Thomas Gould

How many Members are looking to speak? We could divide it.

I support this amendment. Deputy Ward has tabled an important amendment. I ask the Minister to take it on board. If he does not take it on board now, I ask him to incorporate it when he is looking at this legislation and other legislation. What we have now is that the money made on the back of some of the communities that are most affected by drug dealing and criminality is not going back into tho…

As my colleague said, we are supporting both these motions. At committee, the Minister said these exempted developments have been hugely successful. While I believe commercial units being returned as homes is a good thing, it has not reached the potential it could. We look at villages and areas that I represent like Blackpool in Cork city, one of the oldest, most historic villages and parts of Cor…

The one word to describe the action that the Minister and the Government have taken is "cruel". It is cruelty towards some of the most vulnerable people in this State. It is mean. Will the Minister not make a decision? Will she not stand up to whoever behind the scenes is forcing her to make this call? She should decide not to let down pensioners, the disabled or the most vulnerable. How can she j…

That was not a shout. The Minister will hear me in a minute. I will be shouting.

A total of 93 families in Cork will spend their Christmas in homeless accommodation. Five of them will have been in homeless accommodation for over three years. This year, the Government will spend €21 million housing these families while there are hundreds of boarded-up council houses in Cork that could be turned around. These are places where children could have a proper Christmas and hang stock…

The scheme is closed.

The Government is spending €21 million on homeless accommodation.

You are the Minister. I am not talking about local authorities. You are in government.

One second, I asked a question.

I asked a question but the Minister is talking about local government. He is the Minister representing the Government here today. He is the person who should give the answer. He should not blame local government. He wants to blame local government and Irish Water.

I welcome this Bill being brought forward. It is actually quite common sense. It could have gone further but I respect that the Deputy is trying to make a really big first step, which is important. We are now being recognised as the European capital for breeding dogs and pups. There are a lot of things we want to be top of the list for in Europe but that is certainly not one we want to be seen as,…

Once again, we have Fianna Gael and their pals Fianna Fáil pointing to problems without doing anything to actually resolve them. You would swear this happened yesterday and that it has not been around for years, but it has. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments since 2011 and beyond have failed to act. Now, there is talk about doing pilot schemes. The Tánaiste said he is considering a ban on socia…

Why must families in the State fight for everything? Why can children with additional needs and special needs not get what they need? Why can they not get what they are entitled to? They are children of this State. This is a fundamental human right - a right to education, a right to healthcare, and a right to be treated with respect and dignity. I have been coming in here for the last six years, l…

9. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he has met with the Revenue Commissioners to discuss the new derelict sites tax. [63073/25]

Will the Tánaiste update the House on whether he has met the Revenue Commissioners to discuss the new derelict sites tax? Will he consider starting the collection of the derelict sites tax on 1 January 2026 or early 2026, and not 2027?

The Revenue Commissioners taking over the collection of the derelict sites levy is one thing we can support. It is something Sinn Féin has been advocating for years. My worry now is this: for how long more will land hoarders and speculators who are sitting on sites be able to get away with it? Cork City Council is one of the best local authorities at implementing the levy but it is still only coll…

The Tánaiste and the Minister, Deputy Browne, have said that this tax will get more derelict sites turned into housing delivery, which I support. If housing delivery is not happening, the tax must hurt those who are abusing their communities. When I walk around a brilliant European city like Dublin, I look at the dereliction. It is the same in my own city of Cork. It drags the whole city and commu…

You are giving it to the speculators. Three quarters of a billion.

Three quarters of a billion.

The Minister does not understand the damage that he does and that Governments have done when they announce a new housing plan. It takes a year to deliver but what a Minister does when he announces a new housing plan is create hope. People are so desperate for housing they would do anything. They look at their Government as they wait for its plan. It has caused devastation to ordinary people becaus…

Hear, hear.

About 15 years ago, when I was a county councillor on Cork County Council, I put forward a similar motion looking for a proportion of all major Government contracts to be given to either local workers or to ensure that apprentices were being hired. At the time, I was told we could not do that because of EU procurement law. I went and researched it, and it turns out that Germany, Italy and other Eu…

At last week's housing committee I asked the Minister whether this Bill would lead to more homes being delivered, and he could not give me a straight answer on that or on why he was bringing these regulations forward. Is this more developer-led lobbyist-influenced policy or is it simply that there are problems that should not be there and now the Minister is trying to fix them? To give the Minist…

The law will change in March.