Many people do not feel it is worth their while to be landlords anymore. They may have purchased a house or two in the past with a view to renting them out. They are now selling.

The value has become high but also-----

If one talks to people-----

The Deputy is interrupting me again. The point is landlords are getting out of this.

No.

The State will not buy every house.

However, the State has said that local authorities are allowed and have the capacity-----

-----and the firepower-----

-----to purchase houses from people who could be rendered homeless as a result. The councils have been told that they can-----

-----buy the houses where someone could be rendered homeless if-----

There are some cases where they are.

However, there is an issue to reflect on as well. There is no point in saying "buy every single house". These kinds of simplistic answers to everything are not the way to solve the housing crisis-----

-----because we need people to let existing housing stock. Many people do not feel it is worth their while and yes, because of the value now, they feel it is timely to get out. That is not good enough for the housing-supply issue because we need the supply at present. Many approved housing bodies are saying this to us. They want us to take action to encourage landlords to stay in the system.

In the first instance, on behalf of the Government and on my own behalf, I again would like to convey my deepest sympathy to King Charles, the royal household, the United Kingdom Government and the British people on the loss of their beloved monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. There are many on this island who saw Queen Elizabeth as their queen. We sympathise with them on this very sad moment in history, having witnessed an incredible reign in terms of duration, duty and service. I will long remember her visit in…

It is one that will always endure in the folklore of our city and, indeed, the country at large. In respect of the energy and cost of living crisis, we are facing the worst global energy crisis since the 1970s at least, and probably worse than that of the 1970s because it also applies to gas and other fuel types, not just oil. Clearly, it emanates from a deadly war-----

-----in terms of Putin's war on the people of Ukraine and his weaponisation of war. We need to be very clear about that at all times in assessing and in how we respond to this issue. It is having massive consequences for the entirety of Europe, so it makes sense that Ireland respond as part of the wider European Union framework. We are not just relying on EU measures alone, as the Deputy wrongly suggested in remarking on the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath's comments yesterday, but the European Union framework is …

The Deputy said her proposals are time-limited. I would say to the Deputy the crisis may not be time-limited. She may need to think beyond the end of February.

I am.

That is the point. That is the very point that I am making. The Deputy’s proposal is vague, it is not costed and it is one-dimensional. It does not have the breadth or depth of what the Government is considering in alleviating and reducing pressures on households, protecting jobs, helping out schools with capitation grants, and helping out various State entities that provide services to the public whose energy costs are going through the roof as well. They will also need protection and supports. There is also the n…

-----because we are going to intervene. We are going to reduce the burden of electricity prices on people. However, we are going to do more in the budget and in pay. We have concluded the public service pay talks. We will have tax proposals in the budget as well. We will be reducing costs more broadly.