Ní aontaím leis an Teachta in aon chor. Rinne an Rialtas an-chuid i mbuiséad na seachtaine seo caite, go háirithe chun cabhair agus tacaíocht a thabhairt do dhaoine a bhfuil ag fulaingt faoi láthair. Admhaím go bhfuil costais mhaireachtála, go háirithe ó thaobh cúrsaí bia de, ag dul in airde. Thug an méid a rinneamar cabhair agus tacaíocht do na daoine is boichte agus na daoine atá ar na hioncaim is ísle sa tír. Níl aon amhras ach go ndearnamar sin. When we look at the budget across the board, it focused on those o…

Do we want a serious debate or not? Under the SWITCH model, if we index to inflation, the lowest income deciles benefit substantially more than anybody else, by up to 4% or 5%. If we index to wage growth, it is a different story. I am more into deprivation and consistent poverty-----

Sorry, in terms of methodology, I am into arresting and dealing with those who are genuinely suffering from deprivation and consistent poverty, rather than the idea of relative poverty, which is a moveable feast, particularly with an economy that has been growing for ten years. We either have serious discussions about these things or we do not. The Deputy just goes herd-like after the latest headline. That is all she does. She latches onto the latest headline and off she goes. I can recall that during the energy cr…

She wanted to underpin them. If we keep on doing energy credits, where is the pressure on the companies?

The Deputy is suggesting that we keep bailing out the companies-----

-----and keep underpinning the gouging. If the companies think there is going to be €200, €500 or €1,000 every year, that will get factored in, without question.

What is important in terms of the energy companies is the more fundamental issue facing the market, which is the methodology by which the European Single Market works in terms of how prices are determined for gas and the margin of pricing or pay-as-clear system. That is the fundamental problem. The Minister has established a national group to look at the regulatory framework governing the pricing of energy. That has to happen in tandem with Europe. The Iberian peninsula did something on this because of the high pro…

That is one of the fundamental issues because gas sets the price across Europe. That is the reality.

We know that energy prices in Ireland are high. There are a number of factors. The fundamental factor is the broader regulatory framework that governs the pricing of energy, gas being the issue. Gas sets the price. We are at a disadvantage in that respect, as we are in respect of the dispersed nature of our grid. We have the eighth highest electricity prices in the EU 27 when adjusted for purchasing power parity. That is where we are right now and the Minister has established a national energy affordability task fo…

No, the ESRI used a different methodology from the one we used last week in terms of how we utilised the-----

This is well known.

The Deputy is clearly not listening. She interrupts all the time, as do her colleagues.

I always remember the Deputy's intervention during the energy crisis. It was the Liz Truss intervention.

Sinn Féin copied and pasted the Liz Truss intervention but thanks be to God we did not accept its proposals-----

-----because look at what happened to Prime Minister Truss and to the markets and everything else in the UK at the time.

The Government has responded to the Housing Commission. It has been asserted in public discourse that the Government ignored the Housing Commission in respect of the rental market.

I would argue that the Opposition has ignored the Housing Commission on rents because it clearly pointed to a reform of the rent pressure zones, RPZs. It said they were not fit for purpose and should not be allowed to continue. Once the Government and Minister came forward with reforms of the RPZs, balancing protections by making it full national coverage and other measures, there was a chorus of opposition from the Opposition-----

-----and a pretence that the Government had not looked at the Housing Commission's report at all. That happened. The bottom line is supply.

If you continue with eviction bans, rent freezes and all of that, you will depress suply. There is no doubt in my mind about that. If we keep doing judicial reviews, even against guidelines and regulations - the Deputy should not nod; these are the facts - that is paralysing the system. We want to get apartments built - different types, sizes and guidelines. The first resort of public representatives in the Labour Party, and other parties, is to go and do a judicial review, which will delay progress on that front b…

That is the bottom line. There is this refusal to acknowledge progress but we need to do much more than that. That is why the Government is doing everything it possibly can to get more houses built, get more apartments built -----