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billion, maybe €2 billion eventually, to that scheme. That is what is involved. It is a huge commitment by the State, and rightly so because homeowners suffered grievously and in a shocking way in terms of the defective blocks reality and experience so many people have gone through … other counties. There is no shortage of commitment. What we really need to do is to get more delivery and get more houses done

believe in honest politics as well, and I think everyone in this House engages in good faith on behalf of the people they represent, as the Deputy does too. I reject the assertion that this is in any manner of means a cut because that would suggest that … very important moment of truth for the public service as well. This will not impact the 2026 allocations. As the Deputy also rightly says, we have been very clear that the levy must not impact important areas. For example, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, is here. It must

colleagues point out the need for better community engagement and better engagement with public representatives. I spoke to the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne about this in recent days and to the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, who is due to meet Uisce Éireann shortly. We need … back to them with proposals on that. We want to see them urgently because this is an important issue in many communities right across our country. To be balanced in our comments, I want to point to some significant successes we have seen since the establishment of Uisce

coffers now, not in October, not in November. That is why we continue to argue that the energy credits need to be delivered right now. Obviously, the mistake is that the Government has not designed a system. If a system had been designed the Government, would have been … them. Energy credits should not be going to holiday homes. We have called this out so many times. There are people, in this House and elsewhere, who got energy credits and have multiple properties. It is absolutely nuts and it went on for years. At the start

safety, we cannot focus exclusively on motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. Children travelling to school, older people and people with disabilities also have a right to use our roads safely. For those road users, even relatively small reductions in vehicle speed can make a significant difference and that … hour speed limits where appropriate. I would very much like the Minister of State to give an update to the House on its status in each of the local authorities and if he does not have up-to-date information on the status, for him to engage directly

working with Deputies to progress the Bill because some more work will need to be done on it as it progresses through the Houses. On the surface, the Bill does look technical, with the 23 sections and key provisions about introducing the licensing framework, new safety permits … considerable criticism from within the industry. The industry feels the Government has failed to address this. Therefore, we need to get it right. The system must be workable, enforceable and resourced. Resourcing is crucial and safety must not be compromised. There is no dispute on any side, following

outset, while respecting the rules of the House in relation to by-elections, let me say that I absolutely deplore, condemn and abhor any racism directed towards any candidate in this democracy. I want to be very clear in relation to the comments of the former Taoiseach: they … seeking asylum from outside the EU or outside the EEA should be treated humanely and in accordance with international law. They have a right to be here and their application should be processed quickly. We have been trying to do our bit to ensure faster processing times

last year. That is an almost 20% increase in the number of families who are homeless and this Government acts as if its housing policy is working. Since the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Government was set up just over a year ago, we have seen the number … feeling of wellbeing, in essence all aspects of their lives. This State is failing 5,188 children who are in emergency accommodation right now, the thousands of children who have been through emergency accommodation and the thousands of children who will become homeless in the coming years because

alone. These are very targeted measures, most of which are paid through the carbon tax which the proposing party opposed. It is the right of those opposite to oppose this, but they have never indicated how the gap will be filled. What I have outlined are real measures … coast schemes still remain in planning. From my engagement with the offshore renewable electricity support scheme, ORESS, 1 developers, I can tell the House that we expect at least two of those to come through planning toward the end of this year. That will mean that we will

weeks alone and households cannot take any more of this. I am asking the Minister serious questions here because people need action right now. They do not need commentary; they want to know what is going to happen. Is the Government willing to further cut excise on petrol … needs to be done to help families and workers at this time. Will the Minister implement the legislation I am bringing before the House today, which removes carbon tax completely from home heating oil, a fuel that people need to keep their homes warm this winter? The Government

reject the Deputy's analysis of the draft plan on the Gaeltacht. We worked very closely with the Department of housing on it to try to get a balance. The important thing is to get a balance in Gaeltacht areas between those with Gaeilge, those who have Irish … people moving into it, but also those from a Gaeltacht area who do not have Irish, because they equally have a right to stay in their place. Second, I was anxious that we got a balance in terms of not allowing further holiday home development. I want permanent

taxpayers' money, to give ourselves options for the budget, etc., we do too. This is a balance that we have to get right. All the current legislation going through the Dáil is simply giving legislative underpinning to decisions we took many weeks ago. We will then update that … looks like post-31 July. We will do that in the coming days. We will do it in plenty of time, before this House goes into recess. We will seek to avoid any sudden cliff edge for families and businesses

make a political point instead of making a coherent, informed policy point or argument. We are putting in record funding to address the housing crisis in this country. That includes the homeless crisis and high rents. We have brought in some of the strongest, if not the strongest … history of the State and the Deputy voted against them. That is a fact. Tenants entering new tenancies will have the strongest tenancy rights in the history of this State. The majority of tenants will have a no-fault eviction

with regard to the tech sector. Only this week Coimisiún na Meán has announced further investigations into the tech sector. The Deputy is right: this Government has been in office for a long time. It has been in office thanks to the votes of the people … have put together programmes for Government, manifestos and mandates that the people have voted for. We have also put forward legislation through the House that the Deputy's party when it was a lot smaller and the party beside it when it was a lot bigger supported

legislation. People feel that their landlord is taking advantage of the new rules. Where are these families supposed to go? The Minister for housing has talked the talk about standing up for these tenants, but following meetings with the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, and the council, as things … talk from the Minister will not keep these families in their homes. What concrete action will the Taoiseach take to protect their rights and ensure they are not evicted

difficult circumstances for quite a lot of those farmers. I welcome that they are here tonight. They are carrying out their basic human rights to put food on the table - good clean Irish food - as they have done for the past decades. That is being challenged every … years. Tonight we stand firmly with the farmers of Ireland who should not have to be up in the Gallery of this House. They should be at home running their farms, not sitting here looking down on us, waiting for decisions that should have been made long

thank the Minister for being here today to discuss this important topic on the floor of the Dáil. Right now, young people in this country and across Europe and the world who have access to technology are being failed. Lives and mental health are being damaged … online bullying and harassment. Some of us are aware of horrendous cases where lives have been lost. We have a responsibility in this House to protect young people online and offline and also to listen to them. The damage algorithms do is lethal for young men with radical

conduct and the failure to act, and to seek damages. If our Government will not act, then we on this side of the House and the fishers must consider doing this ourselves. We also demand the application of the Hague preferences to allow our fishers to remain legal … tuna? Despite a massive recovery in stock numbers, Ireland receives no quota, only a bycatch allowance. This is unacceptable. What about our fishing rights off Rockall? Have we got those rights back? Are we going to get them back? Is this another kick in the you-know-what

quite sure my Fine Gael councillors agree with me on wanting to get this right and this being about a balance in terms of planning. I am sitting beside the Minister for Health and I make the point more broadly that the health impact of climate change … climate emergency is very real. We all know in our communities, and I think we agree on this across the House, that the health implications of people breathing in dirty air have been very real in the form of cancers and respiratory disease, so the move to renewables

some point, the truth about the past number of weeks in this House will be written and it will show that from January onwards it became increasingly likely that a number of Independent TDs might support a coalition government. What many of us did not realise was that … Standing Orders made no provision for such a grouping. In fact, they were entirely silent on the rights of TDs or parties that support the Executive. This should not have been a problem for the Government or the affected Independents alone; it was a challenge

framework recognises that and puts in place a framework that will tie in with our national development plan in order to achieve those housing targets, along with the revision of county development plans on a local authority basis. Climate action and nature restoration … invest in. There is a need for compact growth but this framework also allows and acknowledges the need, the requirement and the right of people living in rural areas to get planning permission within their communities. I take the point there is a need to empower local authorities

Functioning of the European Union, the Oireachtas is required to give its approval under Article 29.4 of the Constitution. The measure before the House is one relating to judicial co-operation in civil matters. This proposal for an amending regulation has its legal basis in Title … last amending regulation that made technical updates to the two annexes was adopted in December 2021 and in May 2022. Ireland exercised its right to opt in to that amending regulation, post adoption, in accordance with Article 4 of the protocol. As this regulation also relates to company

Government can meet its commitments is contingent on a successful economy, and that should be obvious to everybody on all sides of this House. The Government decided to strengthen the economy and make sure the economy was in good shape despite the headwinds, volatility and uncertainty we face … landlords we are accused of supporting are foreign landlords anyway. It is absurd to suggest that any Government in its right political mind would suddenly decide that for all those people who voted us into office and whose votes we will be seeking the next time, we will

hour shifts, that is 24-hour continuous duty periods. As many have said before, this is not in a person's house. This is people being accommodated because they are at work. They need to be ready to launch at any time. We know the danger … relation to the European working time directive and the fact that these people are being absolutely hammered in relation to basic workers' rights that have been won across the board. As Deputy O'Reilly said, we have an industrial relations framework that the Government constantly argues is there

thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for giving me the opportunity to provide an update to the House on this important matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I acknowledge the importance of addressing the long waiting lists. Many patients are still … hospital appointments and treatments and the Government is conscious of the burden that this places on patients and their families as the Deputy rightly outlined. The Government has invested significantly in South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital and its budget has increased from €62.5 million in 2020 to over