I welcome the Minister’s response as he knows that I wrote both to himself and to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, at the end of last year and early this year on this issue. Like Deputy O’Callaghan, I firmly believe that legislation is going to be required to outlaw this abhorrent behaviour. I pay tribute to Ann Murphy of the Irish Examiner whose sterling investigative journalism has exposed this issue and brought it to light for all of us. I fully assure the Minister that if he and his colleague, the Minister for Jus…

I will start by thanking Senator Flynn and all of the members on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community for both their hard work and for this very important report. I would also like to acknowledge the fact the Government gave time to Senator Flynn to speak with us today. I hope this is not the last time that she speaks on this issue on behalf of the Government. If she got to speak on its behalf more often, Traveller public policy would be in a much better place. I acknowledg…

Hear, hear.

We know how we are sharing it.

We are as disciplined as ever.

I thank the Minister of State for the opportunity to discuss this important issue and for his opening remarks. Sinn Féin will welcome any plan, strategy or fund that aims to address the crises in many of our urban centres in our towns and cities. We all have direct experience in our constituencies of urban centres that are blighted by dereliction, vacancy, traffic congestion and poor public realm facilities. One of the consequences of that, of course, has been the loss of population in those urban centres. Many tow…

The carbon tax increase is unjustified. It will increase costs on working people and families at the worst possible time. Some will say during the course of this debate that the increase is modest or that it is not the biggest contributor to fuel and energy cost rises. I have to say that these arguments simply miss the point. It is one of the few factors that the Government can control and any increase in fuel and energy costs at this point is simply wrong. Defenders will say that an increase in carbon taxes is nec…

Institutional investors are distorting our housing market. This is not some accident or force of nature; it is the policy of the Government. For many years, a global wall of cheap money has been seeking out the highest yields in real estate investment. In recent years, Government policy has thrown fuel on the housing fire, with all the obvious consequences. My colleague, Deputy Doherty, has talked about how there is no tax on the rent roll for these funds and no tax on capital gains. In fact, in many cases, they ca…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Planning and Development Act 2000 and to provide for related matters. As Members of the House will be aware, tens of thousands of families across the country are affected by Celtic tiger-era latent defects and by defective building materials. As we speak, there are thousands of families with properties crumbling around them in counties Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Limerick and Clare. Families in Clare still do not have certainty as to whether t…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

That is not true.

Appalling dishonesty on the floor of the Oireachtas from the Taoiseach.

The party that objects to most houses in the State is Fianna Fáil.

I am fed up of this Taoiseach lying about what Sinn Féin councillors are doing.

They are downright lies.

It is not acceptable to mislead the public and it is not acceptable to have rising rents.

I absolutely will not withdraw it. It is dishonest.

I have no intention of----

The Taoiseach is misleading the House.

I am more than happy to substitute "willingly misleading the House" for "lying".