Nobody in this House is voting for homelessness. We want to develop policies that prevent homelessness. It is our view and the advice we have received that an indefinite long-term ban on evictions would make the situation far worse and would create a greater degree of homelessness over the medium to long term. Why? It is because it would take people out of the rental market entirely. People will leave the rental market in greater numbers if Sinn Féin's policies are adopted.

Sinn Féin has had its impact too in terms of the consistent demonisation of that sector for a long time.

Sinn Féin proposed to do the very same thing in Christmas week.

Yes, Sinn Féin did.

It did the very same thing in Christmas week.

Through the Chair, I think Sinn Féin's tolerance of free debate has always been one that has been questioned over the years.

Sinn Féin’s army of trolls may browbeat-----

I think I have enough said, a Cheann Comhairle.

I have enough said. There is no point.

Could I just make the point that I appreciate the challenge you have, a Cheann Comhairle?

I have endeavoured to reply. I have been shouted down repeatedly. That is a tactic. I will allow other Members to come in now.

I have. The Deputies do not want to listen.

I have.

The Deputies do not want to listen. It is a deliberate tactic.

In the first instance, I thank the Deputy for raising the question. I commend the courage of those women and indeed men, who have shared their experience and have come forward through Women of Honour and Men and Women of Honour, and also current serving members of the Defence Forces who are not members of those specific groups, who have also been very candid and frank in sharing their experiences with me in recent times and with the Department. Only for them, the full scale of this would not have been revealed, whi…

That is a fair point. I am mindful of the report’s conclusions about the resistance. The Chief of Staff has committed to change and reform. We will quickly develop legislation to appoint an independent external complaints process. That has to happen. Interim steps will be taken to facilitate complaints directly to the Ombudsman, which can happen now and does not have to wait for a month any more, and to establish an oversight body on a statutory basis. That body will be completely external to the Defence Forces and…

We will amend the Defence Act 1954 to provide a legislative basis for allegations of any type of sexual assault in the Defence Forces to be referred to An Garda Síochána. We will also set up a non-statutory inquiry into the practice and process of medical boarding and in respect of issues pertaining to suicide. I envisage taking expert bodies in to assess that issue in a professional way, and those who have expertise in that field.

The Government has provided a rationale for the decision from the outset. I gave it earlier this morning. It is that an indefinite eviction ban would make the situation far worse and create a greater exodus of properties from the rental market, whereas we need more properties coming into the market. We need to create a framework whereby more people come into the market who are willing to let out their properties and we need to stop houses from exiting the market. That is the economic rationale. The Deputy may have …

I do not trade insults with anybody. I have not traded insults with Deputy Connolly in particular. I have responded to her courteously and with respect. I have to put this on the record. Very often comments are made as if we trade all of the insults. We do not. I accept what Deputy Connolly has just said. She has made the very interesting point that no one in the House has called for an indefinite ban on evictions. That was the rationale for lifting the eviction ban in the first instance. Now the issue is timing or…

Other parties originally said we should do it until Christmas week. Then they said until the end of January, and now there is a new iteration. In addition, I made the point earlier that I believe in building social housing. I am back in government two and a half years and 20,000 social homes have been added to the social housing stock since the Government was formed. I do not believe in an overreliance on the housing assistance payment. We need to build. The approved housing bodies have done a significantly good jo…