I have never claimed that people on this side of the House have a monopoly on empathy and I am sure that the Taoiseach is getting the same kind of queries from people struggling to cope with the cost-of-living crisis at his constituency office as I am getting at mine in Kildare. It is for this reason that I am struggling to understand why the Government is refusing to alleviate the pressure on people. For weeks, all we have got from the Government has been platitudes, but tea and sympathy will not pay people's bill…

I took it from the written report.

I am quoting back to the Taoiseach what I took from a quote. People are worried about how they will heat their homes, pay their rents or mortgages and put food on the table. Four months feels like a lifetime. All the indications are that this will worsen and we all know that. A number of kites on childcare, taxation and social welfare increases have been flown but how can people get relief from something when they do not know what will come in the budget? Increasingly, we are hearing people talking about already be…

It would be perfectly possible, for example, to introduce a windfall tax on energy companies. A sizable amount of additional tax is being taken in because of inflation in terms of energy and the inflationary impact on goods and services. The Taoiseach talks about expenditure but there is a sizable additional income coming in to the Government as well. The Taoiseach talks about Putin and discontent but discontent will be sown by not responding well domestically. He must be delighted with the kind of discontent he is…

On behalf of the Social Democrats, I welcome the Currie family and again express our sympathy on their loss. When facing up against the weight of systemic oppression, it is easy to feel as if any action you take is futile and that the personal risk always outweighs the reward but Austin Currie provides a really good example of how a seemingly small action can light a spark and lead to something much bigger. By smashing a window in a council house in Caledon in County Tyrone in June 1968 and occupying that house for…

I have been following this story for the past week and during the debate tonight and I am struggling to figure out exactly who is in charge. Is it the management that is running the hospital or what input does the Government have? The Taoiseach made his position quite clear earlier today regarding UHL. He said the HSE is directly responsible for the running and the management of hospitals and that the Government will not interfere in that. I am struggling to find out why Navan is different. The HSE announced early …

I agree with much of what the Deputy said. The development of our well-being framework is ongoing, and the work we are doing at Department level will help to inform future iterations of the framework as it evolves. That will include determining the longitudinal data that could be used to construct the output and impact indicators reflecting the areas of language and culture. With regard to everything the Deputy said about explaining to economists, that is one of the key lessons from Covid-19 when we were deprived o…

I listened to part of the Tánaiste's interview on Newstalk yesterday. I know he agrees with the President that the housing situation is now a disaster. However, he seems to have trouble figuring out who is responsible for that disaster. I will join some of the dots. The Tánaiste and Fine Gael have now been in government for 11 years. For most of that time, there has been a housing crisis. His party has repeatedly told us that houses cannot be built overnight. Enda Kenny was one of the first to use that line in 2015…

I will address one issue with regard to the number of people who own their own homes. Many of them have family, children and grandchildren, living with them. People are squeezed into box rooms with no hope. With regard to this idea of segregating and saying that people who own their own homes are grand, many people are worried about their children. This is not a one generation issue but a multi-generation issue that people are concerned about. Affordable housing is a key issue. Some 82% of planning permissions gran…

We do not support policies that drive prices up.

This is incredibly important legislation. We have long awaited it. It is not acceptable for it to be treated in this way. We also see the Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill being rushed through. This time of the year is quite dangerous for process. With a poor process, one often gets inadequate scrutiny and poor outcomes. This is not a way to handle legislation. Only a couple of weeks ago, we were dealing with statements, because there was not sufficient legislation coming through. This is a misuse of the House's time…

I accept this legislation is required. However, I am not an advocate for rushing legislation through this House. Although this is probably an exception, we tend to see this prior to a recess. I hope we are not going to see a whole clatter of things rushed through without adequate scrutiny. The primary legislation should have made provision for court presenters when the strategy was being developed. It should not have taken a High Court decision to force the justice system to harmonise itself with some basic conside…

I also wish to raise the issue of Dublin Airport. Just two months into the pandemic, the DAA announced its redundancy programme. A gun-to-the-head programme was announced. It was obvious that some organisations used the pandemic as cover for a restructure and to reduce costs. The DAA falls into that category. Despite Mr. Phillips's insistence that the DAA was desperate to hire security staff, its initial recruitment guaranteed just 20 hours. People had to be available for 40 hours, but DAA guaranteed them only 20 h…

The Minister did not address the issue of security. Will he address that when he replies? This is an important job. Significant training is required. An issue that will be central to sustaining the airport in the future is the quality of the employment. What is being offered to people who have to be available over any 40 hours in a week? It could be a Sunday, a Tuesday or a Friday night. What kind of quality of life is that for €14 an hour? That has to be addressed with regard to the future sustainability of the ai…

It is not yellow pack.

The fiasco at Dublin Airport has dominated this debate today, but not by the Minister. There is no doubt that there is a significant problem with mismanagement at the airport. I wish we had more time to deal with that issue in its own right. We will need to come back to it at some point but I hope the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications will have an opportunity to go through the issues in considerable detail tomorrow. I want to focus on the issue of bus transport. I have been an advocate and …

We can recall why this arrangement was required. There was discussion about whether by-laws or primary legislation were needed. I think it was obvious to some of us that it was going to need primary legislation. I appreciate this is a stopgap measure. I agree it would be ideal if we had a more permanent solution. Outdoor seating areas were a vital support to pubs and restaurants, and indeed to the public, during the pandemic. Such areas are a perfect example of one of the changes made during Covid that had a benefi…

I too want to raise the issue of the medical scientists' strike this week. The health services are under severe strain and this is really showing that. It is reported that 30,000 procedures will be cancelled this week due to the two-day strike, but the reality is that the disruption is much greater than that. Another 14,000 outpatient appointments will be cancelled each day as a result of the strike. Thousands of inpatient procedures, day-case elective procedures, maternity appointments and all the routine GP testi…

Approximately 20% of medical scientist posts are currently unfilled. It appears the pharmaceutical sector is finding no difficulty in attracting people with these qualifications but there is a reluctance to take up positions because of poor pay and a lack of parity and respect. There is also an issue with career progression. Will the Taoiseach ensure there is a formal invitation issued by the HSE and the Department of Health to the MLSA and that there is a realistic basis for a resolution to this? We all understand…

The question I ask is what this scheme says to generation rent, the generation of young people who are completely priced out of the housing market. They are watching the Government hand over €450 million to private developers. What hope do they have of ever owning their own home when, in many cases, 60% of their income goes on rent? How could they possibly save for a mortgage? They are being squeezed out of the market in a time of rising living costs. The average citizen is struggling with energy costs. The respons…