A report from earlier this year from the NESC highlighted the LEADER programme as a crucial programme for addressing and developing the rural economy. In fact, in the Taoiseach's remarks yesterday, he made a similar point and he was right. The difficulty, though, is that the LEADER programme has been hollowed out in recent years. In the 2007 to 2013 programme, the allocation to LEADER represented €60 million per year. Between 2014 and 2020, it was nearly halved to €35 million per year. The proposed funding for the …

We cannot talk about economic recovery without talking about a cost-of-living crisis facing many families and workers across an array of areas, whether it be the huge rents and mortgages we talk about here, the insurance costs that are still crippling people or childcare costs. In particular, the issue that comes up time and again is the cost of home heating and motor fuel, which is putting people over the edge. I know people who are missing meals in order to be able to travel to work. Regardless of what we might t…

What are other EU states doing?

What is the Taoiseach going to do for those families who cannot pay for fuel?

I asked the Taoiseach what he will do.

Does the Taoiseach accept that rents are too high? If he does, and I think most objective people would accept the premise that rents in this State are far too high, then he will have to accept that his Government's record on controlling rent costs has been abysmal. I could go back through all the successive Ministers with responsibility for housing who have failed, including Deputy Kelly, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and Eoghan Murphy. Let us deal with the current Minister.

We do not even need to go back that far. In May this year, the Minister brought forward proposals that would cap rent increases at 4%. There was a provision to allow landlords who had not previously increased rents to accumulate an increase in one go. An increase of 8% was permissible. When he realised that had failed, he brought forward a proposal that would link rent to the cost of inflation. Even though he was told by Deputy Ó Broin and others that inflation would surpass 4%, he proceeded anyway. We are now back…

Completely disingenuous.

Answer the question that was put to you.

Does the Taoiseach accept the Government is failing?

He does not accept that. Does the Taoiseach accept that rent prices are too high?

That is completely disingenuous.

The Government is adopting our policies from five years ago, but now it is too late.

The Government was told that would happen.

Read the Dáil record.

Answer the question.

It is you who is playing politics.

The Government is outsourcing health policy to Lidl.

It is good to see you back, a Cheann Comhairle. The Taoiseach knows there is a crisis in the horticultural sector as a result of peat shortages. Successive Governments over recent years have allowed that crisis to fester by not preventing the export of peat, not investing in finding alternatives to peat and allowing and forcing companies to import peat from the far side of Europe. The Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Noonan, has the report of a working group he e…

I am only asking the Taoiseach to publish the report.