Ivana Bacik

-----as a stopgap measure while we are bringing in structural-----

Yesterday the Taoiseach was asked about the Baggot Street Hospital, which is an iconic State-owned building in our city centre that has scandalously been left to fall into dereliction. Councillor Dermot Lacey and I have been raising the need for it to be given new life and given over to housing for years. I have heard of a private joke in one Department regarding robust campaigning by Labour repre…

Hear, hear.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I begin by offering our deepest condolences again to Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison, the parents of young Harvey Morrison Sherratt. I have spoken, as have my colleagues, with Gillian previously and we are thinking of them today, as indeed we are thinking of all the parents of children with scoliosis and spina bifida who have faced unconscionable delays and obs…

It is not the way-----

Cuirim fáilte roimh all the visitors in the Public Gallery and the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. The Taoiseach just said that housing is the single biggest issue facing us. We all agree on that but I do not know whether the Taoiseach agrees that the housing system is broken. It has been commodified and marketised. The private rental sector is filling the gaps left by lengthy social housing list…

Will the Government take a radical step to address this and prevent more children falling into homelessness and consider introducing a temporary eviction ban in cases where children are concerned?

I have listened carefuly to the Taoiseach's answer and every time I raise housing or the appalling and shocking figure of 5,000 children in homelessness with him, he engages in what I may describe as classic deflection tactics. Previously when I raised the failure to sustain the tenant in situ scheme, a scheme we welcomed, the Taoiseach blamed local authorities. Now he is blaming judicial reviews.…

We welcomed that and we welcomed tenant in situ but I am asking the Taoiseach this again.

I am putting forward to him a constructive way to address the scourge of child homelessness and he has not answered that question.

Evictions are hugely important.

This week marks Baby Loss Awareness Week, an opportunity for people to mark the personal tragedy of a pregnancy loss. Miscarriage in the later stages of pregnancy gives women the right to take maternity leave but those who lose a pregnancy earlier in the term have no right to paid time off work to recover. We in the Labour Party brought forward legislation to give women paid time off, up to 20 day…

9. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the economy, trade and competitiveness will next meet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50151/25]

Go raibh maith agat-----

Yesterday’s budget was a deep disappointment. There is real anger out there. The Government made choices in this budget that are impacting really adversely on so many people. As my colleague Deputy Nash said in what I think was the line of the day yesterday, this is a budget that is giving handouts to burger barons and big builders, but broken promises for everyone else. People see that, and this…

Certainly, in last year's budget there was a very different approach taken. It was a giveaway budget to buy people's votes. This year, the Government has made very different choices. Let us be clear about those choices. The Taoiseach referenced child poverty. We in Labour put forward last week a children's budget; a costed set of proposals that would have made meaningful steps to tackling the scou…

No reference to the shocking figure of 5,000 children in homelessness. No reference to the proposal to introduce a second tier of child benefit, which is a really meaningful way in which we could have tackled child poverty. As Deputy Sherlock said, this could have been the game-changer for children and child poverty. Instead, the Government has chosen to give over €600 million in a giveaway - a wh…

There was €600 million in the hospitality package.

Not substantial.

That is not true.

I first want to thank the Tánaiste for updating the House on the situation with the five Irish citizens illegally detained by Israel on the flotilla. We all think of our colleague, Deputy Heneghan, but also the writer, Ms Naoise Dolan, and the other citizens who were detained. Israel must be held accountable for the breaches of international law. The Tánaiste might please keep us updated on the fa…

It just came out this morning. The PBO tells us that child poverty will increase next year as a result of the budget measures. The Tánaiste said that we should look at the Government's documents. I have looked at this document. We see middle-income households are also hit. The guide provided at the back of the tax policy change document shows this. It shows the changes for different income levels…

The Taoiseach said the Opposition was anti-enterprise and not supportive of job creation. The Labour Party-----

Excuse me. Labour is the party of jobs. We have a proud record, uniquely in opposition, of job creation. We have a proud record of standing for workers' rights. We do not take economic growth for granted. We welcome measures to support innovation, Enterprise Ireland and the development of AI. We absolutely welcome these, but these positive moves the Government has made are overshadowed by what is …

It is an increase.