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their beds and for parents not having to worry about attacks on their home. The State has a responsibility to uphold these rights in every community. Yesterday The Irish Times reported 113 arson attacks on council properties were recorded by just 14 local authorities over five years, with … review of how threats and requests for help are managed and how families are supported? Will the Minister for justice report to this House next week on the wider response to drug-related intimidation? The response to these murders cannot be outrage today and forgotten tomorrow. The people

dependent children, those previously in the care of Tusla or living independently and those in receipt of State housing supports such as the housing assistance payment, HAP. At the end of January 2026, 11,850 people were on reduced rates of €163.70. My priority, rather than adjusting payment … good-quality offer of employment, education or training within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving education. The current approach strikes the right balance in supporting young people into employment. I have no plans to change the rates for young jobseekers at this time

last year, in August, but that is precisely the point. He announced the policy proposal last year, which is fine, and absolutely his right, but we are debating it, having voted on Second Stage just a few hours ago, and will do Committee and Remaining Stages in five … homeless people, and for half a million young people trapped at home. A system of misery has been widely created in the housing system, affecting many people. How did we get here? Shall we have a look at how we got here? If the Government accepts that

have said before that I do not think we are having a real conversation. I do not think we are asking the right questions, whether we are talking about drug gangs, young people who fall into crime or the chaos that is caused in communities where there … have the power. An Garda Síochána does not have powers. There are problems for local councils regarding people dealing drugs out of houses. We cannot look after the vulnerable or those who need addiction services, and we are failing communities

They are both targeted and will support those who are most hard pressed. I would say there is not a Member of this House who did not meet a schoolteacher or a principal in the lead-up to the budget or during the election campaign … business grant, that this had to be done on a broad level rather than bringing the knife down somewhere, with people on the right side and people on the wrong side of a decision, which provides uncertainty at a time when we need predictability. There is so much

information of the House, Committee Stage of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 is starting at 3.30 p.m. The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, will come in after I have spoken. Officials will take note of matters raised by all Deputies here and we will respond … over 500 capital projects, including 181 km of new overhead lines, 319 km of new underground cables, nearly 70 new and upgraded substations right across the country and over 50,000 pole replacements. The Government equity injection into the ESB will support the strength of its balance sheet

life medical card. Deputy Jen Cummins - To discuss core funding for Ballyfermot youth service. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss allowing allow for modular housing and low-cost sites. Deputy Barry Heneghan - To discuss the NTA proposed merger of the 130 Dublin Bus with the 80 bus. Deputy Erin … derelict hotel (details supplied) in County Galway. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss actions taken by Government in relation to ongoing human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party against the Uyghurs. The matters raised by Deputies Barry Heneghan, Jennifer Whitmore, Louis O'Hara and James Geoghegan have been

violence for profit. It destroys families, businesses, relationship and hope. It underpins so many of the issues we debate in this Chamber - housing, poverty, mental health, domestic abuse, crime and inequality. The raw reality of that world without filters or fantasy burnt a four-year-old child alive … considered. People deserve protection in life, not only in law. They deserve peace in their homes and on their streets. They deserve the right to enjoy the simple things like sitting in their own sitting room to watch television without fear. We owe that to Mary and little

over here. We are all saying there is not enough from Europe. I have sharp elbows and I can assure everyone in the House that when the time comes to fight the corner of agriculture at the Cabinet table, I will do that. However, if I do that … Then discussions at national and regional levels will be down the line. I will do everything in that regard at that point but right now, it is about getting Europe to recognise the importance of food security, as Deputy Smith has said. It is an integral part

intercity train station or, if not Adamstown, Kishoge, which is in the Clonburris strategic development zone. While Adamstown has 8,000 houses, Clonburris will have between 8,500 to 11,000. Adamstown’s projected population is 25,000. Clonburris could have anything up to 30,000. Adamstown … pressing need for these towns on the outskirts of Dublin, although they are in Dublin, to be treated in their own right as part of an intercity service. I note that, coming from Galway, there is one stop-off in the morning at nearby Hazelhatch and Celbridge. That

social housing use and to provide housing repair solutions to vulnerable war-affected populations. In addition, I am pleased to tell the House that Ireland has established bilateral co-operation with Lithuania and the European Commission on the construction of school bomb shelters in Ukraine. Russia … determination. Today, Dáil Éireann should honour their heroic efforts to defend their country and the fundamental freedoms that we in Ireland, and people right across Europe, hold dear and the basic right of all people to live peacefully, within their own borders, without fear of being attacked. While

confidence in this Government last night. It was the right thing to do. There is never a wrong time to do the right thing. It is a pity that some Independent TDs put their own political ambitions before the needs of ordinary workers and families. Ordinary workers … multitude of Government failures, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. We have record homelessness, rents and house prices are going through the roof, and people with disabilities are €1,400 worse off this year than they were last year. Children are waiting on life

They are telling their shareholders that increased profits are coming because of decisions taken by the Tánaiste and the Government. Yesterday in the House, Teachta Mary Lou McDonald revealed that IRES REIT, the largest private landlord in the State, is openly outlining how the Government's legislation will … Government, and that tens of thousands of renters had to start new leases last year. Who are these people? They are ordinary people right across the State who, under the Government’s rules, would face rents being reset to full market levels. Behind each of those numbers

wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Joe Cooney - To discuss the inclusion of mixed use properties in the vacant and derelict homes scheme … transport improvements in Chapelizod. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss qualification for carer's leave for teachers. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss ongoing human rights abuses against the Uyghurs. Deputy Conor D McGuinness - To discuss policing and community safety in Waterford. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss the need

construction. Nowhere is that more evident than in my own area of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. Across my county, we are not only meeting housing targets; we are on track to exceed them. I have spoken previously about Shanganagh Castle in Shankill. Five hundred and ninety-seven homes … work together with clear planning guidelines, strong partnerships, support by local councillors, which is an essential element to all of this, and the right tools to deliver. This Bill gives us one of those tools. It protects thousands of potential homes from expiring unnecessarily. It gives breathing space

UNRWA on the ground and providing vital humanitarian aid. To respond to the Deputy’s specific questions and for the interest of the House, when he talks about the commitment in the programme for Government to work with partners, the Tánaiste met the Prime Minister of Qatar just … coalition, when Ireland proposed over a year ago the review of the EU-Israel association agreement by reviewing Article 2, based on human rights abuses, only two EU member states backed that, those being, Ireland and Spain. At the meeting I attended six weeks ago, that number

increased on average by €40,000. Who can possibly afford these kinds of eye-watering price increases? We need a radical reset on housing. The recent election had an air of unreality about it. Far from being prudent fiscal stewards, Fianna Fáil and, in particular, Fine Gael threw … also to jobs and incomes. We need an alternative economic strategy. Donald Trump is not the only threat on the horizon. In Europe right-wing and far-right populists are on the rise on a platform of nationalism and xenophobia. Ireland, as we know, is not immune

annum. The budget will help with the cost of energy and fuel support for people with disabilities, lower childcare costs and increases right the way across social protection and pensions. At the same time, it will support enterprise and economic growth, giving businesses the competence to invest, create … effective immediately. We are also introducing grants for solar attic and cavity insulation for many social welfare recipients and those on housing assistance payments and the rental accommodation scheme. Under the warmer homes scheme, which protects those at the greatest risk of energy poverty, we have now delivered

average renter will have to pay at least €200 more per month. I have appealed to the Government on the floor of this House and to the Minister in writing to remove the market rent reset mechanism from this legislation. There are laudable elements to this proposed legislation … deprivation index to more accurately pinpoint areas of material deprivation which in some cases, such as my own city of Limerick, are right next to affluent areas. The fundamental issue with this Bill remains. Despite all its intricacies, it leaves renters exposed to potentially huge rent increases with

recently published review of the national development plan sets out the largest capital investment in the history of the State to unlock housing, upgrade water and energy infrastructure, deliver more roads and provide better public transport. In budget 2026 we announced €19.1 billion in Exchequer capital investment … focused set of reforms that are practical, time-bound, and impactful. We will be taking action to strike a better balance between the rights of individuals and the public good. We will be simplifying regulation and consenting systems, reducing the administrative burden and cutting the red tape

where the children in one household go to St. Fergal's in Rathdowney while the children in a house 50 yards up the road go to Roscrea, despite the fact that they originally went to the same school. There is no logic to that. There needs … problem. I have a HGV licence and I must have a medical test every so many years for that. It is right that I should do that in order to keep the HGV licence. We have a situation where over-70s cannot drive a child in a taxi

homeless HAP and the thresholds. If they get the working family payment, what might that mean? Would it drive them over the social housing income threshold and make their situation even worse? They asked if there was anything I could do, and so on. When you look … that this happens to this family and this child, there is something wrong. There is something wrong with that. It is just not right for that to happen to that child or that mother. It is just not right; I do not care what justification the Minister

that transparency is one of the most effective tools we have against inequality. We cannot fix what we cannot reliably measure. In Ireland right now, two graduates who leave university on the same day with the same qualifications and the same ambitions can go on to have very … closest living relatives capable of assisting with identification. Extending participation to them is both practical and deeply humane. I urge the House to pass this legislation as quickly as possible. At the core of the Bill is transparency in the workplace and dignity for families seeking closure

need it. The Bill does not demand expensive new infrastructure. The technology and the models already exist. In fact, initiatives are under way right now in Ireland, such as EnergyCloud, which demonstrate the feasibility of using surplus wind energy to heat water for families in need. This project … when families struggle while clean energy is being thrown away. We cannot allow this to continue. I urge all Members of the House, across all parties and none, to support the Bill. Let us turn surplus into support, waste into warmth and policy into progress

best in his role and congratulate him. It is a hugely important brief and out of all the Members I know across the Houses, he will take it on with sincerity and gusto. I wish him the very best of luck with it. This evening, I am asking … well knows and has been thrashed out throughout this evening, parents are at their wits' end. They are incredibly worried. Education is a right. It is supposed to be a special, wonderful time, particularly that transition between primary and secondary school where parents are looking towards the future