You deflected in the original response. You have responsibility for economic management in this country.

Is it now the Central Bank's responsibility?

It has a function to play.

It ought to hold the Central Bank to account politically.

The future of how work in Ireland is organised is one of the greatest issues of our time and all the research shows the real appetite for working people to have a genuine right to flexibility in terms of work. Unfortunately, the Government seems determined to go back in time through its deeply flawed remote work legislation, which will essentially give employers a right to refuse requests for flexible work. The reality, as the Taoiseach knows, is that both unions and employers, for different reasons, have said the …

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on these resolutions here this evening. Like Deputy Doherty and his party, the Labour Party and I have been arguing for the application of VAT reductions on energy bills for some time now. We see this is an opportunity to help to drive down the ever-rising cost of living for hard-pressed families across the country. This is just one tool or weapon in the armoury of Government to address this unprecedented problem, the extent of which we have not experienced for a long number of…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. The Labour Party will not oppose the legislation. The Minister of State will know that is not the same as supporting the legislation. The legislation should not make any extensive claims as to how effective it will be in making the playing pitch of insurance fairer for consumers. There is a degree of tokenism in the legislation. Of course, the bulk of the insurance reforms that are about to be introduced come from the Central Bank, not necessarily the Minister of Stat…

I very much welcome the Bill. As the Minister knows, it has been a very long time coming. Many of us in the Chamber are around politics a long number of years. I would be interested to see how many times the electoral commission has been mentioned in the Official Report. I remember in 2008 and also in 2012 my colleague and a fellow Cork man, former Deputy Ciarán Lynch, developed two Private Members Bills to establish an independent electoral commission but it has been part of the political folklore in this country …

On behalf of the Labour Party, I will be happy to continue to support these particular exemptions, the reasons for which are very clear. I agree with Deputy Ó Broin that elements of the exemptions in terms of planning regulations and law may need to take on a degree of permanence. I know there is an ongoing discussion within the Department, and across society and the country more generally, regarding vacancy rates in town centres and villages throughout Ireland and how we can bring more vacant commercial properties…

The Labour Party will support this Bill, which is by and large technical. I do not intend to use all my time and many of the issues I would be ventilating if I were to do so have been adequately covered by the Minister of State and Opposition Members. The Bretton Woods agreement was a groundbreaking accord forged from the ashes of the Second World War. It created the IMF and the World Bank and, latterly, led to the formation of the UN, the European Coal and Steel Community and other important multilateral instituti…

I will speak to amendment No. 6 in due course, but I will first speak to amendment No. 5 briefly because it directly relates to the general issue that is informing this debate. As Deputies Cian O'Callaghan and Ó Broin articulated, it should be obvious to everyone - it is obvious to everyone except the Department and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke - that the pre-eminent lobby group for the construction industry should not be where the registration body and respons…

It would be helpful to read into the record the kinds of bodies that are excluded from becoming the registration body under this Bill. It is stated on page 11: In this section— “excluded body” means any of the following: ... a political party, or a body that promotes a political party or candidate; ... a body that promotes a political cause; ... [or] a chamber of commerce. It could be argued that the Construction Industry Federation is a political body. It registers with the Standards in Public Office Commission to…

I move amendment No. 6: In page 11, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “(e) a trade union, whether of employers or of workers and whether registered or unregistered, within the meaning of the Trade Union Acts 1871 to 1990;”.

I will speak directly to amendment No. 18. One element of the amendment relates to the requirement as I see it and as, I think, do other Opposition spokespersons and parties as well, that representation from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions should be explicitly provided for in the legislation. That is not unusual. One would imagine, if the prevalent primary employer body that represents the construction industry is to be housing and accommodating the registration body, that in the interests of balance there shoul…

I move amendment No. 18: In page 20, to delete lines 25 to 30 and substitute the following: “(a)1 person, being neither a registered person nor an employee of a registered person, who is nominated for such appointment by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (b) 4 persons who are nominated for such appointment by the Minister following consultation by him or her with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment - (i) who are not r…

I move amendment No. 22: In page 22, to delete lines 24 to 26 and substitute the following: “(8) (a) Two of the ordinary members appointed by the Minister under subsection (7) shall be registered construction professionals who are nominated for such appointment by the registration body. (b) One of the ordinary members appointed by the Minister under subsection (7) shall be nominated for such appointment by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.”.

I am sharing time with Deputy Sherlock. I welcome this motion and the opportunity to speak on it. I am always conscious when speaking on these issues of the suffering of the people of Ukraine. That is the issue of paramount importance. That is the paramount issue we face today globally. We have a sense of proportion. None of the problems we debate here, important as they are, come close to the suffering of the people of Ukraine. Rising fuel and energy costs were already having a very real impact on the cost of livi…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that legislation to promote a flexible working environment is in the public interest, in order to achieve: — an appropriate combination of paid work with caring responsibilities, and the enjoyment of a better work-life balance; — the promotion of access to work, particularly for persons who face particular obstacles in taking up employment; — a reduction in traffic congestion and carbon emissions caused by the commute to work; — a rebalancing of the population and of amenities …

I will pick up from where Deputy O'Reilly left off. There has been some anxiety with how the Covid recognition payment has been managed. My colleague, Deputy Alan Kelly, first mooted the notion of a Covid recognition payment for all those who work in the health service in various roles. They worked very courageously, bravely and selflessly during the darkest days of the pandemic. They put themselves in harm's way. To the credit of the Minister and the Government they have introduced a scheme, although it has divide…

I am pleased that the Minister and Deputy Doherty placed on the record the primary reason we are debating these important issues, that is, as a consequence of the illegal war and occupation of Ukraine. Our primary responsibility must be for the people of Ukraine. They are the victims of Putin's war. We need at all times to have their concerns at the top of our agenda. We in this House also have a responsibility to the people we represent for the management of economic affairs in this country. It is clear that, even…