Departmental Policies
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-28
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Rose Conway-Walsh (SF), Mayo

Across many metrics, the Government is failing to address the challenges to our competitiveness and what we are hearing back from businesses. The housing crisis has worsened, with record rents and with homelessness at a record high. Employers are asking us where their workers will live. They have nowhere to live. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, which has been dealing extensively with the cost of doing business. We have heard at first hand from various chambers, ISME, the Small Firms Association and many more that these costs have increased significantly. Infrastructure delivery is slow and insufficient and not in keeping with demand. We have labour shortages in sectors that are crucial to our growth, such as construction. Our unreliable energy sources and grid capacity are stifling growth in many areas. On housing, we must confront the reality of Ireland's housing crisis. Our competitiveness is being eroded by a system that cannot provide affordable accommodation for its workforce.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:52+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-28