Hear, hear.

The Minister said that he believes real progress is being made. I genuinely do not know how he said that with a straight face. Behind all of his policy failings - sky-high rents, unaffordable homes, rampant vulture funds and 13,500 homeless people, 4,000 of whom are children - are real people. Families are having their lives destroyed. Sometimes I think that if the Minister knew how bad the situation was, he might actually change tack but maybe I am wrong. In his own constituency, which is also mine, I have two off…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this legislation and I thank the Deputies for bringing it forward. I genuinely think there is something a bit cynical about the 12-month delay. This is a piece of legislation that has been knocking around for a while. The work that the Minister of State has talked about could have been done. What he is doing is making very clear that if it happens, it certainly will not be because of this Government, because it is being put past the end of the time that th…

I thank the Ministers and, especially, the team in the Department for engaging with us for the briefing and for the helpful information exchanged. Sinn Féin will support the Bill on Second Stage. We will bring forward amendments on Committee Stage. That will not surprise the Ministers but they will be brought forward in a constructive and not obstructive spirit. We intend to work with them. We appreciate the deadline and will do our best to ensure it is adhered to in good time for 17 February, and not at a minute t…

I thank my colleague Deputy Eoin Ó Broin for introducing this Bill and for all the work he does in this area. I hope the Minister will take the time over Christmas to really acquaint himself with the solutions to the crisis we are dealing with. That is what this is. It is effectively an emergency response to a crisis. The Bill seeks to change the law so that ordinary workers, families and children cannot be evicted when they have done nothing wrong. Through no fault of their own people are being evicted. The Minist…

I very much appreciate the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien, being here to read the response on behalf of the Minister for Education. However, it might be worthwhile for the Acting Chairperson to discuss with the Ceann Comhairle a review of how many Ministers and Ministers of State are turning up for Topical Issue debates that are relevant to their remit. I am always conscious when I make this point that I do not mean it to be disrespectful to the person who has actually turned up for the debate. I very much appre…

I raise an issue I have discussed at least once if not twice a year in the nearly eight years since I was elected to the Dáil. I represent a very young constituency, as does the Minister of State, with a fast-growing and expanding population. Every single year, we have a situation whereby parents are left scrambling for school places. I am sure the Minister of State is well aware of the Skerries community response to the education shortage in town, CREST, group, which was established four years ago to lobby for muc…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Just to pick up on some of the points he made, he said the Department is aware of pressures for school places in school planning areas across north County Dublin. I should hope so, because I raise it often enough, as others do as well. He said the next step is to acquire clarity on the actual number of additional first year places required. With respect, this is our second last week before we rise at the end of 2023. It will be the middle of January when we come back.…

We all know how important foreign direct investment and large social media companies are to the economy. The Minister for Justice made a serious charge last week when she said that X, formerly known as Twitter, was not co-operating with gardaí about the Dublin riots and that company's responsibility. This has been categorically refuted today by the company. It is not a good situation where a major employer is in dispute with the Minister for Justice. Can we get clarity from the Minister? Did the company not co-oper…

Our capital city has an undeniable buzz, community spirit and rich history and I am very proud to be a Dub. However, there is no denying that parts of the city centre have become dangerous, derelict and rundown in recent years. This did not happen by accident. This is a whole-of-government failure, but it has become encapsulated by the continual failure on the part of the Minister for Justice. The recent riots and the loss of control of Dublin city centre is part of a broader failure on this Minister's part. The pa…

I have no faith that things will get better with the Minister or with the Government. Its record speaks loudly and the fact that there are nearly 500 fewer gardaí on the beat in Dublin city is a measure of its lack of sincerity. For years, Sinn Féin and others have proposed solutions and called for these issues to be addressed. We have called for investment in the Garda, increased numbers and equipment and investment in disadvantaged communities, youth clubs, sports facilities, jobs clubs and so on. We have called …

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the chance to speak on the motion. Standardised average new rents in Dublin have increased by €4,716 per annum and State-wide by €3,816 since the Government was formed. Across north County Dublin, these increases have been replicated, with monthly rents increasing from €1,762 per month to €2,158 per month since the Government was elected. According to the daft.ie rent report, that is an annual increase of €4,752 per year. These figures are even worse when calculated using the RTB ren…

A good planning system is vital for any well-functioning society. It enables us to plan and to build in a co-ordinated and sustainable way to provide houses, schools, hospitals and transport infrastructure, to create and sustain jobs, to ensure our businesses and communities have access to renewable energy, and to protect our urban and rural environment. Much of our planning system works well but decades of underfunding of our planning authorities by the Government, alongside years of bad Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael …

During the course of those hearings, significant criticism was levelled at the process by which the Bill was drafted and its contents. Some of the most damning criticism came from our planning professionals and the legal experts who work in the area of planning law. Others, including local authorities, developers, community organisations and environmental NGOs, also highlighted profound deficiencies with the process and, more importantly, the substance of the Bill. The committee's report, published in March, contai…

-----and other Opposition spokespersons, seeking to work on a cross-party basis, across Government and Opposition, to get this Bill right.

I am sorry, but this is my time. Can we keep that until after? I thank the Minister.

Given the Minister's form to date, it is not unreasonable for the Opposition to take this offer with more than a pinch of salt, but Sinn Féin is willing to work constructively with the Government to undo the damage caused by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and to progressively reform our planning system. In the coming weeks and months, as this Bill passes through the Oireachtas, we will put the Minister's promise to the test to see if it is more of his usual bluster or a genuine offer to work to reach consensus. This has…

The widespread criticism, not just in the housing committee hearings but also in the wider public debate, is a matter of public record. The big question now is whether the Minister has listened. Has he listened to the experts, to communities, to industry, to environmentalists and to the Opposition? Given that the 700-page Bill was only published last week, we are still carefully analysing the detail of this legislation. However, at this stage, it is clear the Bill is nowhere near ready. Some elements of it are most…

I am a proud Dubliner. I was born and bred in this city. I raised my family here. This is a city of positivity, a vibrant city full of decent, hard-working people who believe in community. Like all Dubliners, I am heartbroken by what happened in Dublin last Thursday. How in the name of God did we come to this? Three young children and their carer were stabbed outside their school in broad daylight. It is every parent’s worst nightmare. Our hearts go out to those children, their parents and their families, especiall…

They did not get that. Not a single lesson has been learned because the Minister is not listening. In any other walk of life or organisation, the person presiding over such a colossal failure would be sacked.