The next speakers from the Rural Independent Group are Deputies Danny Healy-Rae and Michael Collins.

We have visited this subject many times in the past number of years and we have analysed into infinity the problem that faces people in regard to housing. This affects first-time buyers, and all buyers, for that matter. This happened in the aftermath of a crash where property prices tumbled and properties were available for virtually nothing in comparison to what they cost beforehand. There are two concepts at play here. First, I have strongly questioned the reliance on rentals for many years. I should not say this…

Deputy Doherty has a particular viewpoint

While I am very fond of my two colleagues who are very likeable guys, although I do not like them to the extent that I want to go over and hug them or anything like that, I want to point out that they are misguided, and that is the unfortunate thing. They mean well and want to do the right thing, as we all do, but they are misguided in looking at the issue from one aspect and one point of view only, which is to achieve taxation in the case of People Before Profit. The ultimate answer to that party is that people wi…

I know; it was up a long time ago, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. We have to have a bit of levity in this House from time to time as well and I apologise for overstepping my time.

I have just come from a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health, at which a presentation was made by the various community task forces across Dublin city and throughout the rest of the country. They pointed out the serious pressure they are under given the lack of funding increases since 2010 and the increased pressure from the drug barons, who are now targeting families, including women and children, to pursue their nefarious campaigns. Individuals have been threatened with violence on numerous occasions. There a…

I join other speakers in complimenting the Minister on the introduction of the Bill. I am not a great admirer of development at all cost; we need to have quality development. From all the speakers so far, the same theme has emerged that we need to have quality, particularly with large-scale developments. There must also be regard for local residents who have already paid for their houses or are in the course of paying for their houses by way of mortgage and may have their houses devalued by the nature and density o…

I agree entirely with the sentiments expressed by previous speakers in respect of this particular issue. I realise and know full well that we cannot solve the problems of refugees seeking refuge all over Europe. To be fair to the European Union, it was not the Union that made the decision to repel people from borders. It was the individual countries in the European Union that took that stand, and they did so on the basis that there was not room for all the people seeking a safe haven. There may well not be. If one …

In a previous incarnation, I was honoured, along with the late former Deputy Des O'Malley and former Deputy Michael O'Kennedy, to participate in the formulation of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. That was a great honour for all of us, for me in particular. At that juncture, all of the issues that eventually came to pass were discussed in all their facets and variations. We, the so-called advanced and developed countries around the globe, have a greater obligation than we have collectively shown to deal …

This question seeks to ascertain the extent to which the Minister hopes to be able to meet the demands of the workplace in respect of academic and technical placements in the short to medium term.

I thank the Minister for his reply. Will he comment on the difficulty now experienced by the workplace in general of filling the posts that are becoming available? Does he feel it will be possible to produce the number of qualified graduates to fill those positions in academia and in the technical areas, knowing that we will face extra competition from across the globe?

I thank the Minister for his interaction with the students in Celbridge and Maynooth yesterday. Arising from that, does he continue to be convinced of the ability to draw on more of those students when they qualify and to help them to qualify by various means and incentives between now and the next three or four years, given the urgent and pressing necessity to be able to fill the positions that are available in this country at both levels?

I ask the Minister for an increased supply of higher level graduates throughout the country, with particular reference to the need to meet the requirements of industry and academia. It is a very similar question to my last one but is focused slightly differently.

On the basis of the information currently available, is it possible to identify to a reasonably accurate extent the availability of sufficient students who can graduate in the time ahead in order to be able to fill the positions that are now becoming available very regularly, as opposed to what happened in the past, when we had to export our population to get jobs abroad? The jobs are here now and we need to fill them to a greater degree in the future.

The Minister made an interesting comment to the people in Celbridge yesterday. He said that nobody should be left behind and that each student is an investment in the future, in the economy and in the quality of life. It is important to recognise that and encourage the people who may feel, for one reason or another, a lack of confidence or whatever, or that they cannot compete. They can, and with continued support, they will. Is the Minister satisfied that sufficient support is made available for them and will be a…

I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on this particularly important issue, having done so in the past. I concur with others in acknowledging the various people who have told their stories here tonight. It is important we hear the stories and listen to them carefully. They serve us in good stead in imbuing us with a new sense of purpose and a recognition of the need to respond to issues of this nature before it becomes an absolute necessity and a shame to the country. We have a very poor record as a country in …

The Deputy knows the rule about naming.

And meat processors.

In accordance with Standing Order 80(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time next week.

I raise the concern expressed by hundreds of thousands of national lottery players who have supported a good cause for many years and whose confidence has wavered in recent times by virtue of the main prize having been rolled over for almost six months. It is a precedent which was set in 1913 in Monte Carlo and later in Las Vegas. Given the important work done by the national lottery and the public confidence needed to support it, I suggest it is appropriate to refer the matter to the Committee on Budgetary Oversig…