----- with hands-off rent and people charging whatever they can get. The more who are evicted, the more homelessness and the bigger the demand, the higher the rents landlords can charge. It is happening, and the situation continues to get worse. In Laois, rents are sky high. Notices to quit are up, homelessness is up, house purchase prices are up, and what the Government has done is given a charter to landlords and developers. The Government's changes in rent rules have made the situation worse, screwing workers an…

My question relates to the future use of the accommodation at the Curragh Camp. There are many vacant homes there at the moment.

I take it from the response that there has been some progress. The Minister referred to 63 but my information is that up to 80 properties are in a derelict state. Soldiers are travelling distances to work, and many travel from County Laois. There are also retired soldiers, some of whom, unfortunately, end up in difficult housing situations. It is important these properties are put back into use. We cannot have vacant homes of any kind lying empty, given the housing crisis. Has there been liaison with the Department…

How much will be spent on accommodation?

The Minister outlined the many different locations, barracks and naval bases. I welcome that. However, the issue at the Curragh is of particular concern. This has gone on for a long time and in the past three or four decades, these houses have gradually fallen into disuse. I know some of them might be a challenge as they were built at a different time, some during the period of British rule. Whether it was 100, 120 or 130 years ago, housing standards were not what they are now. There has been a lot of talk in this …

I ask for the number of naval vessels that are in service and that we can staff and safely put to sea. As the Minister knows, in recent years that has been down to one or two at times. I am just looking for the current level of ability or capacity there.

I thank the Minister for her reply. Of course, the maritime area that has to be protected and that comes within our jurisdiction is massive. From her reply, I take it that there are four vessels that are seaworthy and available, as she said, at any one time. In relation to the rotation, are there some ships within that fleet of eight that are not seaworthy at all? The Minister might clarify that when she comes back. If I heard her right, I think she said that there are 833 staff. What are the numbers that were recr…

In relation to the eight vessels, there are four at sea at any one time. I understand there is rotation and that they cannot all be at sea at any one time. Is it the case that there are one or two of those ships that are not seaworthy and that are permanently docked at any time? I ask the Minister to clarify that. That is the question I am asking. Of course, we have to protect our undersea cables. As a result of the agreement signed with France, the Celtic interconnector will now be coming on stream. The import of …

I welcome the proposals to reduce the cost of living for people. We have had a cost-of-living crisis since the end of Covid. That has escalated and it is now at crisis point. It is a serious situation and Government needs to understand that. Middle- and low-income households were never under so much pressure. Fuel, petrol, diesel, solid fuel, gas and costs are high and, as we learned today, electricity costs are the most expensive in the European Union. Rents, mortgages, house prices and waste charges are high. Hea…

I raise with the Taoiseach the situation in our prisons. Our overcrowded prisons are after reaching crisis point. I have complaints from prison staff going back over the past year or two on this issue. The situation in the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise is like a pressure cooker. It is unsafe for staff and vulnerable prisoners. It is vastly overcrowded, operating at over 120% capacity. It has capacity for 890 inmates but the number stands at just over 1,100. Prisoners are sleeping on bunks and mattresses on the floo…

I fully support the proposals being put forward to improve accommodation for the people living in the flat complexes in Dublin city. I have been to many of them over the years and I have seen at first hand the difficult conditions that people are living in. I will turn to private rental accommodation and apartments. In County Laois, there are 5,600 households who are living in private rented accommodation. A lot of them are flats and apartments. Some of the older private rented stock is in very bad condition. Tenan…

The programme for Government contains a commitment for the creation of more jobs in the regions outside Dublin. However, IDA Ireland and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment seem to have a blind spot when it comes to County Laois. Despite Portlaoise and Laois being located on the crossroads of Ireland at the N7, N8, N77, N80, the performance of IDA Ireland and the Department in Laois is dismal. There are just 156 IDA Ireland-backed jobs in the county. More than 12,000 workers commute out of the county…

What is being done to develop the 60-plus acres owned by IDA Ireland outside Portlaoise-----

-----and get industry onto those sites? Will the Tánaiste take this matter up with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and his Department and ask them to urge IDA Ireland to act quickly in respect of this matter?

Not in Laois.

I welcome this discussion on rural policy. The biggest issues relate to housing and services in rural areas. Often, people in rural areas do not have anything. Sustainable housing is the key in this regard. For that type of housing, we need infrastructure. Those engaged in agriculture, forestry and other rural employment must continue to be allowed to build one-off houses on family land or in appropriate locations. There also needs to be housing for a whole lot of people and their families who live in rural areas a…

I welcome the proposals in this motion. It is long past the time that collective bargaining and trade union representation were made mandatory. It is 113 years after James Connolly and James Larkin led the lockout in this city to seek basic rights for workers. This State is completely at odds with the rest of Europe in not recognising the right to trade union representation and collective bargaining. All that is in the programme for Government are vague commitments. Yes, we have a high level of employment but we al…

I welcome the very comprehensive motion that has been set out by Deputy O'Gorman. It is now accepted that we will miss our 2030 binding target of a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. At last, Ministers are accepting that. The Government has failed to develop offshore wind energy, anaerobic digestion and hydrogeneration, and it is only starting with solar. This means just not climate and environmental damage but also economic damage. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council e…

The ongoing problems with the National Ambulance Service are not being addressed. I raised the serious gaps in the ambulance service, particularly in County Laois, with the Taoiseach last year, and it is through no fault of the staff. The number of staff in the county has not increased in the past two decades, despite the explosion in its population. Five vehicles are based in the county, with just two available most of the time. That is five nights of the week. On Monday and Tuesday nights, just one vehicle is ava…

When we compare what we have to what Scotland, which has similar population and geography, has, it has 5,000 staff while we have just over 2,500. Scotland has 1,500 vehicles while we have 620, so I think the Taoiseach accepts there is ground to be made up. The spring economic statement that came out yesterday shows there are substantial resources there. I am not asking the Taoiseach to throw that money around like confetti. I do not want him to do that but I want the Government to make the ambulance service a key p…