Simon Harris

We can come back to that in a moment. Other actions needed include: resourcing An Bord Pleanála properly; enacting and commencing the various provisions of the Planning and Development Acts in order that we can speed up the delivery of planning, because planning decisions are holding back the delivery of homes and infrastructure; increasing the zoned land for housing, and that is what the national…

No, just yours. The misleading of people in relation to Irish Water is your fault.

We have been very clear that we are going to have to spend an awful lot more on Uisce Éireann. I met with the chief executive of Uisce Éireann for a number of hours last Friday. Uisce Éireann has presented to the Government real plans that if we can provide it with significant additional capital funding over the summer period in the context of the review of the national development plan, it will b…

I am not sure who is playing leader of Sinn Féin today, whether it is you or Pearse. I am not sure whether this is the audition for the next leader of Sinn Féin but I would like to speak, if that is okay.

We will publish a new housing plan-----

They do not want an answer because they are not about the answer.

May I speak? I am sure Pearse does not need your help.

We are going to produce a new housing plan in July. Deputy Doherty can be quite assured that part of that new housing plan will be significant additional funding and enabling provisions for Irish Water and, indeed, for energy. We have been clear, and we were very clear in the election, about what we would do with the proceeds from the Apple account in terms of how that money would be deployed. I …

Over the past number of years I have been in government, we have seen a very significant increase in the number of homes delivered in this country. We saw 133,000 new homes delivered between 2020 and 2024, with 92,500 of them delivered between 2022 and 2024. Deputy Doherty never acknowledges that bit. He never acknowledges that we have rebuilt a construction sector and rebuilt an economy, that we …

-----if Deputies want to work constructively and not politicise the issue of housing, to actually make real progress in the time ahead. We now have the legislative background-----

I am not going to be shouted down by the Deputy. I am going to speak, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Between now and the month of July, we are going to work on a housing plan; not a glossy document but a targeted list of actions we can take in relation to water, energy and planning that will get us to 300,000 homes. I assure Deputies we have the money and capital to make this happen. What we now need is political support across this House and in communities to drive on delivery.

I hope the Deputy will support the establishment of a housing activation office that will do exactly what he said, which is bring in people from Irish Water and the local authorities and put them in an office working together to break down those silos so we can deliver the homes for our people.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He is right. This is an area where a significant amount of work is needed to make progress. There is no doubt about that. I would make the point at the outset that I do not think any one strand of work will get us to where we need to get. We will need to do four or five very significant things at the same time and this is the focus of the Government, incl…

There is an agreed way forward. We have a very clear view forward regarding amending and reforming the legislation and the model around assessment of need and we want to work with people in good faith to get this right, including, most importantly, parents and those who carry out assessments of need - the clinical professions. The House can expect engagement from us on that very shortly. We have …

We are not standing over any false narrative. We are reiterating long-standing foreign policy and, I think, the long-standing policy of the people of Ireland that there needs to be a two-state solution in the Middle East, that the State of Israel has every right to exist in peace and security and that the people of Palestine have every right to a sovereign state that exists in peace and security. …

I have just said that. Israel is committing genocide.

I will shake my head if I want to, Deputy Connolly.

I will stand up.

I hope I will get an extra 38 seconds as well-----

-----because there was the greatest load of palaver levelled at me there.

Deputy Connolly has such vitriol for and dislike of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil that she cannot ever actually come above and rise to the moment. Ours is the first Government in the European Union to say that what Israel is doing is genocide. Do you hear that, Deputy? It is genocide.

Israel is committing war crimes, and we will pass the occupied Palestinian territories Bill.

We will pass that.

We will pass it as quickly as possible.