I move amendment No. 24: In page 15, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following: “Social housing assessment: transfer and recognition 11. The Act of 2009 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 20B (inserted by section 8 ): “Social housing passport 20C. (1) Where a housing authority (in this section referred to as the ‘assessing authority’) has determined under section 20 that a household is qualified for social housing support, and a member of that household subsequently establishe…

I also support this amendment. It is important because we need to determine the exact implications of this piece of legislation, which is being rushed through the Houses. When the debate on Second Stage took place last week, the deadline for the submission of amendments preceded that debate. This is a recurring theme with the Government across multiple Departments. It is concerning because we should be able to tease out the substantive issues relating to Bills. I laid out my concerns on Second Stage. I am not going…

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. You are definitely too young, as am I.

There was a couple of things I wanted to say on this. I, too, am opposed to sections 61 and 62, for many of the reasons that were outlined by my colleague. When I think about stimulating supply, the type of supply that these new apartment guidelines will stimulate, if any, will be expensive, high-yield, build-to-rent apartments in Dublin and only very specific parts of Cork. It certainly will not build anything in Limerick, the city I represent. We saw last year the debacle when the Minister, Deputy James Browne, t…

They are not €3,000.

They are not €3,000 a month.

The Minister of State referenced the size of a studio apartment in Vienna. The average rent of a studio apartment in Vienna is about €600.

If the Minister of State will allow me to make my point, the average rent of a studio apartment in Dublin is €1,850. With these revised apartment guidelines, the Minister of State has allowed developers to build entire developments of tiny studio or one-bedroom apartments. When you go to someplace like Vienna, there is an appropriate mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. In addition, there are community facilities and amenities, which the Minister of State has also removed during the past ye…

We support the motion. Gender-based and domestic violence is a problem across Europe and it is welcome that the EU is taking seriously its role in tackling the issue by signing the Istanbul Convention. Ireland is already a state party to the convention but opting in in full to the EU's ratification process will mean we can play a full part in the Europe-wide fight against gender-based violence. That will be particularly important in light of the EU Presidency. It is welcome the Government is taking this step. It is…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I sincerely commend the Taoiseach and Government on the shared island initiative. It is important and cannot be understated. It involves €1 billion of capital funding and includes important projects such as the Narrow Water bridge and the new Enterprise fleet. I commend the work the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, has done over many years, what I call the quiet work of diplomacy and dialogue in terms of British-Irish relations. I fully support the Bill. The future…

The questions in this grouping are in the names of Deputies O'Gorman, Heneghan, Gould, Neville, Ó Murchu, Gibney, and O'Hara. We will start with Deputy O'Gorman and then see who turns up.

Thank you, Deputy.

Unfortunately, we are out of time. That concludes oral questions to the Minister for foreign affairs.

The Select Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has completed its consideration of the Industrial Development (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2026 and has made no amendments thereto.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith anseo inniu. I thank him and his officials for the detailed briefing we received on the Bill. It is a long and technical Bill. One aspect of it is that it seeks to raise the borrowing limit of the Housing Finance Agency, which is fine. However, the other aspects are quite technical and detailed. Deputy Ó Broin alluded to a recurring theme across Departments, not just the Department of housing, whereby the deadline for Committee Stage amendments to Bills is given befor…

We have an epidemic of male violence against women in this country. Nearly 1,900 women were turned away from domestic violence refuges in the final six months of last year. The Government is failing these women. We need the Minister to come in and take questions on this issue this week. Women fleeing domestic violence need support and they need safe refuge.

Today nurses and midwives are protesting at University Maternity Hospital Limerick. The HSE pay and numbers strategy cut approximately 30 to 35 front-line nursing and midwifery posts, imposing new staff ceilings, recruitment limits and pay spend caps. Many areas of the hospital are running rosters at 50% below safe levels. The neonatal unit is beyond safe capacity while awaiting HSE approval for service expansion. The labour ward has a daily deficit of midwives. This has been raised repeatedly with management. A HI…

I ask the Minister about the steps he and his Department will take to tackle dereliction in advance of the new derelict property tax and how he is going to mandate local authorities to collect the millions in outstanding derelict site levies in advance of that, and when the Government will introduce the new compulsory purchase order Bill. Will he examine the concept of compulsory sale orders to bring vacant and neglected homes back into use?

I thank the Minister of State for his response. There is €20.5 million in levies outstanding for derelict sites. I want to press the Government on what new measures there are and what it is going to do to make sure that local authorities collect that money, notwithstanding the new derelict property tax. I will also ask about the compulsory purchase order Bill. The Law Reform Commission gave very clear recommendations in 2023. When are we going to see that Bill? Will the Minister of State confirm on the record that …

The reason I raised the issue of compulsory sale orders is that this is something the Scottish Government had in a 2018 land reform report, although it has not been implemented yet. I am raising it not so much with the idea that the compulsory sale order would be punitive, but for it to be another framework by which engagement can be sought with the owners of problematic sites. I have two follow-up questions. What is the rationale for the derelict property tax to be applied to towns with a population of over 4,000,…