Exactly how will the Government replace the moneys to the local authorities euro by euro?

You blame us every time for it.

You have.

Once it is appropriate housing.

I hope the Tánaiste will be a bit more progressive in answering me. The Danish Government decided last week to leave the Energy Charter Treaty. It joined a growing list of European countries that have left the treaty. Eight European countries have declared intentions to leave and 15 EU member states, at least 60% of the EU population, are needed for the EU to withdraw from the treaty. Final talks are ongoing at the moment. The treaty has been described as a threat to climate action by civil society groups and UN ex…

We are not meeting our targets.

I am no more enlightened than when I stood up three or four minutes ago. Germany, preceded by France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Luxembourg, have recently announced their intention to withdraw from the treaty, citing the charter's incompatibility with the EU climate goals. Luxembourg's energy minister, Claude Turmes, said in comments poster on Twitter, "This is what the government council has decided today, based on my proposition." He continued, "Even if the modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty leads…

But they do not know what is going to happen.

In the meantime, we can be sued by these-----

Our intention should be stronger.

The Energy Charter Treaty is incompatible with the Paris Agreement.

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for that rendition. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Private Member's motion from the Social Democrats. The National Economic and Social Council made a recommendation in its Private Rental in Ireland report last February to consider Danish-style reforms to our laws on vacant properties. In Denmark, property owners must report to municipal authorities if their property is vacant for more than six weeks. That authority then finds tenants that the owners must accept. There are caveat…

When this Government decided to lift the eviction ban at the end of last month, it made a decision to allow a level of homelessness that would have been thought unconscionable before. We have had so many people in our office in the past month with notices to quit, people from all walks of life facing eviction with nowhere to go. They face eviction because it is Government policy now. They are losing their homes because of Government housing policy. It voted to end the eviction ban with eyes wide open, knowing that …

I support the motion being put forward by the Labour Party. There has been far too little action from the Government for the thousands of families waiting for new schools, school modernisation, or school places. The situation is not improving. It just goes to show how seriously the Government is taking this. I received a reply to a parliamentary question from the Minister for Education yesterday on class size. It said the Minister is delighted to have the investment in budget 2023-2024 to bring down class sizes to …

I was to share time with Deputy McNamara, but he does not seem to be in the Chamber at the moment. Last week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, published its 2023 report, which has been described as a "final warning" for the survival of humans on the planet. The IPCC now estimates that we will pass the target of 1.5 degrees in years not decades if we do not rapidly change course in our climate action. We know the effects of climate will hit the poorest first and hardest, not just globally but in …

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for putting forward this legislation. It is now clear to me the Government's policy is to allow more people to become homeless than we ever thought possible. The Government has not put in place any real or tangible supports to accommodate people who will be made homeless after the winter eviction ban is lifted on 1 April. It even voted down protections for renters with long-term illnesses, young children or several other vulnerabilities. These are not mistakes. This is not incompetence. They …

I am disappointed that neither the Minister for Health nor any of the Ministers of State at the Department of Health are here because this is an important issue. I am sorry the other Minister of State is leaving because it is to do with the lack of services in Armagh Road primary care centre, which is linked to the special school on Armagh Road, Our Lady of Hope School. We were informed by activists in Drimnagh that, on Tuesday evening, an employee in the Mother McAuley Centre contacted them to say that all public …

This is an absolute disgrace. It is similar to moving the chairs on the Titanic at this stage, from the point of view of the HSE. One primary care centre cannot retain or recruit staff and staff are being pulled out of Curlew Road to fill the gap in that centre. It is crazy. Elderly people are being left anxious about where they will get their care from. They are mainly people with mobility issues who use the Mother McAuley centre services and have ulcers, cataracts and all those types of things. We wish to see tho…

This motion is full of very detailed, researched information on carers and their lives in Ireland. I will highlight the most important figure in the motion, that is, the €20 billion saved by the State through the 1 billion hours of unpaid care that takes place in families throughout the country each year. Successive Governments have long relied on the unpaid work of hundreds of thousands of people to cover for the fact they have not put nearly enough funding, resources or supports into the social care system in thi…

Today is United Nations World Water Day, which promotes water services as a fundamental human right. The theme of the day this year is accelerating change. The Taoiseach recently stated on RTÉ that the right to housing referendum would most likely not be taking place this November along with the referendum on gender equality. He said that the Housing Commission has not yet produced the wording. The Government previously stated that the referendum on public water would take place with the housing referendum, yet the…