The Deputies have to listen too to people who are out there in the field trying to get projects off the ground because all I hear is-----

Yes, people will build to make profit. We need a private sector as well.

We will not get to 30,000 or 40,000 houses a year if we do not have a balance between State-driven social housing, State-supported affordable housing and private sector development.

We are not going to get there.

It simply will not happen.

I think Deputy McAuliffe-----

My apologies.

May I respectfully say just one thing? Deputy McAuliffe summed up eloquently, with precision and factually a lot of the progress that has been made over the past year, and that will stand on the record of the House.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 16, inclusive, together. I attended a meeting of the European Council on 24 and 25 June in Brussels. The agenda covered Covid-19, economic recovery, migration, Turkey and the situation in the eastern Mediterranean, relations with Russia, Ethiopia and a number of other external relations issues. We also discussed the fundamental values of the European Union, including LGBTI equality and non-discrimination. Our meeting began with an exchange of views with United Nations Secretar…

I take Deputy Brendan Smith's point on Russia. There was a good meeting and a good discussion including at a prior Council meeting for some time. The point has been made that the five principles that govern the EU's approach in the relationship include the full implementation of the Minsk agreements and strengthening relations with eastern partner countries, which was reiterated at the latest Council meeting. Several member states articulated the need to reach out and engage with eastern partner counties and, indee…

I agree with Deputy Boyd Barrett that what is going on in terms of the discrimination against Palestinians is unacceptable. There is no question about that. Ireland continues to call out Israel in respect of that.

We consistently seek to get an alternative approach.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 18 together. The Citizens' Assembly on gender equality was established in January 2020 and submitted its final report to the Oireachtas on 2 June. The assembly agreed 45 priority recommendations covering a wide range of areas set out in its mandate. These include recommendations on politics and leadership, care giving and childcare, domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, pay and the workplace and social protection, and the Constitution. The final report of the assembly s…

I would be broadly in agreement with the Deputy's point that the world has changed and society has changed. It is not just the church and education and social services; it is also what happens post the church leaving certain sectors of society. I am particularly conscious of the disability sector and section 38 organisations more generally, capacity issues and relationships between the State and such services, where the State does not have the lever. I am moving on this. This argy-bargy going on, saying we are not …

First, I again reject the Deputy's assertions in regard to Government housing policy and our commitment to building social houses and, indeed, affordable houses, and providing the first cost-rental scheme in the evolution of State housing policy. The Minister has brought in a suite of measures and initiatives that the Deputy consistently ignores. We have allocated more money to the building of houses this year than ever before in the country's history. There is a difference between my approach and that of the Deput…

When is the Deputy going to be honest with people? It is her behaviour that is disgraceful. It is her and her party who opposed 975 homes in Clondalkin which included 30% social housing. It is Sinn Féin that opposed 500 homes in Tallaght, of which 80% would be social or affordable houses. Sinn Féin opposed 278 houses in Swords. Most recently, it voted against 1,200 social, affordable and private homes at Ballymastone in Donabate, a development that would have delivered 238 social homes and 238 affordable homes pric…

The contrast between the Deputy's rhetoric and her delivery in respect of housing on the ground is quite disgraceful.

First, I always respect Opposition leaders in terms of the questions they put-----

-----but I always reserve the right to respond robustly.

When the Deputy sees the housing for all strategy, she will see the point I am making. The strategy will-----