Is é cúrsaí tithíochta príomhfhadhb na tíre seo. Is gá dúinn tithe maithe ar phraghas réasúnta a sholáthar do gach duine. Caithfear deireadh a chur le drochpholasaithe an Rialtais seo. Yesterday, the Government presented its quarterly Housing for All update. As always, the press conference appeared to be a smiley, happy occasion. However, the reality of this housing disaster for people on the sharp edge of the crisis is not optimistic. The homelessness figures for March are due to be released tomorrow, and doubtles…

We have plans.

I am glad the Minister says that housing is the key, number one, priority of the Government. However, we are certainly not seeing a sense of ambition and urgency when it comes to that priority. We are not seeing that trickle down into Government policies. The Minister can provide figures, but the key figure of 4,000 children in homelessness remains a shameful stain on the Government's record. I repeat that the Government has to set ambitious targets to speed up delivery of homes. That is true in any sphere, whether…

They are delaying the target.

Conor Gallagher in The Irish Times reports today that former soldiers of the elite Defence Forces Army Ranger Wing have resumed military training operations in Libya in an apparent breach of international sanctions. Through their company, Irish Training Solutions, these former elite special forces members are training troops of a Libyan warlord, Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Russia. The Irish Times reports that this contract is worth more than €10 million. It is appalling to see images of men wearing the Irish f…

On behalf of the Labour Party, on this momentous and poignant day for the survivors and the surviving families of the Stardust victims, I welcome all those in the Visitors Gallery today and express my deepest sympathies and condolences to you all and to your families, your friends and your communities on the appalling loss you suffered 43 years ago. I welcome the fact that at last we have seen a full and reserved State apology offered by the Taoiseach this afternoon. That apology comes following last Thursday's his…

I commend the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss and the young people's assembly on biodiversity loss. I commend Dr. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin and the members of the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action on their work on this important report. I commend, in particular, Deputy Leddin who chaired the joint committee because, having been Chair of a special Oireachtas committee, I know just how difficult it is to compress so much work into a short time. The joint committee did excellent work producing …

The Government is failing neurodiverse children and their families. It needs to do more on autism services. One year ago, we in Labour put forward a Dáil motion on autism services for children. It included a call for action to end the lengthy delays, the backlog, in accessing assessments of need for children. Responding to our motion then, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, committed to reimbursing parents for private assessments where the State had failed to provide them after a certain time. That announcemen…

I thank the Taoiseach.

I thank the Taoiseach for committing to meet Cara Darmody and her family. They will be really appreciative of that. As he said, that meeting will take place in the next few weeks. They have new information. They have been incredibly impactful - I must say that and pay tribute to them - in raising awareness about the lack of services, lack of autism services and services for neurodiverse children. I also thank the Taoiseach for clarifying that the new committee will meet on Monday and for committing to following up …

I wish to raise with the Taoiseach an issue I have been raising for some time with his predecessor and, indeed, the Tánaiste, namely, justice for survivors of Thalidomide in Ireland. I know the Taoiseach is well aware of this scandal. I have worked closely for some time now with the Irish Thalidomide Association and Ms Finola Cassidy, in particular, on the need for a State apology and appropriate supports and resolution for survivors. It has now been 62 years since the drug was withdrawn from the market, yet surviv…

Will the Taoiseach make a commitment today to engage with the Irish Thalidomide Association-----

-----to secure a resolution of this issue for the survivors and their families?

Hear, hear.

We are all very conscious that it is six years since repeal. It is one year since Marie O'Shea's report was published. It is four months since the Oireachtas health committee gave its report to the Minister for Health on the implementation of the O'Shea report recommendations. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Aoife Hegarty and the "RTÉ Investigates" team for last night's exposure of ongoing gaps in the provision of abortion care services to women who need them. Of course, we owe a debt of gratitude to those brave …

Today is the Taoiseach's first day answering questions in this House in his new role. I wish him well personally. It is my first opportunity to do so.

I want to raise with the Taoiseach an issue that is a real concern around the mental health of young people and children. Paul Gordon of the National Youth Council of Ireland has said today that millennials, Generation Z and Generation Alpha may be the first to have worse outcomes than their parents since the foundation of the State. A National Youth Council survey shows that a third of respondents under 30 rarely or never feel optimistic about their future, citing the housing crisis and mental ill health as reason…

Will the Minister for housing make a statement on the adequacy of Housing for All building targets, when revised targets will be published and his plans to speed up delivery of housing in line with established need? The question relates again to targets, but this time to the need for greater ambition and urgency on targets for delivery of homes.

Before I respond, I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, on his appointment. I note that this is, I think, the third Minister of State with responsibility for planning in the lifetime of this Government. It is perhaps not such a positive sign with such a big planning Bill going through Committee Stage currently to see this changeover, but I wish the Minister of State well personally. I express my disappointment at the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan's announcement - I think I heard it right - that it…

People are crying out for speeded-up delivery of new homes. Every time any of us go out and meet people at any point, that is all we hear. It is across communities and multigenerational. It is the civil rights issue of our times. The Government is not going to publish revised targets until the autumn, when the incoming Taoiseach announced at the Ard-Fheis on Saturday that 250,000 homes would need to be built over the next five years, an absolutely clear acceptance of the need for increased targets. It simply does n…