This Bill is a major step forward and that is why it is important that we work together to get it passed as expeditiously as possible. There were some who accused us of rushing this Bill but we have not done so. We have engaged with stakeholders in the planning forum and right the way through. We had detailed pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill but Committee Stage will be important. I am not saying the Bill cannot be added to; it can. I am just saying the advice I have received from the Attorney General is there …

It is not.

It is not. I will come back in.

I know the Deputy is earnest about this issue and that he raises it regularly. For the Deputy’s information, the price ceiling for the first home scheme in Dublin is €475,000 for a home and €500,000 for an apartment, and we review those ceilings every six months. On that scheme, we have had more than 7,000 registrations and more than 3,000 approvals, many of which were in the Deputy's county. There remain major challenges in affordability. I thank the SCSI for the work it has done and the report it has brought forw…

We will.

Through our local authorities alone I have approved funding for more than 4,500 local authority-led affordable homes, starting from on or about €160,000 or €166,000. That is working and I have met people who are moving into those homes. The first home scheme ceilings will be reviewed at the end of this year. I have given the Deputy the real ceiling; it is €475,000 in his area and we review those ceilings every six months.

The Land Development Agency will deliver hundreds of homes this year. It was not delivering any homes when we took over after coming into government. Deputy Boyd Barrett opposed the legislation to establish the Land Development Agency when we voted on it, so we would not have a land development agency. It has committed €1.25 billion in equity.

I am sorry, but it is doing that.

We come in at every opportunity. We legislated for the LDA, we capitalised it and it is delivering homes. We want it to deliver more and we are going to further capitalise it to deliver more. The Deputy is earnest in his remarks but when the solutions to these issues are brought forward, like a State construction firm, the LDA, he votes against them.

I thank Deputy Naughten for raising these issues related to vacancy and the other measures we brought forward to enable us to release further housing stock and accommodation capacity. I especially thank the Deputy for his engagement on that because he was very helpful and constructive as regards the establishment of the vacancy grant, which we have done. I am pleased to say that over 5,300 applications have been received and there have been nearly 2,500 approvals, so the scheme is working very well. I have received…

I assure the Deputy it will be addressed and we will work with him on that. The Department of Health is working on the matter and we are concluding the drafting of the legislation. For the information of the House, as of 1 October last, there were over 1.6 million medical card holders and over 595,000 GP visit card holders. This means more than 42% of the population has access to free GP care, and rightly so. Eligibility for the cards was extended to all children aged under eight years from 11 August 2023, so consi…

The clock has stopped.

Did you not trap a Government Minister in a car for hours? If I remember correctly, you did.

Tell us what happened. Legitimate protest, was it?

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes: — that the Government is fully committed to ensuring an increase in the supply of affordable high-quality rental accommodation through continued significant capital investment, including Cost Rental, to accelerate delivery of housing for the private and social rental sectors and stabilising rents; — that building on the enhanced tenancy protections introduced by this Government, the Department of Housing, Local Go…

-----output and supply, more first-time buyers in the market and the tenant in situ scheme. To be fair to Deputy Ó Broin, he has acknowledged tonight for the first time that the tenant in situ scheme is working. Nearly 3,000 properties have been purchased or are in the process of being purchased under that scheme. Sinn Féin has not allowed the capital for that for next year. We already have over 1,000 properties for 2024. I reject the motion, I welcome the debate and I look forward to a debate, one evening-----

-----where Sinn Féin will come forward with some viable alternatives-----

-----but it has not done so and it never does.

They just come in here and shout; that is it.

Like your alternative budget and your housing plan-----