Double standards. There is no issue with referring Russia but when it comes to Palestine or Israel, absolute double standards are at play. It is shameful.

No single issue excites a greater sense of anger with the Government than housing. Nothing illustrates the failure of the Government to deliver for ordinary workers and families as the housing crisis or the housing disaster. The arithmetic of this failure is absolutely astounding. House prices have increased by 28% and by an average of €70,000 since the Government took office. There has been a rent increase of 25%, which is an average of €3,700 a year, increases to child homelessness of 47%, and the list goes on. T…

The Minister is not doing a good job of defending his own record.

This is getting personal now.

How many judicial reviews have been brought forward in County Wicklow?

I ask the Minister for a progress update on areas of responsibility for his Department under the national youth homelessness strategy that was launched last year. I would like a progress report on the eight areas for which his Department has responsibility.

As the Minister is well aware, the plan was launched on 9 November last year, so we are quickly approaching the first anniversary of its publication in two days' time. Essentially, we are in the month of November. The strategy kicked in in January, so we are nearly one year through a three-year strategy. I ask the Minister to honestly give his assessment as to whether the strategy is working. The statistics do not lie. If we look at the youth homeless statistics from September, they show there are 1,510 homeless yo…

Absolutely, I appreciate that but when I talk about youth homeless figures of more than 1,500, I think the Minister will acknowledge that does not actually give the real figures because many young people - again, I hate to use statistics - are living longer at home and they are not captured by these figures. Nor do the figures include many young people who are sofa surfing. Young people who have come out of care, who the Minister described, have nowhere to go and end up sofa surfing or living with family or friends…

I want to ask about Garda vetting and child safety training which might or might not be mandatory for staff working in accommodation provided on behalf of IPAS and being used by people seeking temporary protection.

The Minister will be aware that the Ombudsman for Children published a report last month which cites concerns that children in direct provision and other forms of accommodation are not safe. He wrote: “How we treat children coming to this country will be a defining issue of our generation, and as things stand, history will not judge us well.” While I welcome the measures in place in respect of IPAS accommodation, there are serious concerns for those who are BOTPs. Part of it is the over-reliance - and I understand …

Let us separate the two. In respect of BOTPs, the Minister said that much of this is shared accommodation provided by the private sector. A great deal of that involves the taking over of entire hotels. Even in my constituency, it has involved the use of other kinds of accommodation. There are 750 Ukrainians coming to Wicklow. Is the Minister saying there is no Garda vetting in those situations or that there is no Children First training when we have sole responsibility as the provider? There needs to be a level of …

Once again, words fail to convey the sense of anguish and frustration that is felt not just here in Ireland but globally at the tragedy that is befalling the Palestinian people. The butcher's bill for Israel's ongoing campaign against Gaza continues to rise. To date, we can add the names of UN workers, journalists, nurses and doctors, and children to those thousands of Palestinians who continue to pay the price for Israel's campaign of vengeance. The people of Gaza are under continuous Israeli bombardment. They are…

On 3 July the Israeli military began its largest and most violent raid on the heavily-populated Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank in over 20 years. Its forces came with tanks, planes, missiles and killer drones. They killed at least a dozen people, displaced thousands and, according to the deputy governor of Jenin, they destroyed, burned or damaged at least 80% of homes in the refugee camp. These forces came in the name of the Israeli Government, which is a government committed to the expansion of its programme o…

This question is to ask the Minister to provide an update on any efforts he is taking to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the retained fire service that has resulted in industrial action and strike action, which is currently suspended and now before the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. What actions is the Minister taking now to address these key issues that affect the 2,000 retained firefighters across the State?

It was the Minister's failure to address the recruitment and retention crisis that destabilised the retained fire service right across the State and forced these retained firefighters into having no alternative but to initiate industrial and strike action. This is down to the Minister and his consistent failure. We know the key issues here. We know the constraints that have been placed on the retained firefighters, including work-life balance and being on call 24-7. We also know about the recommendations. Recommend…

The Minister has been found wanting. The Government, and successive Governments, have been found wanting for more than 20 years, because this crisis has not just evolved over the last weeks or months. This has been a crisis for 20 years or more. The Minister talks about politicising an issue but it has been politicised because of the successive failures of the political establishment, including the Minister's own party. The matter is before the Labour Court, as the Minister correctly outlines. That is the case beca…

We are seeing one of the biggest Israeli military build-ups in decades. Ten Palestinians have been killed in the past two days. The Government continues to provide legality to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories by allowing the continuing investment by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, in businesses listed on the UN database of businesses operating illegally in the area. When Sinn Féin attempted to introduce legislation to divest from these investments, the Government objected on the gr…

The register is accurate.

Having participated in almost nine hours of committee meetings last week when Oireachtas Members questioned various RTÉ executives, I am disappointed at how little regarding what has happened or who is responsible has been unearthed, although what has been exposed at both the media committee and the Committee of Public Accounts has been absolutely shocking, to say the least. If I had a euro for every person who told me over the weekend that they will not pay their TV licence fee on foot of what has happened, I woul…

I will conclude now. This is not acceptable. The chief financial officer at RTÉ, Mr. Richard Collins stated in his evidence that it was his view that the taxpayer was defrauded. This leads to the potential for a full Garda investigation into allegations of fraud at RTÉ, which could end up running parallel to the two reviews the Minister has announced. Dee Forbes and Ryan Tubridy need to come before the Committee of Public Accounts-----