I will raise an issue I have raised with the Taoiseach previously and which he spoke about earlier, that is, the ongoing failure by the Government to provide adequate accommodation for those who come here seeking refuge and are in the international protection system. I agree with him that it is inhumane and unsustainable to have people camping on the streets or in public parks, but it is failure of Government and the lack of alternative options for people that have caused this situation. It is simply not an appropr…

The question is to ask the Minister for housing if he will report on his engagement with the Minister for Justice in respect of the need to update the Multi-Unit Developments, MUDs, Act 2011 and if he is satisfied that the redress scheme for construction defects is practicable in view of the lack of a review so far.

I thank the Minister of State. I am somewhat disappointed the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, did not respond directly on this question given the importance of this issue and the fact that I have engaged directly with him on the issue of the redress schemes. I am glad to hear that the regulations are being prepared. Can the Minister of State provide a timeline for their approval and can he clarify whether there will be any primary legislation used to make an amendment or is this to be done through regulation? I s…

I thank the Minister of State for the greater clarity on timelines. To return to the point around regulation of owner management companies, we are all conscious that these companies are taking on immense roles. Many of them are volunteer-led and they are simply lacking, in many cases, in the necessary supports and guidance. They are lacking a regulator. That is why we have seen the Construction Defects Alliance, the Apartment Owners Network, the Not Our Fault campaign and others coming together to seek reform of th…

We hear ominous reports from the Israeli Government that it intends to continue pursuing its genocidal war in Gaza until the end of this year and beyond, while it refuses to comply with the International Court of Justice ruling calling for an immediate halt to the military offensive in Gaza. We see children continuing to be killed in Gaza. We see what is happening in Rafah, which is horrific and a stain on our humanity. We need concrete action at EU level. Will the Government support Ursula von der Leyen for a seco…

I join in welcoming the Waterford Crystal workers to the Gallery and the Taoiseach's commitment to meet them. This week saw more grim news on climate, with the latest projections from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, showing starkly that we are not going to meet our emissions reductions targets, have no chance of achieving a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030, even though this is our legally binding target, and that in a best-case scenario greenhouse gases will only be reduced by 29% by 2030. Friends of th…

We are in the middle of a housing disaster. It is the greatest crisis facing the country and the greatest civil liberties issue of this generation. It is really unedifying and unhelpful to listen to a shouting match between two men in this Chamber, shouting and trying to score points off each other. That is not helpful for the more than 13,000 people in homelessness and the 4,000 children among that number who are in emergency accommodation. It is not helpful for the thousands of young adults living on in their chi…

I am always happy to do so. We need to learn, in this House, how to disagree agreeably and how to make substantive points in debate in a respectful, courteous and civil manner. The report of the Housing Commission has dominated headlines and debate - rightly so - since it was leaked earlier this week. It was welcome to hear the Taoiseach say he does not appear to challenge its findings, which are a searing critique of the Government's policy on housing and damning of the Housing for All plan, which the Minister sto…

I do not hear any sign of the necessary ambition or urgency from the Minister when he effectively says to people to wait and see, that we will publish those revised targets but just not yet, even though everyone, including the Housing Commission, says the targets are simply too low. Let us take vacancy and dereliction as an example. So much more needs to be done to tackle the scourge of vacancy and dereliction. Yet, instead of ambition and urgency, the Croí Cónaithe scheme is inadequate. It is only available to tho…

It is a drop in the ocean.

I again raise the plight of thalidomide survivors. They have been waiting more than 60 years for justice and have become desperately frustrated. They are urgently seeking a Government commitment to re-engaging with them to achieve a resolution to seek a State apology and a compensation package, a fair deal. I have been raising this consistently for some time. The Minister met Finola Cassidy from the Irish Thalidomide Association last week. I pay tribute to her and her colleagues for their advocacy. She has informed…

A radical strategic reset of housing policy is what the Housing Commission has called for in its leaked report, excerpts of which have been published today. I think we all look forward to reading it but it is within the Government's gift to publish it. It should be published and I am glad the Taoiseach says it will be published this week. What we know from what has been leaked is that it exposes what it describes as fundamental, systemic failures in housing policy, ineffective decision-making, reactive policymaking…

I said "weeks".

I thank the Taoiseach for acknowledging the need to increase housing targets. Indeed, his predecessor also accepted that building targets were too low, but we are still waiting for those increased targets that are so badly needed. More than a year ago, we in Labour said that Ireland would need to see output of 50,000 new builds per year to meet the scale of need. That is now endorsed and confirmed, it appears, by the Housing Commission, and the Taoiseach has effectively confirmed it. However, we still do not have a…

We do not now when the Minister might have received a previous draft. It would be helpful to hear from the Taoiseach more clarity as to when the Government proposes to implement the recommendations in the report and to take that emergency action that is so necessary. More than 4,000 children are in homelessness. That is a key group of the population and society who cannot wait any longer and who need to see more urgency from the Government.

It is too low.

Reports indicate that Ireland, along with other EU member states, may recognise the state of Palestine as early as tomorrow. I welcome that, particularly as we see the horrendous death toll in Gaza rising and International Criminal Court arrest warrants being sought in respect of Netanyahu and Israeli and Hamas leaders. We must see an end to Israel's genocidal action in Gaza and the release of the hostages. In his statement to the International Court of Justice in February, the Attorney General stated that countrie…

I welcome the opportunity to debate Housing for All. When it comes to housing as a public good, we in the Labour Party believe in three pillars for a housing system that works for all. The first is social and affordable housing. The second is security of tenure for renters. The third is a more ambitious home-building programme. For us, the marker of the Government's Housing for All policy - its success or failure - is whether is strives to achieve those three aims and, of course, whether it succeeds in achieving th…

I am glad to second this important motion on behalf of Labour and to thank my colleague Deputy Duncan Smith for tabling it. Throughout history, there have been everyday tragedies that were once thought an inevitability. In the days before it was eradicated, it was thought that smallpox would forever take the lives of young people across the world. Most tragically, gun violence is thought of as an occupational hazard for small children heading to school in certain parts of the world today. What unites these seemingl…

Today, on Nakba day, we stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine. Amid the horror of Netanyahu's genocidal siege on Gaza, the compassionate response of people here in Ireland has been notable. They have stood up for human rights, humanitarianism and international law. In recent weeks, we have seen this in the incredible activism of students in Trinity College Dublin and across other campuses. We have seen it this week in the generosity of spirit shown by Bohemian Football Club, the women's football…