Jack Chambers

The Government's policy on housing is what we have set out in our housing plan. The series of actions the Minister, Deputy Browne, has taken to ensure that young people can build a future and set up roots here, and the many interventions we have made in terms of the viability of housing and the increased provision in our national development plan for social and affordable homes, are all about ensu…

I appreciate the Deputy raising that issue. I do not have an up-to-date position on the matter, but I will ask the relevant Department Minister to respond to the Deputy.

I move the following Excess Vote: Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Statement of Excess) That a sum not exceeding €9,680 be granted to make good an excess on the grant for State Laboratory for the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2024.

I move the following Supplementary Estimates: Vote 7 — Office of the Minister for Finance (Supplementary Estimate). That a supplementary sum not exceeding €1,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2025, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Finance, including the Paymaster General’s Of…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Scheme in draft: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) (Revocation) Scheme 2025, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 2nd December, 2025.

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Scheme in draft: Credit Institutions (Eligible Liabilities Guarantee) (Revocation) Scheme 2025, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 2nd December, 2025.

I want to start by welcoming Deputy Boyd Barrett back to the House. It is wonderful to see you back healthy and well. You spoke with enormous candour and bravery publicly, which has helped many people who are experiencing cancer in their own lives or their families’ lives. I acknowledge that. It is great to have you back. You are certainly back in action, and I look forward to our engagement later…

-----about managing demographics and the risks and concerns around global trade.

That is why this Government has done that in budget 2026.

We have not taken the popular measures which Sinn Féin presents every week on additional temporary measures that are not sustainable in overall economics.

I am being very honest with people when it comes to the need to have a broad-based system of taxation to manage the economy. The Deputy is being dishonest when it comes to his approach to managing the economy. Sinn Fein’s alternative budget would have increased net expenditure by up to 14%. That is a reckless approach. It would undermine the foundations of our economy and it would cause serious ri…

I will not take lectures from Deputy Cullinane or anyone from Sinn Féin when it comes to economic management. Their party leader has said in recent years that demographics will look after themselves. Has she read any report? Have any of their finance spokespeople read any report on the wider long-term trends for our economy?

Sinn Féin's approach to everything is providing for a massive increase in expenditure, abolishing and narrowing different areas of taxation, and imposing greater taxation on jobs and enterprise in our economy. It would undermine all opportunities for growth.

That is why our approach in budget 2026 is progressive, fair, sustainable and targeted for those most in need.

The report from the Department of Finance is not a projection. It looks at over 2,000 scenarios on a no-change policy basis. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, was very clear yesterday that we are changing policy on an ongoing basis when it comes to infrastructure and housing, and we have more to do. We have a new housing plan being published in the coming weeks. We will have significant infrastructure…

That is a measure which enables infrastructure and growth to be developed to build more homes across our economy. I ask Deputy Bacik to look at her own party. One of her own councillors is involved in judicial review proceedings against the new apartment guidelines, which will deliver more apartments and more units in our economy.

We need to complement the State investment in housing with a market that is viable and can work. The Labour Party has attacked builders and developers in relation to the VAT cut. That is all about having viability in the market. If we are serious about delivering housing and more apartments, we must have a viable market to deliver more homes. Many families and workers across our economy want to se…

We are absolutely fronting up to our responsibilities. I welcome any constructive suggestions on policy but a lot of the policy that is coming from the Opposition is just for more spending. The State has fronted up to that question when it comes to the national development plan - over €100 billion of spending in the next five years. The strategic focus is on infrastructure, housing, water infrastr…

We would have less housing supply. That has been Labour's approach. Its councillor is involved in a judicial review-----

-----on apartment guidelines. The Labour Party needs to be responsible as a party in stopping such a proposal.

I share the Deputy's concern, as I know everyone in this House does, about the ongoing climate crisis. The work ongoing at COP at an EU level is all to ensure the European Union continues to show leadership when it comes to domestic policies but also to be responsible internationally when lots of world leaders and countries are backsliding on climate action. The work the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, …

Last January, Ireland hit a really important milestone of hitting 5 GW of installed onshore wind capacity. That is significant progress towards our 2030 target. We were ranked second in the world in 2023 for onshore wind generation.

A significant amount of auctions have happened for offshore wind generation, as the Deputy is aware. They are working their way through their respective development processes. What we are trying to do is to accelerate that so we can deliver greater offshore renewable energy. Part of the problem with bringing people with us on climate change is reflected in the Deputy's remarks on farmers and agri…

If we weaponise climate action, as the Deputy has done-----

-----we will not be able to take the climate action that centrist politics needs.