I still believe this undermines the long-term benefit of cost-rental. I am worried about the tenant who may have been in a property for 40 years. What will happen after that period? Will they face a market rent or, worse, eviction? Senator Higgins has spoken about international investors. There is no obligation on them to act in the interests of tenants, in contrast to AHBs. What will happen then? Will the local authority have to provide alternative housing? I regret that the Minister will not accept the amendment.

I second the amendment.

On a point of order, this very same amendment was submitted on Committee Stage. Thanks to Senator Higgins's amendment, I will still have a chance to speak to the issue of shared equity.

I was.

I am not happy with that, no.

I appreciate that is the situation. I am thankful that Senator Higgins's amendment will allow us to discuss the developer-led shared equity scheme.

I second the amendment.

I opposed the section on Committee Stage. We tabled the amendment and I opposed the section. This time, we were told by the Chair, the deletion of the part would conflict with the principle of the Bill. It was ruled out of order, in accordance with Standing Order 154, as it is in conflict with the principle of the Bill as read a Second Time. I accept that but I said it seems ironic-----

-----given what we are being told, as Senator Higgins has outlined, by officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, by the ESRI, by the Central Bank and by a host of economists and given that we know from experience in London that it drives up prices, the shared equity scheme is in conflict with the objectives of an affordable housing Bill. It should not be in this Bill at all. I and Sinn Féin will support the Bill today but I clearly state Sinn Féin's absolute opposition to this shared equity sc…

The final Commencement matter comes from Senator O'Donovan who was in the Chair when many of my own Commencement matters were discussed. I think I might have had more selected when he was Cathaoirleach.

The Minister of State has been busy today.

Hundreds of millions of people do not have access to vaccines that could save their lives because they were born in the wrong place. The waiving of patents should have been sorted at the very start, but now millions of lives are at risk due to inaction on the part of von der Leyen, Macron and Merkel, all of whom are in the hands of big pharma. The European Parliament backed a motion to support the waiver. Fine Gael did not support it. Even Joe Biden is now calling for patents to be waived. In all of our names, the …

-----is that this is not only an ethical decision, the EU will be judged on it and it is a big political mistake to make. It does not bode well for the challenges we face in our world and it will have lasting impacts and consequences because the rest of the world will view this as a betrayal.

I welcome the Minister to the House and I welcome the Bill. The gender pay gap is not the same as equal pay for equal work. Paying men and women differently for the same role is illegal, and gender is one of the nine grounds provided for in the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2015 that protect women's entitlement to be treated equally in regard to work and jobs. There are several causes of the gender pay gap. When the lower-paid jobs are taken up by women and few are in management roles, a gender pay gap can emerg…

I oppose section 8. I want the Minister of State to clarify if, in this section, "open market dwelling" means turnkey dwellings. I am happy to withdraw my opposition if the answer to that question is "Yes". However, if this section is about giving the site services fund to private developers, I will not support the section. Does "open market dwelling" refer to turnkeys in this section? We want the Minister of State to clarify that. Is this section to allow approved housing bodies to purchase turnkey developments? I…

I do not think I could be clearer.

Does this section allow the serviced sites fund to be used by private developers?

I am referring to section 8.

I have opposed the section. This is not an amendment.

I move amendment No. 40: In page 12, line 42, after “may” to insert the following: “, following consultation with the relevant Oireachtas Committee, local authority managers and local authority elected members,”. Although we might disagree on ideological grounds during this debate, this is one issue on which all present can agree. I heard Senator Higgins speak many years ago about the need for the Executive and Legislature to work together, collectively and constructively, in developing policy. I have never forgott…