I will not be as generous any more.

Last week, Dublin City Council, approved housing body, AHB, and HAP tenants received letters from the council saying rents are being increased from 6 April. These increases are in spite of the council not providing the bare minimum in terms of services or facilities. Conditions for residents in flats are lamentable. Tenants in this city are too often living in tiny and overcrowded conditions, with constant dampness and mould and with so many maintenance issues not being addressed by the council. Now, they are going…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I want to raise the persistent neglect of horses in urban areas, in particular in Dublin. Earlier this month, we saw the tragic death of Anne, a pregnant horse who collapsed on the N4 near Ballyfermot following an illegal sulky race on Dollymount Strand. Anne was brutally beaten by her owners after collapsing from exhaustion, and abandoned and left to die on the side of the road. The images were horrific. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. The abu…

I thank the Minister of State, and I know he is as horrified as anybody else when he sees the way horses are treated. Sulky racing is a hazard not just for the public, but clearly for the horses that are treated abysmally. It is horrendous, and that poor horse on the N4 is just one of many that were treated brutally. We hear many people talking about how they love their horses, but we do not see much evidence of that from many people who are their guardians. Clearly, legislation needs to be overhauled. We need to m…

I am a Shamrock Rovers supporter but, equally, I am a League of Ireland supporter. Deputy Joanna Byrne has been treated shockingly badly by the board of Drogheda United Football Club. She is the first female chairperson of the club. She is the first female chairperson of a League of Ireland club, Her soul and heart have gone into building the club. When Deputy Byrne bleeds, she bleeds claret and blue. She bleeds Drogheda. For simply standing up for human rights and calling for a boycott of Israeli football, she has…

In relation to this particular amendment, again, I have concerns that there is going to be a huge increase in the number of people seeking to access the services of the RTB. As it is, the numbers applying for adjudication in the RTB are clearly increasing. That is unlikely to dwindle any time soon, especially with the measures in this Bill. Quite a number of people have contacted me with concerns they have about delays in meeting with the RTB and getting adjudication. Is the plan that there will be increased resour…

We need a commitment to invest in the RTB in light of what will happen in the coming months and years. Clearly, rents are going to go up. As I said yesterday, the Government is telling renters that it will reduce rents by allowing landlords to increase them. That is what Lorcan Sirr said, not me and not Sinn Féin. He is not a political representative. He is independent and evidence-based. That is really important to acknowledge. It is not Sinn Féin or the Opposition that has said this; an independent academic has s…

On a point of order, I was asked to stick to my point. It was stated that I had deviated. The Minister is doing exactly that. He is deviating from the Bill. He is talking about Sinn Féin and policy.

The same rules that apply to me should apply to the Minister . That is not happening.

And I was told not to.

Now the Minister is distracting.

The Minister mentioned that there was or there will be a 30% increase in apartments. Is that correct?

Is that an increase in apartments over the last year or there will be an increase?

The vast majority of those apartments will be in and around the urban centres, such as Dublin. I cannot imagine there will be too many apartments built in west Limerick or in Cavan. Most of that supply will be in Dublin. I think that is a fair comment. The difficulty with all those apartments in that 38.7% increase is that they are not affordable for ordinary people living on Pearse Street or in Ringsend, or even young families in Sandymount. They cannot afford to have their children rent those places. There will b…

It is just to-----

All right.

I have a lot of examples.

I appreciate the latitude and that was given also to the Minister when he was speaking, so I appreciate that.

Yes.

Like that, I want to take that opportunity, as the Cathaoirleach has offered, to respond. I am responding to the Minister.