That was not the question.

That was not the question I put.

I welcome the Labour Party motion; the Social Democrats will be supporting it. I also welcome the comments from the Minister that he will listen constructively to any proposals from the Opposition and others throughout the House. There is little awareness of the emergency rent supplement. There has been some uptake, but I and others have been dealing with many people who are not aware of it. We are creating a problem of rent arrears because people who could be accessing that support do not know about it. I appeal t…

We have a fundamental choice as to the direction we want to go on housing affordability. We can continue with the current model of private provision, turning homes into financial assets and pushing up prices. The Government is proposing to introduce more and more subsidies and discounts to the model but it is essentially continuing with the same model that has failed in recent decades. The alternative model is to try to tackle land costs, land speculation and building costs, and to bring in affordability throughout…

I join my colleagues across the House in expressing my heartfelt sympathy with the family and friends of Detective Garda Colm Horkan and his colleagues in An Garda Síochána. We stand with them today. I also commend everyone who worked hard to secure for Ireland a seat on the UN Security Council. It will provide an opportunity to show leadership on climate action and to be a strong voice for human rights and international law. There are two points worth noting about the proposed EU recovery fund. As previous speaker…

With regard to the proposed digital tax, the Irish position for a number of years has been that it should be decided through the OECD. Given that the US has withdrawn from negotiations on the tax, it makes an OECD decision less likely. There is a growing head of steam around Europe for a digital tax. Is the position that we will agree to it under no circumstances, or are there some limited circumstances in which we would agree? With regard to EU-wide efforts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine and the fact that the early…

The Minister of State's statement that a comprehensive agreement is not possible is one of which we should take note. That is serious. It is my view that the strategy of the UK in this process has always been to run down the clock to ensure that a comprehensive agreement cannot be reached. They do not want a comprehensive, quality agreement on a level playing field that would ensure protection of workers' rights and environmental standards. That was one of the points of Brexit from their point of view. The situatio…

It has been said that the Achilles heel of the Northern Ireland protocol is that it is to be implemented by the UK. That is one of its key weaknesses. On this issue, in the paper the UK has published it has sought to revise the text already agreed in respect of the Northern Ireland protocol. It has changed the language used so that instead of referring to goods which are "at risk" of entering the EU market it refers to goods that are at "a genuine and substantial risk" of doing so. That is a very significant change…

What I am asking is whether these attempts to change the wording are an attempt by the UK to backtrack. I appreciate that, if we do end up in a no-deal situation, the protocol will remain in place. However, if the UK Government is trying to revise it, are we in a situation where we are quite exposed with the Northern Ireland protocol and the consequences that can have for us with regard to the integrity of our produce and goods and the integrity of the Single Market? Does the Minister of State not accept that the U…

We can take from that answer that the UK's attempt to revise the text through the paper it has published in terms of goods and goods at risk will not be accepted by Ireland or the EU. That is an acceptable summation in that regard. My summation of that is the UK's attempt to backtrack on the Northern Ireland protocol will not be accepted by the Irish Government. They are my words, not the Minister of State's. There are media reports that Brexit will not be discussed in detail at the European Council on 19 June. Giv…

Does the Minister of State not think it would be in Ireland's interest to have it discussed in detail? Given the stages of the negotiations and the fact that they have not been going well, we need detailed discussion at European level now.

On the Minister of State's comment that houses were not being built because money simply was not there, the biggest financial constraint on government, local government and approved housing bodies was the EU's fiscal rules. These are really a matter of ideology. People have been denied a home so that we can stay in line with those rules. The human and societal costs do not justify compliance with those rules which, after all, have been broken by other European countries. They should be broken to supply people with …

The investment that has gone into the retrofitting of social housing is very welcome. However, with regard to social housing under construction in building sites at present, how many houses being built are being connected to fossil fuel supplies for home heating? What is the percentage of social housing? What will be the future cost of retrofitting homes under construction now that are being connected to fossil fuels which we will have to replace with heat pumps? Why are there building sites active now where we are…

I have been talking to builders who are on sites now constructing social housing and it is being connected to gas supply and fossil fuels. I do not see how that makes sense. Ten or 15 years hence, we could be retrofitting social houses that are being built now to install heat pumps. At this stage we should not be building any social housing that is connected to those types of fossil fuel home heating. My final question relates to the national planning framework which is in the climate action statement. There is a c…

I have a few questions for the Minister of State and will give him plenty of time to respond. I would like to extend my sympathy to the family and friends of George Floyd and express my strong solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. It is important that we all stand united against racism in all its forms at home and abroad and strongly reject State and institutional racism. We must stand up against the politics of fear and hate espoused by President Donald Trump and state leaders in Hungary and Poland and …

I thank the Minister of State for his response. My concern relates to the retention problem in the Defence Forces, morale issues and issues over pay and conditions. It was notable that the Taoiseach was giving consideration to this level of expenditure and yet we do not see the same movement in addressing issues such as pay. I agree with previous comments that it is very important that the Defence Forces representative organisation, PDFORRA, is admitted into Congress. As is the norm in many other European countries…

Is the Minister of State giving an assurance that they will not be sent if there are concerns over safety because there were concerns over the safety of the two officers and the time it took to get them home? Is it a strong assurance that it will be the safety of the personnel first and foremost and that they will not be sent if there are concerns? How will that be evaluated?

I will leave plenty of time for answers. I welcome the Minister's statement that to combat racism we need to look at ourselves. I hope he will agree with me that one of the best ways we can tackle institutional racism in Ireland is to end the practice of direct provision, which is dehumanising for people. Regarding the events in the United States, the Minister first told the House that we should not be surprised if he speaks to the US ambassador in the next week or so. He then revised that in his previous contribut…

Has the Tánaiste made contact with the Polish ambassador regarding the views of the Government on the issue of LGBT exclusion zones in Poland?

I welcome the fact that the Tánaiste has indicated that he will raise this issue. I will send him information on it. It is not a new development; it has been ongoing for some time. It is very serious from a human rights point of view. I welcome the fact that the Minister is willing to take information on it. I refer to the proposed €750 billion stimulus package from the European Union and the measures relating thereto. What is the view of the Government on those proposals? Will we support them?