Paul Murphy

The average rent is now more than €2,000 a month. Rents are rising faster than ever. It is a nightmare for renters and it is getting worse. The Minister for housing is speaking to the media, saying there has to be a change in the rent pressure zones. Extra fear is being felt by these renters that a landlords' government will allow landlords to hike their rents even faster. It is happening in the m…

The Minister needs to come into the House, outline his plans and allow them to be debated.

Residents in Applewood in Swords are facing eviction by their corporate landlord, LRC. There is no good reason for these evictions. These are no-fault evictions. LRC is refusing to offer further Part 4 tenancies, through a legal loophole which allows landlords to evict tenants without reason at the end of a tenancy if it was created before 11 June 2022. This is a tried and tested tactic by LRC. It…

8. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Justice, Migration and Social Affairs will next meet. [22477/25]

Last week, South Dublin County Council passed a People Before Profit motion to allocate long-term housing to victims of gender-based violence leaving short-term refuges. Official figures show that 32 households fleeing domestic violence were forced into emergency accommodation from January to March. However, according to service providers this massively understates the problem. The housing crisis …

18. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach to report on his recent discussions with President Zelenskyy. [22478/25]

From the outset of Putin's criminal invasion of Ukraine, we pointed out that US involvement there was not driven by any concern for self-determination and the interests of ordinary Ukrainian people but was instead driven by its own strategic interests. That has become undeniably clear under Trump. It is clear the US is only interested in Ukraine insofar as the people of Ukraine can be used to weak…

I am just saying what is happening.

It is not happening for housing. It is not happening for healthcare.

22. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with rural affairs and community development will meet. [22479/25]

There is a chronic shortage of public health nurses in Tallaght and across the South Dublin County Council area. Babies are going without routine developmental checks, which are vital to spotting issues early and referral to appropriate services. Home-based catheterisation is another essential service that has been removed, forcing very ill patients to travel to clinics to access it. The HSE has s…

I thank Cara Darmody for forcing this issue onto the Dáil agenda. Her bravery in protesting outside the Dáil for 50 hours has forced the Government to sit up and pay attention. However, I want to make a very obvious point: that it is a disgrace that Cara and other disability campaigners, including the parents of children with additional needs, are having to resort to sleep-outs outside the Dáil to…

2. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is concerned that housing delivery is at risk because of an inability of new houses to be connected to the electricity grid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24653/25]

Is big tech's insatiable demand for energy to power data centres being put before the need to address the housing crisis? The recent CRU report suggests housing delivery is at risk because of the inability to connect new houses to the electricity grid as a result of the insatiable demand of data centres.

Let me quote from the recent CRU paper on policy on the connection of data centres: ESB Networks has highlighted risks that, in the absence of an adequate policy response, the potential level of data centre demand could significantly impact its ability to accommodate demand connections required to support Government policy targets such as 550,000 new homes by 2040 … It goes on to give the exampl…

What is the response of the Department and Government? Is it to put a pause, at least, on data centres? Is the Government’s response to state, at least, that housing takes priority? The CRU is saying to the Minister very clearly that we are adding electricity capacity and that, because of the first-come, first-served nature of the system, it is being gobbled up by data centres. Let us get real abo…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The general election campaign for Fine Gael got off to a very bad start because a video emerged of Michael O'Leary launching the election campaign of Deputy Peter Burke, now the Minister responsible for this area, including, unfortunately, workers' rights, saying the things Fine Gael and its supporters say to each other when they think videos are…

I thank all colleagues in all the Opposition parties who supported our Bill. I just point out that we will finish ten minutes early. The reason is that the Members of the Lowry group who fought so hard to get their time to speak on these matters presumably do not consider it important to come and speak about trade union rights or maybe they are embarrassed because they will be voting against trade…

I wish to share time with colleagues.

The target of ten weeks waiting time is a pretty sick joke for those who are waiting months to get driving tests that they absolutely need to be able to get around to do their jobs, collect their kids and do all of the things that, for many people, mean driving is essential in this country as it currently is. A year ago, the average waiting time was 15 weeks, not the target of ten weeks; in Januar…

More than 14,000 children are now waiting for assessment of needs. The Government is breaking its own law for 90% of the assessment of needs that are carried out. They are not carried out within the six months legal timeframe. You have an incredible situation where a 14-year-old, Cara Darmody, feels compelled to sleep outside for 50 hours to fight for the rights of her brothers. She really should …

5. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the National Economic and Social Council, a statutory agency operating under the aegis of his Department. [17101/25]

The collapse of the houses at the canal yesterday encapsulates the scandal of dereliction and vacancy in this country. There are 160,000 vacant properties, 50,000 of which have been vacant for six years or more. Despite the immense housing crisis and the fact that over 15,000 people are living in emergency accommodation right now, the Government has done very little to address this. These homes w…

19. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Northern Ireland will meet next. [17102/25]

We must never accept the Tory or media narrative that often scapegoats and demonises migrants. "Problems of low pay, housing and public services are not caused by migrants – they are caused by a failed economic model." Keir Starmer wrote that in 2020. However, after Labour took a hammering in the recent elections, the British Prime Minister has reversed course. Mr. Starmer has not reversed course …