Sometimes they are weekly, so they have gone from-----

I am happy that the Minister is answering some of my questions. Does he care to answer any of the others that I posed?

Good, I am glad. In fairness, I do think that the Government is taking a constructive approach this evening and everyone welcomes that. The subject goes way above party politics and that is how we all approach it. We all agree that it is much more cost effective to prevent homelessness. It spares families and children the trauma of losing their home and all the stress and negative consequences that go with that. As Deputy Ó Broin says, what we want to do is shift resources away from emergency responses and into pre…

It is not agreed. It is important we have proper scrutiny with regard to Brexit preparedness and readiness. There are several issues which need Dáil attention. In particular, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, we need to look at contingency issues with regard to price inflation and how that would affect low and middle-income households. Several issues relating to the UK land bridge are arising in terms of potential delays at Dublin Port, Holyhead, Dover and Calais. There is the potential for non-green laning of Iris…

Not agreed. On Monday on national radio, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage stated that no one has been turned away from emergency accommodation. This is not the case. I have asked for time to be set aside to debate the issue of homelessness in the Chamber. The Chief Whip has indicated that this can be done. I seek time to discuss this as a matter of urgency because people slept rough in tents and doorways last night and will do so again tonight and on an ongoing basis. These people are being r…

I am looking for time for a debate on this. If the Government issued written instructions to local authorities telling them not to use local connection rules to deny people access to emergency accommodation, which is well within the powers of the Government, this issue would be resolved.

He is doing that.

My comments will be on Brexit but, first, I wish to say with respect to the rule of law that I am disappointed with the comments from the Taoiseach. He talked about continuing to hold member states to account in upholding the Union's values. I do not see evidence of continuing work to uphold the European Union values with regard to member states. Is it the view of the Taoiseach and the Government that the continued discrimination against LGBTI people and minorities by some member states and the creation of so-calle…

Very sadly there has recently been a spike in the number of homeless deaths. In comments to the Dáil last week, the Tánaiste gave the impression that nobody who is sleeping rough is denied access to emergency accommodation. This is not the case. Between a third and a half of the people sleeping rough in doorways and tents are being denied access to emergency accommodation. This includes people who have been sleeping rough for several weeks or months. As a matter of urgency, will the Government issue a circular inst…

In the context of the importance of the European Union recovery fund, what action is the Minister for Foreign Affairs taking following the veto by Poland and Hungary of the EU budget, and the new rules linking funding to the rule of law?

I am a little concerned about the talk of a compromise position because what was already agreed with the European Parliament was, in effect, a compromise position. It is a limited provision. It is important that we stand firm on the very limited provisions agreed given the attacks on press freedom, the independence of the judiciary, civil society organisations and the LGBT community, including through the establishment of so-called LGBT-free zones in Poland. Given the gravity of the situation and the importance of …

I agree with the Minister that we need to find a way forward on this. For a decade, we have seen the undermining of democratic and human rights in parts of the European Union. At the same time, we have seen billions of euro in European Union funding flowing into these countries. The measures proposed currently are very limited. I do not believe they go far enough. They are as much of a compromise as we could possibly countenance. In terms of a way forward, if the veto continues to be used to block the budget, will …

Do the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Government support the draft UN treaty on business and human rights? What position is Ireland taking with regard to the draft treaty?

I thank the Minister for the answer. The sixth round of negotiations on this took place in Geneva recently. While Ireland may have been represented in the room, if one counts that as participation, Ireland did not engage in the process and Ireland did not speak up on this. Ireland was silent on it. It is the case that the EU does not have an agreed mandate on this yet and I believe that it should. In the absence of an agreed mandate, and given how long it can take to get consensus on this in the Union and that ther…

I do not agree with the Minister in terms of an approach across the European Union. The issue is that this has now been going on for quite some time. As the Minister correctly said, other member states made a statement, including France. I believe that the Irish people would like to see the Government make a statement on this in future negotiations in the absence of an agreed EU mandate. They would not like to know that our representatives go to these negotiations, do not make a statement and are silent. The Irish …

I also extend my sincere sympathies to the families and friends of the two homeless people who have died. There has been increased use by the Government over the last year of private hostels for people who have become homeless, without the support services in place in accommodation provided by NGOs, and there have been reports of some very serious breaches of human rights in these hostels, such as rules about not being allowed to chat and people who have become homeless being barred for very minor infringements of …

I am sharing time with Deputy Cairns. I commend her on bringing forward this motion and I thank all the Deputies from the different groupings for their contributions to the debate. It is regrettable that Government time was not set aside for this important debate and that it must instead be taken in the limited time available for Private Members' business. Government members often say that Opposition parties do not offer solutions or only put forward solutions that cost money. This motion is constructive. It aims t…

I support the contributions made by other Opposition Deputies. It is to our credit, as a country, that our approach in general on Brexit has been quite united and quite agreed, which contrasts sharply with what is happening across the water. It is a shame there is not agreement between the Opposition and the Government on this. The prudent approach would be to take this out of the Bill. The issue can always be revisited at a later date or on a later Stage, if necessary. However, given the pressures the sector is un…

I echo the comments of other Deputies about the importance of the cross-party and unified approach to the issue. If we do end up with no trade deal, and I very much hope we will not, how that will impact tariffs, the cost of living and food prices, especially for low-income households, will need immediate attention. I hope that is worked on on a cross-party and unified basis, as everything else with respect to Brexit has been.

In a follow-up to the priority question tabled by Deputy Ó Broin, I ask the Minister if the Government will provide funding and supports to Dublin City Council to build social and affordable homes on the lands at Oscar Traynor Road.