Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-15
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Mary Lou McDonald (SF), Dublin Central

Go raibh maith agat. The Government may have survived the confidence motion yesterday but the Taoiseach should be under no illusion. The Government has lost the confidence of the people because of its arrogance, because it does not understand their lives and because it refuses to listen. Yesterday, even as one of its Ministers of State walked away, the Government still would not listen and indeed we got hours of backslapping and self-congratulation. However, self-praise is no praise. This is a Government that makes things harder for people. There are increased school transport fees, exam fees are back for the leaving and junior certificates and there are eye-watering rents.
Why have Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors hiked up rents for Dublin City Council tenants? Some people have seen their rents double. These are families stretched to the limit. They are workers, carers and pensioners. They are hit hard by the cost of fuel, gas, electricity and food but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors decided to squeeze them even more. The Taoiseach might not know this but us Dubs are very house-proud and none of us more so than those from my home neighbourhood of Cabra and those from the inner-city communities I am proud to represent, especially people who live in complexes of flats. These are the finest of people. They go out to work every day, they look after their children and their neighbours' children, they hold their communities together and they do everything to keep the show on the road. Many of them are out the door to work from 5.30 a.m. They are very resilient people because their communities have faced real hardship. Government after government - Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael - have left them behind. They pay their rent but they are left to live in conditions that frankly you would not believe exist in the year 2026.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-15