I thank the Minister. This is my time.

I listened very carefully to a recent report on the "This Week" programme from reporter Peter O'Connell. He referenced rural decline and depopulation and linked it specifically to a number of GAA clubs in the west of Ireland. One was St. Senan's in Kilkee. I note the chairperson, Diarmuid Keane, referenced that rural towns need significant Government aid if they are to continue to be viable. I want to hear the plans of the Minister in that regard.

It is the job of the Minister to treat us to the greatest hits of his Government and all of the rest, but in truth the statistics and facts speak for themselves. The situation was laid out very clearly for us in the RTÉ report. St. Senan's in Kilkee last reached a county final in 2009, when it had 52 adult players on its senior and junior teams. In 2025, the club now has access to at most 23 adult players for the junior team, while at underage level it has been amalgamated with two clubs immediately to the west of …

I am sure they will because this is an issue about which they have become incredibly exercised, and for good reason. I am using St. Senan's as an example because it was the club that was highlighted in the RTÉ report, but in the immediate surrounding areas 66% of the houses are holiday homes. When a house comes onto the market, young people who might want to stay in the area and are interested in playing GAA or providing a few players for a team in the future are being outbid by people who are coming into the area.…

Is it 40,000?

The Taoiseach is blaming the Opposition again. He also blames the local authorities. Anyone but himself.

That is not enough.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

I send my solidarity to the people of Palestine. I condemn the Israeli genocide and the ongoing starvation of the people of Gaza. A blockade is preventing humanitarian aid from being brought in and it is certain that thousands more men, women and children will die. These deaths are entirely preventable. We cannot turn our eyes away. Every day, we are reminded by people living in Gaza that we must not look away and that we must not stop talking about Palestine, but it is hard to look at children being slaughtered. I…

Hear, hear.

There has to be a change.

The Taoiseach has failed those children.

I want to welcome Cara Darmody and her dad, Mark, to the Gallery. It is unfortunate they are here. I would draw their attention to the fact that the Government has circulated its response to this debate already so no matter what is said here on the floor of the Dáil, its script is already written. It has already decided what it is going to say. It has made it very clear it has no intention of listening to what the combined Opposition has to say. It has made its mind up. It has its script written and will deliver it…

Good luck with that.

I will illustrate the point I wish to make to the Minister of State by using an example from my constituency. I will talk to him about a lady who I will call her Janet because I do not want to say her name. In 2010, Janet joined the Dublin City Council housing list. She was eligible for social housing at that stage. I will not get all political about the reason we have a housing crisis. The Minister of State will well know that and, I assume, will take some responsibility for it. In 2015, Janet was viciously assaul…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He referred to zero tolerance, but it does not look like zero tolerance because this man can live wherever he bloody well likes and Janet is stuck. I wish the Minister of State could meet this woman because all she has done is work hard. Through no fault of her own, she finds herself in a situation where she could be waiting 30 years to get permanent housing. She does not earn enough to buy a house, but that should not mean that she does not have somewhere secure to l…

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 21 May 2025.

I will start by thanking the Deputies for bringing forward this motion. I also genuinely commend the Minister of State for delivering that script with a straight face. I was quite shocked by what I heard. You would honestly think that it was worth celebrating that the Government had promised ten days' paid statutory sick leave and is now cutting that in half. You would think workers would be on the streets absolutely commending the Government for the fact that it has kicked auto-enrolment to touch yet again. How ma…

I was the first person in my family to go to university and this is something I am incredibly proud of. Being able to access third level education had a transformative impact on my life. I am the living proof of the impact third level education can have. The transformative potential of third level education should be available to every single person. Every young person should have the chance I had. However, students in my constituency of Dublin Fingal West are stuck in their parents' back bedrooms. They cannot move…