Labour Market
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-19
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Matt Carthy (SF), Cavan-Monaghan

I do not dispute anything the Minister of State said. When deciding what level of a quota any given sector is having beyond the construction sector, he said that his Department takes into account housing need and housing availability. How does the Department take this into account? On the one hand, we need international workers to help us build the homes that we need but, on the other, we have a housing shortage. When the population of a given area is substantially increased through any means, that is going to add pressure. How do those things balance out? The Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and I come from a county that has a large agrifood sector, no more than the Minister of State's constituency. We know the value of international workers but we also know the benefits of companies providing housing and ensuring housing is in place for workers before they come because that makes integration and the life experience of those who are coming on permits and those who are already in the community much better. When that does not happen, it creates huge problems for housing demand locally. How precisely is housing need taken into account when deciding quotas?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:40+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-19