourced An Coimisiún Pleanála quite substantially and the feedback now is that far more timely decisions are being taken by An Coimisiún Pleanála in respect of planning permissions. There is a much more positive feel about the changes we brought about some years ago to An Coimisiún Pleanála. The Planning and Development Act is having an impact. Reform to judicial review will also have an…

There is no doubt that population growth is a factor. It went up 8.5% between 2020 and 2025. If we go back to 1995, the population has increased by 52%. There are positives in this because we had been declining up to the 1960s and 1970s as a population down to 3 million. I am not clear on what the Deputy is suggesting. It is not easy to unwind that. There is no question a significant proportion of…

I am interested in the Deputy's debate. I am trying to have a sensible debate about it and not one that gets me attacked because we are having the debate. Please allow me to respond. The bottom line is our health and care sectors are significantly dependent on migration. Look at the financial sector and the technology sector.

We cannot unwind an economy simply by saying no one else is allowed in.

Of course it is a factor. There is no question it is a factor.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. We should say the first priority of the Government and the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is to get more gardaí on our streets. This is manifesting itself, particularly in our larger cities. There has been positive feedback to the numbers coming out of Templemore and there has been greater visibility, particularly last winter, but we need to spread that …

I thank the Deputy for her advocacy for Blanchardstown and TU Dublin. I have identified a group that has been established. I think former Secretary General Jim Breslin chairs that group with senior officials representing the Department of justice, An Garda Síochána, the Department of further and higher education, the Office of Public Works and the Higher Education Authority. It first met in Januar…

In the most recent budget, we gave the largest ever single year increase in disability services. It went up 20%, which was €628 million. That is what happened with disability services in that budget. In addition to that, there have been significant increases to core payments and domiciliary care increases,. One-off payments for all were removed because they could not continue forever. We cannot do…

Work is ongoing on the cost-of-disability payment. There was a good summit recently. We have to engage with the sector before it is designed. The Deputy should not pretend it can be done at the stroke of a pen. It cannot, and she knows that well.

I heard about that last week, and I am making inquiries on that and organising a series of meetings.

I am not clear as to why the cafe has to close for six months, to be frank. I will pursue that with security and so on. I will do that. On the hospitality sector more generally, thousands of people work in the hospitality sector. A lot of young people and students work in the sector and so on. It is a cynical Opposition play to talk about McDonald's. They are all owned by franchisees. The Deputy …

Why does she keep on talking about the big boys? It is individual franchisees in any of these chains. She knows that. The bottom line is we have to sustain employment in domestic services sectors as well.

Fianna Fáil has not abandoned ordinary people. The highest number of social houses built on record was built last year - 9,000 new social houses. That is the way to deal with the housing crisis which has led to the rent increases.

We are about building more homes but you are not. You are just thinking about savings schemes.

You are not.

You have a challenge. It is not good enough to come in and attack the Government all the time and come up with nothing yourself.

And that has been the subject-----

I have looked online and looked at your proposals. They are empty.

Empty.

That is not my view. Anybody could go and look at it.

We will do our housing construction agency when we get around to it. For God's sake, come on.

Rents are too high overall. No-one is arguing about that. There is a lot of pressure on people. Supply is the only way to deal with it. What I would say on the reforms that came in is that the six-year tenancy rule is a very significant enhanced protection for existing tenants. Nothing like it was in place before. We are dealing with new tenancies here in terms of the Daft.ie index, but the vast m…

-----to get to the €20 billion the Central Bank says is required to deal with the demand that is out there in respect of housing supply.

I thank the Deputy for raising this. I will talk to the Minister for housing in respect of this. We should be trying to streamline the whole system, which we are doing. People are waiting for OT reports and so on and the idea of paying in instalments pending the receipt of the report is a valid option. We would like to see greater simplification of the requirements overall to speed up the whole ap…