It is important to point out again that this is being done on a revenue-neutral basis. There is no tax increase here and two thirds of businesses in Kerry will see their rates go down. I appreciate that we are hearing from the one third who are not, particularly those who are seeing a big increase, but two thirds are seeing their rates go down. To defer the revaluation would adversely affect more businesses than going ahead with it would. In the medium term, we need to examine a new tax to replace commercial rates.…

I do not think it is appropriate for the Deputy to engage in party political shots when it comes to housing or homelessness. Yes, it is true that the Government is providing 10,000 people with emergency accommodation at the moment. That is not a position we want to be in. Numbers had been falling for quite some time and for many reasons they are now rising again. Let us not forget that in Northern Ireland there is a Sinn Féin housing minister. The Deputy should not roll his eyes. It is true.

There are 20,000 people homeless in Northern Ireland based on the way it is measured there. I wish this were a simple problem to solve but, unfortunately, almost all countries in the world face homelessness to a certain extent. We are doing the best we can to resolve it. We are putting unprecedented resources into it.

If it was a problem that could be so easily solved by Sinn Féin, surely it would have solved it in the 20 years it has been in government in the North.

In fairness, in the past two years, nobody can say that there has not been very significant investment in cycling facilities, improvements to footpaths and pedestrian facilities. There has been huge investment, through both the Departments of Transport and Rural and Community Development, in improving facilities for cyclists, footpaths and pedestrian facilities. Every day more people cross the canals by bike, including people we both know, than was the case in the past, but we acknowledge more needs to be done. We …

We are up to the point now where we are producing about 40% of all of our electricity from renewables. Not that long ago it was only a few percent. We are now up to 40% and we intend to get to 80% by 2030. That is hugely ambitious and something that we can achieve. We will do it through the ESB and other State companies and also through the private sector. Having both the State and the private sector doing it means that we can get more done in the round.

Thankfully, evictions in this country are relatively uncommon. They need to be done through courts and judges look very favourably on very difficult situations in that regard. Notices to quit are a bit different but if somebody is given a notice to quit, they have rights and they are given a period of time before they have to leave the property they are in. The difficulty with a blanket ban on any evictions is that it just stores up the problem for when the ban is lifted. That is part of what we are experiencing no…

The Deputy is right that part of the solution is buying some of these properties. He raised this issue with me in the Chamber not too long ago. I raised it with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and a circular now has issued to local authorities stating that if somebody is served with a notice to quit and there is a risk that they could be evicted into homelessness the local authority is now being encouraged to purchase the property from the landlord. We want to see that done in much greater numbers than is the…

I extend my sympathies to the family of the victim following the fatal stabbing at Rathass Cemetery near Tralee in Kerry. As the Deputy will appreciate, a Garda investigation is under way and I am confined in what I can say about it. I absolutely encourage anyone who has any information to contact the Garda and bring the people who carried out this terrible crime to justice. On the wider point, Ireland is a country with relatively low crime levels. It is still the case that if a murder happens in Ireland, it is on …

There were actually 15 things in the budget last week that helped businesses. The biggest element was up to €10,000 a month to help small businesses with their energy costs. That will be backdated to September and businesses will receive that money by November. It is true that we have seen an increase in business failures around the country over the past few weeks. I have seen it in my constituency and in this city. I have also heard from Senator Ahearn about businesses closing in Clonmel. That is really sad becaus…

I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for raising this important issue relating to Carlow. I am afraid I do not have any information on it to hand. I note that the Deputy has raised it already with the Ministers, Deputy Darragh O'Brien and Deputy Humphreys, and I will make them aware that it was raised again here in the Chamber. I hope we can find a satisfactory solution.

The reduction in public transport fares has been a real success, both the general reduction and also the reduction for young people. I know governments in other countries have done more radical things, for example in Germany, but in fact they have had to reverse them. What we have done makes more sense, which is a sustainable reduction in public transport costs. We are facing some difficulty extending the scheme to commercial operators because of the fact that we do not control their fares. We want to make sure tha…

I am very much aware of the problems people are facing. We need to get on top of it as it is impeding people from getting to college if they need to drive to college and getting to work if they need to drive to work and the situation is not at all acceptable. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, is working on the matter with the Road Safety Authority, RSA, which is trying to hire additional staff, which would help us to get through the backlog. We will get through it. A couple of months ago, if I was stan…

I agree that it must be a principle of this Government that every child gets a fair start in life and the best start in life that is possible. I am familiar with the work of the Fine Gael policy lab and also the care of the child document, which sets out a roadmap as to how we can improve services and supports for children. The reduction in childcare fees of approximately 25% next year is part of that, and we must pursue many of the points mentioned by Deputy Bruton as well, including making better use of schools i…

That is just not accurate. Those power plants in the midlands were closed on foot of a court order in a planning decision. It was not an evil plot by the Green Party or the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. That is just not true.

They were closed on foot of a court decision. We are going to use the infrastructure there for battery storage, which will be helpful for dealing with our energy needs and energy security. The reasons the demand for electricity has increased so much in Ireland are simple: our population is growing rapidly, our economy is growing fast and we are moving away from fossil fuels to electric vehicles, heat pumps and so on. The solution is more supply. We need more generating capacity and it is coming on stream. It is goi…

I am sorry but I did not get the question.

I might ask the Minister for Finance to come back to the Deputy on this, given that it falls under his remit. My understanding is that this was well flagged a number of years ago and is designed to align the benefit-in-kind system with environmental objectives. It was designed to encourage company cars to be electric or low emission and it was well flagged a number of years ago. That is my understanding of it, but I will ask the Minister to get back to the Deputy on it directly.

I am aware of the increase in overcrowding in our emergency departments in recent weeks. We are concerned going into winter, with Covid cases rising again and the risk of a flu season, that our hospitals could be extremely busy. With that in mind, the Minister for Health and the HSE have developed a winter plan and there will be bespoke plans for particular hospitals and regions. That is due to be discussed next week, I believe. I will make a point of raising Castlebar and Mayo University Hospital with the Minister…

To respond to Deputy Martin Browne, the budget provides for a €500 payment for carers, not means-tested, which they will receive before Christmas, and a €12 increase in the carer's allowance and the carer's benefit from the new year. There is additional funding for respite too. I fully appreciate how important it is that carers be able to get a break from caring. That is important in order that they can continue to do the work they do. The funding will be there. Recruitment of staff is a challenge, as the Deputy kn…