It asked those polled whether they thought the Government can solve the housing crisis. Of those asked that question, 75% said "No". This scheme being pursued by the Government does not do anything to build confidence. It is beyond belief that the scheme does nothing but place taxpayers' money directly into the pockets of private developers, enabling them to go on to make more profit at the expense of buyers. I ask the Minister to answer the questions put to him by Deputy Cian O'Callaghan. From where did this idea …

-----for a mixture of homes for sale, rent and cost rental. We went to people with that proposal in 2016.

The Minister should not tell us we are against the Land Development Agency. We do not want the Land Development Agency to just flip public land, however; we want it to use the land in a way that delivers affordable housing. If a person came down from the moon and looked at what happened prior to the crash, and the role of Fianna Fáil, which was the architect of that crash, he or she would see the same reference points in the current situation. The Minister is using the same reference points to create another housin…

Essentially, there was no large-scale housing development during that time. A stream of building that should have taken place that would have contributed to the solutions for what was evidently a housing crisis. I have no confidence in Fianna Fáil resolving this. I would be one of the 75% because I have seen no evidence. I ask the Minister to look for the evidence and listen to people. People must be contacting his constituency office in the same way that they contacting mine. I see a great deal of hopelessness and…

I welcome this important Bill, which will streamline the process for gardaí to receive compensation when they suffer malicious injuries in the course of their duties. We all appreciate that members of An Garda Síochána have a dangerous job. We have a responsibility to ensure they are protected as much as possible while working and that they are compensated fairly when those protections fail. Under the current legislation, any garda seeking compensation for malicious injury must first approach the Minister for Justi…

I will also focus on the justice and policing reform aspect of the question, and the continued use of the Garda crime statistics with the caveat "according to figures released under reservation by the CSO". The current Garda Commissioner was appointed five years ago and we appear to be no closer to having reliable crime data. Such data is critical for policing plans as there is no evidence that the census of population is used in policing plans. I have, over a couple of decades, looked at how resources are deployed…

There is a caveat from the CSO on the crime statistics and that continues to be in place.

I welcome this Bill from the Labour Party on a living wage, which the Social Democrats are happy to support. The introduction of a living wage is essential and there are no reasonable grounds for opposing its introduction. Robert Thornton, a member of the living wage technical group, described it as follows: The living wage rate is based on the rationale that full-time employment will at least provide for a socially acceptable minimum standard of living for a single person without dependents. It represents the mini…

An Bord Pleanála is in the midst of the biggest crisis in its history. Its independence, professionalism and integrity are all in question. Allegations concerning serious conflicts of interest on the part of the deputy chair of the board, Paul Hyde, were first published in The Ditch on 13 April. On Friday, Mr. Hyde admitted overseeing a planning appeal from his sister-in-law, claiming it was inadvertent. He stepped aside on Monday pending investigations. Yesterday, the Taoiseach told the Dáil that Mr. Hyde no longe…

This is a very serious matter concerning An Bord Pleanála, not least because it ceased to be the planning appeals board regarding SHDs. It became the decision-maker on housing applications of 100 units or more, bypassing local authority development plans, in respect of which there is a statutory function and one in which the public is engaged. There is a serious loss of confidence in An Bord Pleanála. Confidence in its integrity and professionalism has been completely undermined. Will the terms of reference be wide…

I, too, welcome the introduction of the Consumer Rights Bill. It is a much-needed consolidation of existing consumer rights legislation and it strengthens other areas of consumer rights that were in dire need of modernisation, particularly regarding digital goods and services. Many of the reforms in this Bill are existing EU law, coming from the sale of goods directive, the digital content directive and elements of the omnibus directive. The first two directives, both introduced in 2015, were due to be transposed i…

Significant recommendations were made during pre-legislative scrutiny and many of them are important. I acknowledge that. The Minister did not accept some of the recommendations, however. First and foremost of these is the recommendation for the names of three nominees to be ranked in order of preference. Should the Cabinet decide not to go with the recommended ranking, it would have been required to provide a written reason for doing so. This is really crucial and it is one of the main points I will cover. The ran…

Reform of the guardian ad litem system is welcome. It is an issue with which I have dealt over the years. I have engaged with youngsters and guardians ad litem who represented particular children. Guardians ad litem are important in childcare cases; there is no doubt about that. Their role is to convey the voice of the child to a judge to ensure the child's own opinion is heard regarding his or her welfare. That is essential. The age of the child will matter in that regard but the ability to listen and understand w…

Reform of the system of judicial appointments and promotions is sorely needed and long overdue. Problems with the current process have been pointed out time and again by people in this Chamber, the media, the public and legal professionals and international bodies. As it stands, the judicial appointments system is wide open to cronyism and political interference. It is an unaccountable system controlled by a small group of Cabinet members and their advisers. Cabinet confidentiality, which I do not dispute is requir…

The question many people around the country are asking currently is who is running the country. Is it the Taoiseach's Government or the permanent government? We know the Secretary General of the Department of Health, Robert Watt, is in a rarefied position, not least because his pay grade is above the Taoiseach's. Does that mean he can snub or thumb his nose at attending Oireachtas committees and decline to be held accountable for decisions he takes? The same Secretary General thinks so little of the Oireachtas fina…

That was a long three minutes. There was €20 million involved here. It is perfectly legitimate for the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach to interrogate that. The committees are committees of this House, not committees of the Government. If there is an external review, it is an issue for the Government or the Department. As with Sláintecare, for example, an all-party approach is needed. When the head of the HSE and the Secretary General met with the Joint Committee on Health re…

The introduction of a statutory sick pay scheme has been long asked for and is long overdue. Statutory sick pay schemes are well-established across Europe and there is a glaring lack of one in Ireland that has left generations of workers very vulnerable. We are one of the very few European economies that does not have mandatory sick pay entitlements. With few exceptions, workers in Ireland have no right to be paid by their employer if they fall sick. In the eyes of the law, sick pay is a perk that employers can dec…

I thank President Zelenskyy for his historic address to the Houses of this Oireachtas at this time of great peril for him personally and for the people of Ukraine. The strength, courage and resilience of President Zelenskyy and of the Ukrainian people have been an inspiration, not just for us here in Ireland, but for people all over the world. If Putin had imperial ambitions when he invaded Ukraine, those ambitions lie in tatters. Putin has not increased Russia's prestige or its power on the world stage. His despot…

I thank President Zelenskyy for his historic address to the Houses of this Oireachtas at this time of great peril for him personally and for the people of Ukraine. The strength, courage and resilience of President Zelenskyy and of the Ukrainian people have been an inspiration, not just for us here in Ireland, but for people all over the world. If Putin had imperial ambitions when he invaded Ukraine, those ambitions lie in tatters. Putin has not increased Russia's prestige or its power on the world stage. His despot…

The Central Bank has forecasted that food price increases will drive inflation to 8% by the summer, heaping additional pressure on workers and families already struggling to get by. Costs for goods and services everywhere are rising rapidly and household budgets have been vaporised. This particularly impacts on those with low to middle incomes and on those with fixed incomes. I have listened to what the Taoiseach has said about this crisis carefully and he has repeatedly stated that the Government cannot bring in s…