Did the Deputy say 6 a.m.?

Deputy Heneghan is full of energy. I thank all the Deputies for raising various issues. Deputies McGrath and O'Sullivan asked about the Cork city task force. The docklands have been the main development focus in Cork city for some time. Under the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, some years ago €400 million was allocated to Cork for the docklands and the Grand Parade and a new library. Considerable progress has been made in the docklands, but not so much on the city library. I met representatives of Co…

Deputy Bacik raised that; I apologise. I am not opposed to that because I like the concept whereby we acknowledge funding is required and propose a mechanism. It will not fund everything. We will not be awash with money.

A very minimalist levy could yield ongoing revenue that would be of significant use for Dublin City Council to get things done. That is an important principle because increasing numbers are coming in, impacting on services and so on. I think David McRedmond has done a good job overall at An Post. He has modernised it and he has-----

It is not his remit. There have been issues with people retiring and so on. It has not been an easy one. Government has had to intervene and step in with €10 million to support postmasters and will continue to intervene to support postmasters. I want to put on record that I think overall and in difficult circumstances he has done a good job. Deputy Ó Murchú asked about the public realm. They are not ten wasted opportunities. Deputy McAuliffe made a proposal around a special purpose vehicle. We are actively looking …

People are doing different things and are behaving differently. That said, I will come back to the Deputy with where that legislation is at.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 24, inclusive, together. The Programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland's Future, sets out a number of commitments relating to national security and defence, and work to give effect to these is well under way. The establishment of a ministerial council on national security is a key commitment in the programme for Government and it will function to enhance central co-ordination on strategic national security matters. I chaired the first meeting of the new council on 21 May…

I thank the Deputies who have raised issues. I will make a general comment. This question related to the national security committee, national security council and national security strategy, not foreign policy. This is welcome. I established a national security council as Taoiseach to try to bring greater democratic accountability on matters pertaining to national security. It is up to people to raise what they like at different times. However, there is a logic in trying to focus on core security issues as opposed…

----are subject to potential threats in terms of national security. We have been very consistent at European Union level in terms of our position on the right of Palestinians to their own state. We have called out the war crimes and the blatant, flagrant abuses of international law by Israel in Gaza and indeed increasingly now in the West Bank, which is a cause of great concern. We will not be spending money on fighter jets for a long time, for quite some time. Our immediate focus is on radar. We have purchased C29…

We cannot just label all defence as some sort of appalling activity or sector. It is necessary for the protection of citizens. I will come back to Deputy Brabazon on the timelines around the national security strategy. It is important. My Department is co-ordinating this. There is a national security secretariat in my Department. It is now putting together inputs from all the different Departments, including the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Defence; justice; and environment, climate and communications;…

I dtús báire, ní aontaím leis an Teachta. Níl aon bhaint ag an méid atá ráite aici leis an bhfírinne. Níl suim ag an Teachta leis an bhfírinne, áfach. Is é atá i gceist ag an Teachta, agus Páirtí Shinn Féin, ná a bheith i gcoinne gach aon chinneadh a dhéanann an Rialtas, gan aon pholasaí soiléir dá chuid féin a chur os comhar an phobail. Is é sin bun agus barr an méid atá ráite ag an Teachta McDonald. Ní aontaím léi. Just because the Deputy keeps on saying untruths does not make them truth. The fundamental reality …

She is back to the vulture funds-----

She then said this morning that if the Government is intent on using institutional funds, it is on the wrong track. Well, go back a few weeks and just replay what Deputy Eoin Ó Broin said on Virgin TV where he acknowledged-----

-----and recognised a role for institutional funds in the Irish market.

Who do I believe here? Do I believe Deputy McDonald this morning? Do I believe Deputy Ó Broin? Do they believe there is a role for institutional funds? Or, when it is into politics, they just change the term and call them "vulture funds", because it plays well, or they think it plays well.

It is just clichéd bingo announcements. That is all they are at. I heard the Deputy this morning.

It was just bluff and bluster. The bottom line here is-----

I have answered the questions. If we look at what Threshold said, for example, it said it is very clear that "the changes announced today will - with well-designed legislation and effective enforcement – this will be a huge jump forward in providing long-term stability to renters." It welcomed the national extension of rent pressure zones. We will be bringing in legislation to deal with that specifically as quickly as we can. In the next week or two, I would like legislation before Government on the specific point …

Threshold is saying that for the first time, private renters could have secure occupancy of their home for a set period, something that does not currently exist, and Deputies opposite are attacking all of this. They are making absolutely false assertions, because all they are interested in is the politics of this and how they can exploit the housing situation to get electoral or political gain for the party.

They have no solutions and no proposals, in terms of the supply side of this.