Simon Harris

That is not true.

You went into last year's election promising people an average €300,000 home in Dublin, but you could not tell us how you were going to pay for it or make it happen. We are all working to try to improve the housing situation. Here are some facts: planning permissions are up this year and last year; there have been more first-time buyers this year than last year; and there have been more home compl…

That is positive news.

House prices are still too high. While we have seen some signs of moderation-----

-----the way we need to drive them down and see further progress is with more supply which is priority number one for this Government.

I thank Deputy O'Callaghan. I wish him, his family, his Social Democrats colleagues and everybody a happy Christmas. I think the broadcasting issue he mentioned is a matter for the Oireachtas rather than directly a matter for the Government. As the leader of a political party in the Oireachtas, I am happy to engage with other parties in relation to the issue of the Oireachtas broadcast workers. It…

My apologies if the Deputy thought I had not acknowledged the damaging effect of homelessness on a child. Of course I acknowledge it. It is a statement of fact. The Government works constructively with local authorities and others night and day to try to remove children from homelessness. I wish to make a statistical point, but I do not make it to take away from the seriousness of the issue, beca…

We have to consider all these issues in the round. Yes, we have seen far too many children in homelessness and emergency accommodation. That is a statement of fact. We are not where we need to be. That is why I have outlined how we intend to take specific actions under the new national housing plan. It is why the Minister, Deputy Browne, has taken measures to provide ring-fenced funding to local a…

On the Oireachtas TV unit, we should work together on this issue. To be clear, however, it is one for the Oireachtas Commission, on which all political groupings are represented. It is not an issue of Government-----

My apologies. Many groupings are represented, and I am sure the voices of the Deputies opposite will be heard. That is the forum at which this needs to be resolved. The Government may have corresponded previously on this with the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. We should engage on this and we are happy to do so. I thank the Deputy for putting a human face on the issue of homelessness. He was…

I find myself conflicted. I agree with the Deputy on some points but some of the others are not of a fair reflection. We have taken a number of measures to try to protect people in their tenancies. When this Government, albeit a different version, came to office in January, I do not think many people on the Opposition benches predicted that we were going to extend the rent-pressure zones, make the…

-----for tenants.

A whole series of new measures will be coming into place for 2026, as the Deputy knows. On the 9% VAT rate for apartments, we debated these financial resolutions here. That measure does not just benefit developers - although I am pleased it is benefiting people who are building more private apartments because we need more private supply and private investment - it also benefits AHBs. It will bene…

Let me try. I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for raising the issue. It is highly unlikely that there will be a vote before the end of the year. That is indicative of the fact that I do not believe that the blocking minority has disappeared. The programme for Government sets out two things. It states that Government will oppose the Mercosur deal in its current form and, I am paraphrasing here, that we w…

First, if we have not let me join with France in saying I do not believe the vote should take place in the calendar year 2025. I also do not believe it will because unless everybody is saying very different things in different countries, I believe there is currently a blocking minority in relation to Mercosur. I share the French position that there should not be a vote on Mercosur this side of Chr…

Sure. We have very serious concerns about the Mercosur agreement. Some of what we have seen in the Irish Farmers’ Journal heightens that concern. The Deputy is right. However, to be honest to farmers, we have always said that Ireland on its own cannot stop Mercosur. It is about like-minded countries and whether there is critical mass.

That work is ongoing. The Deputy has a job to do and he does it well, I do not say that critically. However, the Irish Government has to work behind the scenes diplomatically and engage with those like-minded countries. I can absolutely assure the Deputy that work is under way.

I thank Deputy Daly for raising this important matter. I assure him, as he knows, that this Government is absolutely committed to ensuring high-quality regional connectivity in the west. We have demonstrated that by the progression of a number of projects, including the project on the N5 in recent years. The recently published sectoral investment plan for transport reaffirms the NDP commitment to…

I thank Deputy Daly. He has outlined to us quite correctly a number of the challenges being faced in terms of the road infrastructure in Roscommon, Boyle and the region, whether the heavy volume of traffic or the safety issues, which are really important. I am struck by how every morning, including today, we wake up, look at our newspapers and news bulletins and see more fatalities and tragedies o…

It has been, but it is important we are honest with fishermen. I would like to know which fishing representative body does not feel that I showed up or that the Taoiseach showed up, considering I met them, and I was in touch directly with the European Commission. The Taoiseach met them, as did the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, a dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries, an…

I wish a happy Christmas to the Deputy, her family and her Labour Party colleagues. I too welcome the developments at an EU level this week. I acknowledge the contribution of her party colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. She will also understand why I acknowledge the contribution of Regina Doherty, who is on that committee in the European Parliament. We now have a housing Commissioner and a committee of …

The rules of the House are one thing but Deputy Hearne is rightly highlighting a very important issue. As a constituency TD, I absolutely do consider this. I also consider it as the Tánaiste. Everybody in this House considers what more we can and must do in relation to child and family homelessness. We have different policy perspectives that we debate in this House. It is not a question of people …

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Nobody wants to see anybody on hunger strike or to see anybody get ill arising from that. I note he took the opportunity of the presence of the British ambassador in the House today to raise his concerns in relation to this. I will also relay those concerns to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.

I thank the Deputy for making the effort today with his Christmas jumper and for injecting a degree of Christmas cheer into this place. I wish him, his family, colleagues and staff a very happy Christmas too. The factual answer in relation to a Dublin allowance is that all of these issues are matters for pay agreements. It is for the unions and the Government side to bring proposals to the table.…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge that this is something that has been going on for quite a significant period and it is understandable that people want to a resolution to this as quickly as possible. When I leave the Chamber I will ask the Minister for communications for a direct update on the timeline in relation to that and he will make contact with the Deputy on that lat…