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action commitments. It has arrogantly dismissed and consistently voted down constructive proposals from Labour and others in opposition on taking action on housing, workers’ rights and on the cost of living. The Government stopped sick pay increases and rowed back on a living wage. It voted down … Labour Party Bill on the right to remote working. It sneered at calls for stronger State action on housing or the development of a State construction company. The budget last October provided no relief for working people. It failed to index income taxes, removed vital once-off supports

they cannot afford to send their children to college purely because they cannot afford to pay the rent. That is not right. The housing policies only work to line the pockets of the mega-landlords, the vulture funds and the big property developers. Put simply, the Minister … single most pressing social issue that affects individuals and families in Ireland right now. There are people in Carlow and Kilkenny who are working but cannot afford to rent, if they could even find a house to rent. They cannot get a mortgage because their wages

State supports some of them but does not support others. I made the point to the previous finance Minister that, rightly, the Houses of the Oireachtas identified that those who are participating in home dialysis needed support from the State and the support was offered through the taxation … those are able to avail of the tax benefits, but others are not. That is not right. The system is not fair for those individuals. Within the collective wisdom of this House, we are surely able to recognise that it is appropriate to give people support

know about the horrors of the impact of the war in Ukraine. Yet, as I said, they are not sufficiently debated in this House. It is horrific that there are now an estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred to areas under Russian control … whole time. We can be absolutely certain that if an American vessel was in Irish waters without permission, people in this House would rightly be criticising it and screaming and shouting. If an Israeli vessel was unlawfully in Irish waters, we would be having debates nearly every week

went unchecked in our State for far too long. It is right that we should hear these harsh truths in this House and it is right that we should apologise for them. In truth, we can never apologise enough for what happened. In May 1999, the Government apologised … abuse. The dark past of this country is an abyss of misery for the children so victimised. It is right, as I have said, that this House listens and apologises and, more importantly, it is essential we act. It is true to say extensive work has been undertaken

number of houses that need to be built. If policies were right and the climate was right and development was right, a lot of these houses would not be built on the buck of the Government, so to speak. We would be facilitating people to build … build small developments. The Minister has done really good work on developer-led sewerage infrastructure recently. If policy is right, I think a lot of the housing builds itself organically without too much State intervention, so I hope all of that can happen. I concur with what others

talk about the entire system of mother and baby homes, industrial schools and county homes. We have had many apologies in this House, and rightly so; they are welcome. Too often, however, the State has failed to truly get to grips with what was actually in place … very clearly, this burial ground could potentially have been there." Which of them was right? The point of this, and what has stayed with me since then, is that this was no ordinary housing application. This was a housing application talking about whether or not children had been

this House opposes partition, or at least they pay lip service to that position. Partition was a disaster for our country and the sooner it is ended, the better. That is the viewpoint from which we should approach this debate on presidential voting rights. Irish citizens … denied the right to vote for the President simply because they live in the North. This seriously undermines their fundamental rights - rights this House is supposed to protect and uphold. It arises from the forced partition of our country and the imposition of a border by the British

highlight the importance of the electricity grid, both from an energy security and from a housing point of view. We quite rightly talk in this House about the emergency that is housing - there is no doubt about that - but the key enabler to moving forward on that emergency … consider this in due course in the months ahead. We are determined to get that right and make sure there is bang for buck in terms of that investment leading to extra houses. I will keep the Deputy updated as that progresses

certainly not taking the steps that need to be taken in this House when it comes to planning. Everybody in this House, left, right and centre, has pointed out the inadequacy of our planning laws. For instance, people talked about community objections, and I accept them … House about the problems with Irish Water. I am in touch with somebody who has been waiting for the past eight weeks for a SoDA report for a site to go ahead with 80 units in Cork city. The pumping station is right next door. He cannot even

thank the Deputy for this important question. I am very much aware of the housing crisis right across this country that causes very serious pain and suffering for individual families as a result. That is why I am determined to get our housing deliveries increased at a significant

rail line or system. Therefore, we welcome these changes. As the Minister knows well, we talk about road safety frequently in this House, and rightly so given the near decade-high figures for deaths on our roads. There are tragedies every day on our roads. Thankfully, rail safety … equally successful for Dublin and other cities and towns across the country. They will help to tackle congestion, reduce emissions, improve health, support housing development, connect cities and regions, give people in rural Ireland, in particular, a much-needed alternative to the private car, and help with

grounded in facts. People who arrive in Ireland from abroad through a variety of circumstances do not have an automatic right to social housing. The Deputy knows that too and he knows that in Kerry as well. People from Ukraine contribute very significantly to our economy as well

throughout. However, given the complexity of those issues and the complex interaction of Irish and European immigration law, as well as human rights law and housing law and policy, this is an area fraught with difficulty where one must get things right. I thank the Minister’s officials … appeal in the main body of the Bill for people who are denied access to social housing support or removed from a council list, and these amendments create an appeal mechanism, rightly, in my view, for people who are to be removed from emergency accommodation on certain grounds

obvious that some Members of this House have no right to speak in this House

that change but I will do it in a manner that enshrines inclusiveness, equality and sustainability. The first step in that is housing as a right. A radical reset in housing policy is urgently required, as set out by the Housing Commission. We cannot proceed with a policy

State has intervened very strongly and assertively in the housing market. The State is the main player, I would argue, in the housing market right now in terms of the level of State investment. That is increasing and has increased over the last number of years

urban concentration and left rural communities fighting for basic investment? Where was the Minister when housing policies stalled again and again and rural housing delivery was effectively frozen in large parts of the country, an Ghaeltacht san áireamh? Where was the Minister when budget decisions reduced investment … centralised decision making, weak local delivery capacity and a lack of accountability as structural weaknesses in Ireland’s rural policy. It also rightly identifies housing as a central determinant of rural development. That is a core issue that has long been ignored. Housing is now the defining challenge

better integration with Irish families and communities. It was also far more cost-effective for the State versus hotel or guest house accommodation. Right now about 24,000 Ukrainians continue to be supported through the recognition payment. This payment was reduced earlier this year. I would be concerned

healthcare provision. It is vital that we discuss Pride and highlight the culture war on the trans community. Many colleagues in this House, in government and in opposition, are allies who stand up to the hate levelled at trans people and I thank them for their advocacy … passed marriage equality and changed the law. That work does not end there and I believe we have the numbers in this House to right the wrongs that still exist. I call on the Minister for justice to meet with Irish Gay Dads and begin this work

completely for the building of homes. Why should the Government take €54,000 out of the building of any house in a housing crisis? Left, right and centre in every town and parish, builders are not building today in a housing crisis because they cannot make it work … middle of the Famine. It is absolutely wrong. The main streets of towns right across the west, such as Claremorris, are literally falling down because of derelict homes in a housing crisis. It is absolutely wrong. I want to talk about older people and those living in poverty

issue is about a finite health budget. In every country in the world, as those on that side of the House will rightly say, the amount of money we are spending on medicines is increasing. It is eye-watering and the demands are increasing because of innovation, much … hope they will understand that we cannot live with the 12-month delay. That said, I know how the numbers work in this House but whatever the outcome of the vote on Wednesday, I encourage us to get cracking on this legislation. I welcome all of the contributions

motorists?" We have got to stop doing this. This is deliberately ignoring the economic facts available to this House, as is the House's right, but it is not a very honest thing to do. The advice available to the Government, economically, is that the measures we have

make sure there was an independent process that took these matters away from politicians, from myself and from anybody in this House, and rightly so. It was decided this would be the approach because of what happened in the past. That is why this legislation was enacted

would take years and would not have any impact on house building right now or over the next five years for that matter. The Labour Party has produced a couple of pages on it, with nothing fleshed out. That is the bottom line. We already have the Land