Deputy O'Rourke asked about Ashbourne and the treatment plant.

We have put huge investment into Uisce Éireann. It is up to Uisce Éireann to get on with it and start delivering. It has no issue with funding now and that is clear. In response to Deputy Cleere, it is an interesting proposal and idea. I will talk to TII. It would be responsible for that, but I hear what he is saying. Car-pooling is something that we are encouraging. We need to give capacity to enable that to happen. In response to Deputy Tóibín-----

Yes. I will talk to the Minister to get behind that to get the full details around that IT system and what the issue has been, as well for full accountability in respect of that project. Deputy Whitmore asked about the DART to Wicklow town. She gave a long timeline and then she said at the end that it had gone out for tender. If it has gone out for tender, we are in business, and I think it will progress. The precise timeline depends on the tender process and so on, but I think it is going to happen, notwithstandin…

I have so much to say.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 25 to 37, inclusive, together. Our programme for Government sets out an ambitious agenda for building our shared island backed by our €2 billion commitment to the shared island fund out to 2035. We are forging ahead with the investment and co-operation agenda across all sectors. In November, the Government made a funding commitment of over €50 million from the shared island fund to resource ten new island-wide programmes over the next five years, including on media, heritage, emerge…

I thank all the Deputies for their commentary. Deputy Brendan Smith raised the studies that have been under way by the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, and the ESRI under shared island. There is a range of studies. Never before in the history of the State have we had such a body of research commissioned and completed on the differences between systems in Northern Ireland, be it the health service, education and right across the board, and those in the Republic. There is a very good body of research. The …

Whether it falls within the legacy framework or not, that is perhaps the best avenue to pursue it. If we can get the legislation completed in Westminster and here, we will. That is an important aspect of it. Even though it happened in 1976 the trauma goes on for the second generation - the grandchildren, cousins and nieces - and the need for closure continues with each succeeding generation. To Deputy Hayes I would say that the most fundamental prerequisite for the unity of the Irish people is reconciliation. We ne…

I apologise. The response to the Deputy’s question was on the next page and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle was looking at me intently. I could not agree more with the Deputy on the North-South interconnector but there have been a lot of political challenges with it. As I said last week, we all need to pause a bit and say what our priorities are. We need the North-South interconnector in terms of the energy needs of those regions and the country at large. The relevant Minister is present now. On the Deputy’s private wire…

Rents have been too high for a long time. Why?

It is because there is a shortage of supply.

The Deputies have had their chance. With respect, they should allow democracy to take place.

The one thing I observed in the presentation by Deputy McDonald was the absence of any solution, the absence of any idea except to ban rent hikes-----

-----which will destroy supply. Any international organisation analysing the rental market or any property market has said time and again that rent controls or the freezing of rents just reduces supply, kills the market for the long term and will keep prices at too high a level. The Housing Commission recommended that we had to change the rental situation in terms of the rent pressure zones.

Again, Sinn Féin Members are interrupting and again they do not have either the manners or the cop-on to listen to some rational arguments on this question.

With the greatest of respect, Deputy, you went off to Davy Stockbrokers. You went off to all that gang before the election and we saw the incoherence of your response.

Again, recommendations for reform came from the Housing Commission, the ESRI, and the Housing Agency.

The bottom line was this. What was in place could not be sustained. Equally, it is about supply-----

In terms of our proposals and what is happening, we had 36,000 additional houses last year. Supply ultimately will moderate rent increases.

Daft.ie data is asking prices. It is not the complete data set for the entire rental market in the country. Deputies should know that. That is the bottom line. The asking prices are usually greater than usual. The Central Statistics Office, in its monthly change analysis, showed a figure of 0.3% in quarter 1 of 2026. The Residential Tenancies Board covers the entire population of tenancies, which is about 246,000. With daft.ie , it could be as low as 2,300 tenancies. We have to treat the daft.ie data with care in t…

There is no doubt that, with the change, there was going to be an impact on the market. There was no question about that. It was actually said at the time by various agencies. The bottom line is that there had to be certainty given to the landscape because we are spending about €9 billion of State money. The direct State intervention in the housing market is around €9 billion. The Central Bank says we need about €20 billion. We need a combination of public sector and private sector investment in housing. That means…