Tomorrow.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, for coming to the House. I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State when I say I would have preferred the Minister, Deputy Harris, to be here. I appreciate the Minister of State's time. I understand that the Minister is at a Cabinet meeting. The issue I wish to raise is access to third level education and, most importantly, the affordability of third level education. The introduction of free education in Ireland in 1967 was a historic moment. It is one that we a…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I accept and welcome the innovations the Government has made in enabling the technological universities, the consideration of the affordable cost-rental model, the other innovations in the capping and limiting of the rents and upfront payments and the reduction of the notice periods. We have to go further, however, to fully ensure that any of the purpose-built student accommodation that has been built is hit with a vacant property tax if it is not being used and that stu…

Today is 23 November. It is almost exactly one month to Christmas. I know that we all want to look forward to Christmas but all of the media talk and speculation is about lockdowns, shutdowns and circuit breakers. It is three weeks since I contributed to the Order of Business because I was also hit with Covid-19. Everybody is very alert to the infection rates and we are all frightened. We have all been there and nobody wants to go back to the lockdowns. I do not believe that a lockdown is inevitable. I listened to …

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House for a second time today. We appreciate his time, as well as the effort that he and the Department have put into trying to tackle the crisis that is affecting far too many people who are renting their homes not just in Dublin, but all over Ireland. All Members know that rents have become unaffordable. It is for that reason that this new Government has legislated no less than five times since coming into office to try to tackle the rental unaffordability crisis th…

Today is the day the Government will announce the climate action plan. It is often said that an ounce of action is worth a ton of talk. Today we must all recognise the time for talking is over. Today is a day we must all take action. Climate change is real. It is dangerous and it is taking place at an unprecedented rate. This is indisputable. It is a fact that none of us can escape or deny and we must all accept it. If we want the best for our children and for their friends and future generations, we must all take …

I do.

I commend Irish Families Through Surrogacy, members of which were outside Leinster House today to raise awareness among Members of the Seanad and the Dáil in regard to their simple demand that the Government legislate in order that their children can be afforded the same rights as every other child in Ireland. It is not an extravagant demand; it is a very basic human request. England legislated for this in the 1980s. These families feel failed by previous Governments. They welcome that this Government has given a c…

I urge the Leas-Chathaoirleach to keep his finger on the buzzer for the other side of the House. My questions are really simple. I thank all of the MEPs for the work that they do on behalf of Dublin and for representing the voices of Dublin within the European context. There are three big issues: climate action, which has been spoken about; the energy crisis, which is really affecting households in Dublin and other European cities; and sustainable energy. On the latter, I am interested in the UN sustainable develop…

I urge the Leader to contact the Minister for Finance before he publishes the finance Bill and ask him to extend, in budget 2022, the provision that exists for commercial residential landlords to claim tax relief to address fire defects in apartments to owner-occupiers and social landlords. This is an issue that has been aired on many occasions. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has established an independent working group, which is evaluating the cost of these works and their extent. The Depa…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take this Commencement matter. I am looking for an update on when works will commence on the 1916 commemorative centre in Moore Street and on the regeneration of the street market. The Minister of State knows that Moore Street is at the heart of our capital city. It is a street where there has been market and street trading for generations, dating back to the 18th century. Fruit and vegetable traders are on the street, as well as shops and traders who live an…

I thank the Minister of State. I am really concerned. I have no doubt that the Ministers of State, Deputies Burke and Noonan, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, understand the value of Moore Street. They are committed to a sense of regeneration and commemoration of our history on Moore Street and the rejuvenation of the street market. I have grave concerns that despite the €121 million given to Dublin City Council it is not moving ahead and using those funds in a way that would deliver the type of restoratio…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House for the second time today. We will be charging him rent next. I commend Senator Moynihan and the Labour Party and I support their Bill, which is very welcome. It deals with one aspect of the student housing crisis but it is an important one. The proposal in the Bill to restrict the possibility of changing purpose-built student accommodation to short-term lets or short-term holiday lets is one I am glad the Government is supportive of. It is a proposal we need to…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to speak about Sláintecare. It is a most important initiative and one that has been talked about for a long time. We all support the concept of universal healthcare being provided to people based on their medical need and not just on their ability to pay for that medical care. For our party, it is intrinsic and a priority. We campaigned very strongly on the issue in the election of 2020, and made a very firm commitment that we would introduce and ensure full imp…

I wish to raise the issue of the student accommodation crisis in Dublin and in our towns and cities. A month ago, many Members of this House and the Dáil went out in support of the Union of Students in Ireland when it held a demonstration to highlight the issue of housing poverty in the student population, the unaffordability of student accommodation and concerns about the conversion of purpose-built student accommodation to short-term lets. I met with representatives of the Union of Students in Ireland and they we…

I apologise, as I was at a meeting. I will continue the theme of the budget. We should recognise that this is the first post-pandemic budget. We have all come through a difficult 18 months and we are all grateful to everyone who helped us do that. This budget is designed to help those who need help most and tries to improve everyone's quality of life. Most importantly, it is targeted at those who need the State and the Government's support the most, those being, young people and low-income families, in everything f…

-----and put out disinformation. Today, it has its slick social media blasting out on people's phones that there is zero in this budget to support renters in terms of paying their rents, stopping rent increases or improving standards, all of which is a lie. All of which is a lie. There is €600 million to support renters, €11 million to enforce the rent caps for which we have legislated and €10 million to stop and improve the standards in rental accommodation.

It is very important this House corrects that false narrative being promoted and pushed by the Opposition. It is dishonest and disingenuous.

With the permission of the House and the Chair, I will share time with Senator Gallagher.

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. This is a very important debate. The Minister of State brought great clarity on his role and the planning process. It was important he clarified that he understood the issue, supports peat extraction and the horticultural sector and understands the threat the current situation poses to a sector worth close to €500 million to us. It employs more than 17,000 people. There is no ban on peat extraction but, clearly, a dysfunctional system is in place and it is threatening th…