On Monday, Fine Gael councillors on South Dublin County Council voted to dezone land owned by the council earmarked for social housing. The decision to dezone these lands went against the professional advice of the planners. Every Fine Gael councillor voted for this dezoning and they were supported by a number of Fianna Fáil councillors. This will prevent 100 badly needed social homes from being built. I do not need to remind the Tánaiste that we have a housing crisis. More than 9,000 people are living in emergency…

We have never voted against houses.

Tá áthas orm Seachtain na Gaeilge a cheiliúradh inniu agus don choicís amach romhainn. Tacaíonn na Daonlathaithe Sóisialta le stádas na Gaeilge sa tír seo. Tá leagan Gaeilge againn dár suíomh Idirlín agus tá polasaí againn chun stádas na Gaeilge a threisiú. Tá na Daonlathaithe Sóisialta thar a bheith sásta tacaíocht a thabhairt d’fhorbairt na Gaeilge mar theanga bheo agus mar acmhainn don chultúr, lámh le lámh leis na Gaeltachtaí. Tá sé ar intinn againn fuinneamh nua a insileadh sa Ghaeilge agus feabhsú a dhéanamh.…

On behalf of the Social Democrats, I condemn in the strongest possible terms the illegal invasion of Ukraine by the Putin regime. The attacks on civilians, the use of rockets and bombs on civilian targets, the brutal murder of children, the use of cluster bombs and the war crimes that are happening need to be condemned by all of us in the strongest possible terms. It is important that we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and, indeed, the people in Russia who have been bravely protesting against this wa…

I appreciate that. We would like to hear more about it as and when the Minister is able to provide the information. It is welcome that the European Union will trigger the temporary protection directive and that Ireland will, from what the Government has said, participate fully in it. That is important. The visa waiver is another important move. It was deeply frustrating to members of the Ukrainian community in Ireland, however, that it came only with the outbreak of war and the invasion of their country. A number o…

This is not a time for political scoring from any side of this House.

The world is watching with alarm the shocking events that are unfolding in Ukraine. What we are witnessing is unprecedented in Europe since the Second World War - a full-scale assault and invasion of one state by another. This attack is unprovoked and unjustified and will cause needless death, injury and suffering among the Ukrainian people. As the violence escalates and bombs explode across Ukraine, there is growing panic among the population as they attempt to flee to safety. Over the past few weeks, Ukrainian ci…

I asked the Tánaiste specifically about Ukrainian citizens living in Ireland hoping to get their family members here and what assistance would be given to them. During the pandemic, Ukrainian citizens in Ireland showed up for us. They kept our supermarkets open. They were working in front-line services in healthcare, working as care assistance and working as nurses. They were looking after our family members. For the past few weeks, they have been trying to look after their family members and get them here to take …

Families who lost loved ones at the Stardust have been waiting 41 years for truth and justice. They want to know the truth about the fire which claimed the lives of 48 young people who never came home. Given the length of time the inquest will run for, it is essential the jury is paid. It is also very important that the jury is selected from the electoral register. Last night in the Seanad, a Bill passed Second Stage that would allow a jury to be selected and paid. Will the Government support this Bill going throug…

I welcome the town centre first policy and the measures that are being taken on this. It is positive. There have been some very good points made so far in this discussion. In particular, Deputy Alan Farrell was absolutely right in pointing out that huge mistakes have been made in planning in the past which have affected our town centres and our villages. All of those re-zonings took place for out-of-town development, retail and also for residential, which is away from services and amenities. This meant that the par…

I thank the Rural Independent Group for tabling this very important motion. It covers a number of important issues relating to the cost of living and rising energy costs, in addition to some very important issues affecting farmers, in particular, such as rising costs, which need a great deal of attention. This motion correctly outlines this as an issue that affects people in rural and urban areas. It affects people on low incomes throughout different parts of Ireland. It is very important that it gets a good airing…

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the 20% cut in funding for rental inspections that the Government is implementing this year. This is despite the targets for rental inspections never being met. When I questioned the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage about it, he said that they are going to continue to rely on virtual inspections. Let us be clear, virtual inspections are not actually inspections. They involve a landlord filling out a self-assessment form and submitting some photos. There is no phy…

There is cut from €12.5 million to €10 million on rental inspections.

I join with others in saying that I am deeply disappointed that the much-needed citizens' assembly on drugs has not been given the urgency it needs and has not been started, as it should be now. There is an absolute urgency in the area of drug use and addiction, as everyone in this House knows. Over the past 25 years we have lost 10,549 people to drug-related deaths. There is an absolute urgency about this and there should be a citizens' assembly launched right now by the Government on this. There is no time for an…

I will ask the Taoiseach about the Stardust inquests. It is 41 years since 48 young people never came home from a night out at the Stardust. In addition, 214 people were seriously injured that night. The fire had a devastating impact on the families and surrounding communities in Artane, Coolock, Kilmore and surrounding areas. The State response to the fire, and the total failure to uncover the truth about how it started, has had a major impact on the families and survivors. It is very important the remaining obsta…

I want to ask about standards in emergency shelters for homeless people. I have raised with the Taoiseach before issues around people sleeping in rooms without windows, not being issued with blankets or duvets or, in other instances, being issued with bloodstained sheets, and, in some cases, residents complaining of theft of personal belongings, including allegedly by staff who are not Garda vetted or properly trained. All of this is happening in hostels in receipt of public funds. A recent survey by Mendicity foun…

I want to address a point the Minister for Finance made in his remarks. I do not think I need to explain this to him. I am sure he understands how social housing is costed in budget 2022, which he introduced in the House, in Housing for All and, in fact, in all the budgets he has introduced. I would say he knows full well that the total capital cost of each social housing unit is not provided for in the budget and that the way the Government counts social housing costs is partially through capital payments and part…

I want to ask about investment funds buying up homes. By the way, apartments are homes. Figures published today by PNB Paribas Real Estate show that institutional investors paid up to 32% more per home compared with individual household buyers. This is pushing up house prices and rents. While the number of homes being built is increasing each year, the number of homes available to buy is not increasing and remains stuck at only 7,500 homes a year. The share of new housing available for individual households to buy …

I ask the Tánaiste about the increase in house prices and collapse in homeownership levels. House prices have increased by 14% in the past year and homeownership levels have collapsed among people of prime working age. In the early 1990s, two thirds of people were homeowners by the age of 28. Now at that age, people are lucky to have managed to move from their parents' homes. Homeownership levels have collapsed since Fine Gael took office more than a decade ago and although the rate of house building is increasing,…

I have some detailed comments to make about this Bill but first I must say that I find it alarming that there are calls from the Government backbenches to sell off and privatise the ESB. Given the issues we face in terms of energy security, our climate change challenges and the cost of living, which we are now discussing, any proposals to sell off or privatise the ESB need to be strongly opposed. Privatisation would be a disaster for this country. Privatising Telecom Éireann was an absolute disaster. We would now h…