I want to ask about a recent report into mental health in Traveller communities. According to a report published by Traveller organisations in Clondalkin, Ballyfermot and Tallaght more than two thirds of Travellers have lost a loved one to suicide. Racism and discrimination are the primary cause of suicide among Travellers. Structural racism in areas such as healthcare and housing was identified as underpinning many of the challenges faced by Travellers. Travellers make up 13% of the homeless population despite acc…

I have raised the plight of people who are reliant on district heating with the Tánaiste several times. They are paying utterly exorbitant prices for their bills. In one development in my constituency, renters tied into a district heating system by their landlord, Greystar, were blocked from getting any independent access to their meter readings. After more than a year, they have now finally been able to see their readings and they have discovered that they are being charged through the nose, even when they do not …

But they are.

I thank People Before Profit for bringing forward this Bill and for the work it has done on it. The Social Democrats will certainly be supporting it. It is notable that, when the Minister was speaking, he gave a long list of what has been done, while admitting that it is not sufficient, and a long list of criticisms of the Opposition but that a list of exactly what he and his Government are going to do now to address this emergency was missing. We did not hear a list of solutions the Government is going to implemen…

I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Ó Broin for bringing forward this motion, which the Social Democrats are happy to support. On the eviction ban and the current situation with record homelessness and rents, we simply do not know from the Government what its plan is or what it is going to do. We have not heard from the Government. In fact, we have heard elements of the Government attacking its eviction ban on the basis that it has not brought down the numbers of people in emergency homeless accommodation. It makes you wo…

I thank my colleague Deputy Whitmore for bringing forward this motion. I want to respond to the Minister's comments. There were two things lacking in his comments and responses. As Deputy Gannon foretold, the Minister gave us a list of the different measures the Government is taking but what we did not get was a timeline for the implementation of a windfall tax. We have no timeline on that at all. I ask that in his concluding remarks the Minister gives us an actual timeline as to when a windfall tax is going to be …

The Central Statistics Office, CSO, estimates that approximately 30,000 homes were completed last year. However, independent analysis of the number of homes completed and certified by the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office shows that less than 24,000 homes were built. Is the Taoiseach aware that, according to the methodology used by the CSO, its calculations on the number of new homes built may only have an 83% level of accuracy? Furthermore, in terms of the crosschecking carried out on its da…

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the number of homes that were completed in 2022. Significant data were published on this today. In his previous remarks, the Taoiseach repeated the claim that almost 30,000 new homes were completed last year. However, figures published today by Construction Information Services show that fewer than 24,000 homes were actually built. This figure is based on hard data compiled from the National Building Control Office, which certifies completions. This is a gap of 6,000. Does the Taoi…

I ask the Minister how much money the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is returning to central Exchequer funds from 2022. According to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, approximately €241 million of the Minister’s housing budget from 2022 is being returned to the central Exchequer. This is money should have been spent on building much-needed affordable homes. Is this figure of €241 million accurate and how much of his 2022 housing budget is bein…

How much of the Department's funding has the Minister returned?

The Minister has not answered my question.

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion, which the Social Democrats will support. It contains a number of sensible proposals and measures which we are happy to support. We would go a little bit further in some areas, but that is a matter of detail. The fact that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has not shown up for this important debate says a lot about his attitude to the housing crisis and disaster. The fact that we are not surprised he has not shown up shows how he has en…

Since Fine Gael took office in 2011, rates of home ownership have fallen very significantly. To counter this, we need at least 10,000 affordable homes each year. In the first three quarters of last year, fewer than 1,000 affordable and cost rental homes were delivered. At the same time, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is returning hundreds of millions of euro unspent to the central Exchequer. This money could be used to build much-needed affordable homes. Given the scale and depth of the ho…

Amy Fitzpatrick has been missing now for 15 years. Amy disappeared when she was just 15 years old while staying in the Costa del Sol. Her family is heartbroken, as any family would be. They just want to be able to find Amy, bring her home and lay her to rest. New evidence has emerged recently about a location where it is believed Amy's remains are buried. Despite this new evidence, there has not been any search of this location by the Spanish authorities. This requires the Tánaiste's intervention. The family of Amy…

Is any Cabinet subcommittee examining how investment funds are buying homes? The Government has defended the role of investment funds and their special tax treatment citing the need to attract investment to build new housing. However, new research by Pierce Daly shows that more second-hand homes have been bought up by investment funds than new builds. This pushes up the price of housing as funds compete with individuals and families for a limited supply of housing. The narrative that funds have been mainly involved…

Close to €1 billion was allocated for capital spending to the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage was not spent as originally allocated in 2022. How much of the unspent capital housing budget was surrendered back to central Government by the end of 2022?

It is quite incredible that this Government is using cost inflation to justify an underspend of almost €1 billion on the original allocations. I asked the Minister how much of the unspent capital housing budget was surrendered back to central government at the end of 2022. He did not answer that at all in his reply so let me help him. A total of €337 million that was allocated to local authorities to build homes was reallocated elsewhere, including to pay down local authority debt. A further €340 million was carrie…

I do not need to tell the Minister that, in the real world, under his position and tenure, rents, house prices, the number of people in their 20s and 30s still living in their childhood bedrooms, and homelessness are at record levels. Under his tenure, we now also have a record level of the housing budget's capital spend not being spent and being reallocated, sent back to the Exchequer or carried over. That is some level of records. On paying down local authority debt, the Minister knows that money was allocated to…

It was a flawed Bill.

Will you answer my question about capital underspend?