-----in new builds, with 8,800 last year, and in delivery of social homes.

I appreciate the leadership ambitions of Deputy Ó Broin. They are clear, but in a more serious vein-----

-----we are talking about pricing and affordability. Sinn Féin policies would undermine the capacity of first-time buyers to buy homes at an affordable price-----

-----because they would get rid of all the underpinning supports we have put in place. With the LDA through Project Tosaigh and others, we are moving very fast to get affordable houses on the market.

It is noticeable from his reply that the Deputy avoided any response to the fundamental problem-----

Through the Chair.

There are 550 first-time buyers each week now buying their first home. Mortgage drawdowns by first-time buyers reached a new peak at almost 26,000 in 2023. That is the highest annual level since 2007.

Listening to the Deputy one would be forgiven for thinking that none of that is happening. What has been important in that is the expanded help-to-buy scheme of €30,000 to support home ownership.

More than 45,000 first-time buyers have benefited and the Deputy's party wants to take that support away from those who want to buy their first home.

The first home scheme and the shared equity scheme were opposed by the Deputy.

The Deputy also opposed the grants for the vacancies and so on. Housing supply is growing very significantly.

It is very interesting that as I endeavour to respond to the Deputy; I did not interrupt the Deputy once-----

I have known from the Deputy that most people like a bit of melody, but with Deputy Pearse Doherty it is a cacophony all the way with shouting, roaring and noise as if the decibel levels reveals the Deputy's rightness-----

This Government has actually been supporting workers and we have a very strong record on strengthening and introducing workers' rights. In January 2023, we introduced statutory sick pay entitlement for all workers, which provides a crucial safety net to protect workers who become ill. It again underscores our commitment to the welfare and well-being of our workforce. From 1 January this year the number of statutory sick leave days increased from three to five. The Deputy will be aware that in February of last year …

I did mention sick pay.

I said that from January 2024, the number of statutory sick leave days has increased from three to five.

There has not been a decision on the next phase, but there is a review.

That is not a decision. Let us be very clear-----

There is an issue. The most fundamental thing is to create employment opportunities in our economy. Most people want to be at work. The Deputy nodded in affirmation that the hospitality and retail sectors have been on to him. The first people to lose out if costs become unsustainable are those very vulnerable and low-paid workers he was talking about, because it will mean fewer people being hired. Of all the insolvencies this year, quite a significant percentage have occurred in the hospitality and retail sectors. …

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. When I was Minister for Education in 1998, I took a decision and brought a related memorandum to the Cabinet providing for the employment of SNAs for the first time in mainstream schools. It was a watershed decision and I can recall how dubious Department of Finance officials were about my protestations to the effect that the measure would be modest. This view was dashed a year later when the estimate I had helpfully provided to the officials more than doubled. T…