I thank the Minister.

Very shortly after I was elected to the Dáil, I was introduced to Pat Montague, the Construction Defects Alliance and the Apartment Owners Network. I would like to believe I have continued the good working relationship the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, had with these organisations before me. Following on from the Minister's endeavours, I set about assisting them through a hearing before the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which provided clarity and a platform to voice their concerns …

Access to a home is the issue of our time, and many are being restricted in getting a roof over their heads. A global depression, Brexit, a pandemic, unprecedented population growth and Putin's war have brought us here. Hearts and minds might be bought by sophistry, but Housing for All contains measured solutions and funding to meet our crisis. Through the stewardship of the Minister, I am proud to say that the Green Party has delivered legislation for 100% public housing on public land. Green Party cost-rental pol…

No party should keep people down. Our culture is stronger for liberating those who need help. I have full confidence in the Minister.

I move: That Dáil Éireann shall take note of the Report of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, entitled "Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment", copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 14th October, 2022. I am delighted to be given the opportunity to propose the report, Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment, by the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The report addresses and provides recommendations to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and He…

There are so many more issues I probably could talk about but I will keep it tight. I thank the Members for their contributions and the Minister of State and the Department for listening. It is much appreciated. I am grateful for this debate. I have been waiting a few years to push this agenda. I acknowledge, as the Minister of State was saying, the considerable work that is ongoing in decarbonising Ireland and the construction sector but there are some areas where we need to push a little harder. There is a consen…

Yesterday, a motion on long Covid health services was passed by the House. There are issues with long Covid. I know the Government supported that motion. Will it be in a position to provide funding for research and GP training in that area going forward?

I welcome the eviction moratorium, which will provide greater security for tenants and prevent families and individuals from entering homelessness and emergency accommodation, as it did during the Covid pandemic. The winter months can represent the most difficult and stressful time of the year for many families facing significant costs and expenses as we approach the festive season. To be able to provide comfort and security to many households fearing eviction is very welcome. However, we know the measure is a temp…

Prior to and since the programme for Government, much discourse and dialogue has taken place in respect of securing a referendum on the right to housing. Based on a meeting of the housing committee last week, I believe wording is in progress within the Department. I note the contribution of Home for Good to the debate and its provision of legal clarity at a session of the housing committee last year. I understand the Department is also working on wording for a referendum on the public ownership of water. Both refer…

I thank the Minister for all the work he and his team are doing relative to the State's resources and the circumstances we face. Budget 2023 provided critically-needed measures to cushion the economic blow of the increasing cost of living. There is no doubt that the short-term targeted measures will provide relief for families. It is for that reason I welcome the provisions in the budget. I specifically welcome the tax credit for renters, which is a proposal I had raised internally in the Green Party as a key housi…

I move: That Dáil Éireann take note of the Statement of Estimates of moneys required in respect of ongoing expenditure for the period beginning on 1st January, 2023 and ending on 31st December, 2023, prepared and published by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission in accordance with the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Acts 2003 to 2021, which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 14th September, 2022.

Up until December 2017, tenants who paid rent on private property were entitled to a tax rebate. This tax credit was available to all tenants of flats, apartments and houses. I personally remember and welcomed receiving this rebate. I believe it is important that we consider reintroducing it to assist in alleviating the financial stress experienced by our renters. By reintroducing the tax rebate, tenants will receive extra cash in their pockets. I hope this can be considered in the forthcoming budget.

I thank the Minister of State for her opening statement and wholeheartedly support her aspirations in her role. I want to be positive in my discourse, and I hope I am, as the area of special educational needs is very important to many parents, guardians, siblings, providers and, most importantly, the persons who should be afforded an education to allow them to evolve as human beings. I am not here to hold the Minister of State to account. Instead, I would like to relate to her some of my experiences over my time as…

I have used almost every opportunity in this Chamber to emphasise the value to the State of cost rental affordable housing and 100% housing on public land. The LDA recently informed the housing committee that it would now build 100% public housing on public land and that 75% of its units will be cost rental. This amounts to approximately 30,000 units over the next 20 years. I personally welcome these Green Party policies. However, recent newsprints suggest delays. Will the Taoiseach give us assurance here today the…

I am sharing my time with Deputy Ó Cathasaigh. I congratulate my colleagues on their work at the housing committee on this report and their commitment to tackling the issue of vacancy. In particular, I thank my Green Party colleague and chairman of the committee, Deputy Matthews. The discourse of the housing committee in this report has surfaced honest dialogue and debate and, thankfully, cross-party agreement. Our vacancy levels are incomprehensible, especially in a chronic housing crisis. It is time for a robust …

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 commits Ireland to a legally binding target of climate neutrality or a climate-neutral economy by no later than 2050 and a reduction in emissions of 51% by 2030. The construction and built environment sector accounts for approximately 37% of Ireland’s carbon emissions. This equals the level of emissions from agriculture. Some 14% of this is attributed to embodied carbon emissions, namely, the emissions from mining, quarrying, transporting and manufa…

I move: That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to section 4(2)( f )(iv) of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Acts 2003-2021, hereby authorises the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to defend Workplace Relations Commission proceedings against a member of Dáil Éireann entitled: ADJ-00035213 , and which proceedings arise solely out of the performance by the member concerned of their parliamentary functions as a member of Dáil Éireann.

The €8 billion retrofit package is monumental and never been seen before in the history of the State. It delivers on one of the Green Party's most important policies, which is designed to eradicate fuel poverty and make homes warmer, healthier and more valuable. However, I believe a cohort of society has been left out, namely, pensioners. Will the Taoiseach consider going a step further to improve the retrofit package by introducing an equity release scheme for those nearing pension age and old-age pensioners so th…

I move: That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to section 4(2)( f )(iv) of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Acts 2003-2021, hereby authorises the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to defend Workplace Relations Commission proceedings against members of Dáil Éireann entitled: Complaint ref: 00045906; 00045907; 00045908; 00045910; 00045911; 00045912; 00045913; 00045914 and which proceedings arise solely out of the performance by the members concerned of their parliamentary functions as members of Dáil Éireann.

I move: That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to section 4(2)(f)(iv) of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Acts 2003-2021, hereby authorises the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to defend Workplace Relations Commission proceedings against a member of Dáil Éireann entitled: ADJ-00035219, and which proceedings arise solely out of the performance by the member concerned of their parliamentary functions as a member of Dáil Éireann.