The bottom line is that it has to compete with other, bigger banks that operate in financial services in this country and which employ thousands of people-----

-----and with technology companies that can offer far higher rates of pay. There is a fundamental issue there as well.

Sinn Féin went for direct action in its time.

No, I do not. Some very fundamental decisions have been taken that have changed the momentum in respect of housing for the next decade. We are already on track to exceed this year's target of 24,600 under Housing for All. We need to consider that we had two significant lockdowns during the Covid pandemic, which dominated the first year and a half to two years of this Government. Despite the inflationary cycle, the war in Ukraine and the exponential increase in the cost of building materials as we came out of the pa…

Again, the Deputies opposite keep talking about the word "emergency", but why did they oppose the Land Development Agency Act? Why did they oppose the Affordable Housing Act? Is it really an emergency when Deputies indulge in the luxury of opposing legislation that provides additional supply on public land? That is the problem. I feel that people-----

People articulate a lot of rhetoric in the House about "emergency" and "urgency" and so on.

I suggest this rhetoric sometimes is not matched. The homeless issue is a very serious issue.

We need more supply to deal with that. That is why we have ramped up social housing supply very significantly - to deal with the issue of homelessness and the waiting lists for people who are trying to get social housing. This is why we have ramped it up, and it is up significantly. Consider the numbers of workers who are working in construction. There are 40,000 more people working in construction this year than last year, which is 20,000 more than in 2019. This also shows that we are doing everything we possibly …

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. Transfers to Irish Water of water services workers under the framework for future delivery of water services, which was identified, as the Deputy will know, at the Workplace Relations Commission on 24 June of this year, are voluntary. Every worker will have the option of staying with his or her local authority, and transfers will happen over a four-year period, from 2023 to 2026, inclusive. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage hosted para…

The Minister is committed to this and there is a recommendation to come from the Housing Commission.

There is no doubt but that water will remain in public ownership in this country. I know of no political party in this Dáil or this Oireachtas which wants to privatise water.

No they do not. I have not seen anyone say that. No one has articulated that in a long, long time. We need to stop the scaremongering but that said, we are committed to a referendum. But let us stop the scaremongering. The public wants a smooth, efficient delivery of water services. We need to expand wastewater treatment plants. That is the focus on the Government. It is to get more capital allocated and not only that but to get delivery to get more housing estates connected to water more quickly and to get the ext…

A workplace framework agreement was agreed with the unions through the WRC and so on. There has been a lot of consultation and a lot of engagement on this. Moreover, as I said originally, it is voluntary.

The Deputy is devastated.

I thank the Deputy for raising those issues. The country has enjoyed full employment for the past two years, having come out of Covid. West Cork has not been immune from this. Agricultural incomes have gone up over recent years, despite what the Deputy said. They went up significantly last year. I was in Ringaskiddy at the weekend, on Saturday. The Mayor of the County of Cork was present also. He would have witnessed the transformation in the community centre in the town, reflecting the strong spirit of the communi…

The Deputy should talk to the Mayor of the County of Cork. He is opening a lot of developments. The urban relief road in Carrigaline has been transformative in addressing the congestion there. It gives very quick access to Minane and places further along. We will seek further improvements to the LEADER and CLÁR programmes, but the Deputy must surely acknowledge the additional funding that was earmarked for projects right across west Cork. The Croí Cónaithe towns fund will be useful for any vacant property refurbish…

As for fisheries, as the Deputy knows, Brexit was the key factor there. We have brought in funding from the Brexit adjustment fund, which will help in that regard.

There has been a 50% increase in LEADER funding for west Cork and Cork county in general. The Deputy knows about the Bandon flood relief scheme, which has received huge public funding, and €5 million has gone into the Bandon public realm project. The Clonakilty and Skibbereen flood relief schemes have been funded. Significant public money is going into west Cork and the Deputy knows that. That will continue. I travel in west Cork a lot, in particular during the summer when there are a lot of championship matches th…

Yes, Global Shares. When Mr. Dimon arrived, he could not get over the productivity of the workers in Clonakilty. An international financial services company based in west Cork is doing outstanding work. The Deputy should be careful. I do not mind him raising issues but he should not paint a picture of one long tale of misery. One thing west Cork is not is miserable.

Is this the Order of Business?