I have always believed that the very least that people could expect from their government is a roof over their head. To say that the Government is failing in that regard is a profound understatement. At least 13,000 people, including 4,000 children, are without a home. That figure is probably 20,000 when we include all of the shelters in our calculations. The Minister is failing them. What is more is that his Government is beginning to reconcile itself to that fact. At the start of this Dáil term, we had a debate o…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille seo. Tréaslaím leis an Aire agus leis an Teachta Kerrane in éineacht leis na hoifigigh sa Roinn. Is reachtaíocht fhíorthábhachtach é seo a dhéanfaidh an-difríocht do thuismitheoirí aonair agus do dhaoine atá ag comhoibriú ó thaobh tuismitheoireachta. Ní raibh na forálacha faoi mar a bhí cóir. Níor thóg siad cuntas i gceart gur don chaiteachas a bhaineann leis na leanaí atá á thógáil aige nó aici atá san airgead atá á thabhairt don tuismitheoir aonair seachas ioncam breise. I welcome th…

I have heard more full-blooded defences of the Government’s housing policy. It is no wonder because the Government knows it is very much on the wrong side of this issue. Weekly, if not daily, I talk to people who are trying to buy their first home. I am sure the Minister of State does so too. When you talk to them, noting the sacrifices they have to make and the work they have to do just to get a first home, your heart goes out to them. They have spreadsheets trying to figure out all their bills and they have share…

Is fiú trácht a dhéanamh ar cé chomh tromchúiseach atá an t-ábhar seo. Muna bhfuil athrú suntasach ó thaobh fuinnimh agus úsáid breoslaí ar nós gáis, ola agus peitril, níl aon dabht ach go mbeidh an-tionchar aige sin ar an domhan agus ar Éirinn. Tá go leor plé faoi theifigh agus gach rud a mbaineann leo seo faoi láthair. Muna bhfuil athrú ó thaobh an fhuinnimh atá á úsáid ar fud an domhain, beidh tionchar aige sin ar líon na dteifeach atá ag fágáil tíortha atá faoi bhrú de bharr athrú aeráide. It is worth reflectin…

From just the last two weeks I will give three examples of people who are facing notices to quit. A man in his mid-60s is currently overholding. He only recently qualified for social housing. He is overholding by a good bit but is being allowed to convalesce from a hip replacement over the Christmas period. He will be out by January and he will most certainly end up in emergency accommodation. A nurse in her 30s who worked all through the pandemic and did whatever she could to help this country at its time of need …

Tá mé ag cur ceist ar an liúntas pá do dhaoine le míchumas. This question relates to the wage subsidy scheme and I raised it previously in committee with the Minister for Social Protection. Concern has been expressed that the wage subsidy scheme has not kept pace with the increases in the minimum wage, thus reducing the differential advantage for employers to take on people with disabilities.

This is an important scheme. It creates an incentive for employers to take on people with disabilities and reduces any costs that might be associated with same. It makes it easier for employers to take on people with disabilities, which is important given the unemployment rate among people with disabilities. There are lots of obstacles to employment, some of them cultural and others more structural. We have very low employment rates and schemes like this are a very important part of the solution. They are not the w…

If we are hoping that employers are taking long-term decisions when they decide to take on people with disabilities, which we should be, then we need to offer them a certain amount of predictability. I know the subsidy is not currently linked to the minimum wage but the Government should consider linking the two. I appreciate that the subsidy is not small and that it was increased. It should be noted that it is not just employers who are concerned about this issue. Organisations representing people with disabilitie…

This might be a bit peculiar, but I may be able to offer some clarity on the previous question. Deputy Barry might be interested. My understanding is that people would still qualify through a means test for jobseeker's allowance and would be awarded whichever is the higher payment. If they were not disqualified by means test, which lower and middle-income workers would not be, they would qualify for jobseeker's allowance at the full amount because they are always awarded the higher amount. Am I right in saying that…

I am trying to be helpful inasmuch as I can.

I will ask my question. It relates to the rural social scheme. The issue of community employment supervisors has progressed, which is welcome. At that stage, the Minister of State said there was a need to look at all schemes, which would include the rural social scheme and Tús. There is currently a pay claim with the Department in respect of people on the rural social scheme, who are on 15% less than those on community employment schemes.

Whichever payment is the higher can be claimed. That was my sense of it as well. I am sorry for that unusual intervention but it just occurred to me. I wanted to reassure myself. I appreciate that the Minister of State has acknowledged, correctly, that the schemes are different in nature, although there are certain similarities. Having said that, I understand the rural social scheme and Tús supervisors have been in discussion with the Department and the Irish Local Development Network, ILDN, in the last three years…

I accept that the roles are not the same. This is being dealt with as a separate line item. I apologise if I am misunderstanding the position. It is not a deliberate misrepresentation but may be a misunderstanding. Perhaps that can be clarified. Before I come back to that issue, I first want to address the point that this is very important work regardless of slight differences or whatever. It is invaluable in providing community supports in every county in the State. People who are close to the rural social scheme …

I thank the Minister of State.

I agree with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, on gender-based violence. It is not a soft issue by any manner or means. It is an issue of crucial importance that all parties must tackle. I am aware that he was not referring to Sinn Féin in that regard but it is important to put that on the record nonetheless. Is minic a deirtear i dtaobh rúin mímhuiníne go bhfuil níos mó fuaime agus níos mó feirge ná ciall i gceist. D'fhéadfaí sin a rá faoin rún seo cinnte ach ní ar an taobh seo atá an fhearg agus an fhuaim, ná easpa …

-----and the opponents it would dearly wish to have. It is beside the point.

Government TDs are entitled to their characters. Some of them believe them and some, less honourably, do not. That is neither here nor there and is of no concern to communities on the ground. When we boil this down, there are now fewer gardaí on the streets and fewer Garda stations open than there were when Fine Gael took office. We are two years past the 2021 targets and in terms of overall staff, the Government has not only missed the target for enlisted gardaí by 1,000. Not only that but in terms of the overall …

I believe the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is a decent woman who is committed to public service. I believe she has empathy but empathy will not put any additional Garda boots on the ground where we need them, on the streets. People have talked a lot about the spectre, as they see it, although the public and gardaí on the ground do not see it like that, of a Sinn Féin Minister for Justice. I ask Government Deputies to imagine a scenario in which a Sinn Féin Minister for Justice had overseen a recruitment and retention …

Last week's report from the RTB, as shocking as it was, was no great surprise. It only confirmed what we already knew, which is that there has been a shocking increase in rent across Cork and across the country on this Government's watch. We know this from the ever-increasing number of people calling to our constituency offices who simply cannot put a roof over their heads any longer. Couples who have been renting and living together are moving back in with their parents. Young people are deciding to emigrate becau…

In the context of sport, perhaps our most unique sport is the game of hurling. There has been a fair bit of controversy in recent weeks in respect of the proposals relating to the counties where clubs do not have hurling teams. Does the Minister of State have concerns about the proposal that exists? If we are going to promote the game in those counties, the game generally needs to be promoted. There is a lot of concern again this year about the proposition by GAAGO regarding many of the most prominent hurling games…