We have not been in government for ten years.

No, they were not. They were not.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and echo the comments of my colleague, Deputy Kelly, about Tony Maher. This programme for Government contains more reviews than the RTÉ Guide and offers little in the way of hope for renters, people on the housing list or people languishing in hotels, especially in my city, Limerick. It offers more of the same and does not contain anything remotely resembling the radical reset in housing policy called for in the Government's own Housing Commission report. It is difficult…

The only reference in the programme for Government is a commitment to continue increasing capacity and opening more beds at UHL. That is not acceptable. The Government must expedite the publication of the HIQA review and commit to providing a model 3 hospital in the mid-west with an additional emergency department.

I rise today to raise with the Taoiseach the issue of sentencing and the need for sentencing reform on foot of the sentence handed down in recent days in the case of the tragic death of Joe Drennan in Limerick city. He was a very promising journalism student and had a bright future in front of him. He was killed because of a deliberate decision to drive dangerously, a decision made by somebody who was out on bail at the time. There must be accountability in relation to this because the person who killed Joe Drennan…

Hear, hear.

I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le muintir chathair Luimnigh as ucht an deis seo a thabhairt dom agus déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Taoiseach agus an Rialtas nua. As I rise here to speak for the first time as a TD for my home city of Limerick, I want to sincerely thank the people for electing me. Without them, I would not be here today. I am cognisant of what an enormous privilege and responsibility it is to be able to speak freely in Dáil Éireann, the Parliament of a free republic. They say to…

The people of Limerick elected me to be a strong young voice to represent them and I will not let them down.