It is the dominant factor.

If that is not ruling out price controls, I am not sure what is, and that has been done just as the meeting is about to take place. I know what happens in a capitalist economy because I live in one. I experience the reality of the people who come to see me and are now dependent on food banks. Around one in seven families in this State is now dependent on food banks. Why? It is true that there are a variety of factors but the increase in the prices of the basic groceries they need to survive is a crucial one. Profit…

The Taoiseach comes from a radical right-wing neoliberal ideology.

What is the Government going to do in six weeks?

What if there is no such evidence and it is just profiteering?

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the review of the housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability. A report on that review has been sitting on the desk of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage at least for a number of months. It looks at areas such as income thresholds, grant limits, decision-making processes, etc. It is an urgent issue. One key issue is that the income threshold is €60,000 gross for the entire family. If they go over the €60,000 limit, they cannot access…

The Business Post reported that, in the end, the Irish auction for offshore wind is set to result in the world's most expensive offshore wind. The results are likely to deliver average prices close to the €150 per MWh price cap. That is more than three times the price of offshore wind in Scotland and much higher than that in other European countries. The result for consumers will be electricity prices that are no lower than the very high points we saw over the course of the winter. The Taoiseach is a deeply ideolog…

I want to raise an issue of planning, which I presume is dealt with by the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The issue is the use or abuse of section 254 licences to erect phone masts without having any process of public notice, consultation or whatever. Hundreds of masts have been put up in this way by Cignal, which recently changed its name to Cellnex. People are not opposed to masts and we need to have them as part of public infrastructure but they want to have a say in where they go, ho…

Was there any discussion at this summit about Nord Stream, in particular the blowing up or destruction of Nord Stream, which had such devastating impacts on people, with the increase in gas prices which was a consequence, and the largest single discharge of methane the world has ever seen, with significant environmental consequences? It seems that nobody is really interested in finding out who is responsible. There was a recent vote at the UN Security Council whereby the US and several of its allies abstained on a …

Included in this grouping is a question about ethics reform. The Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, emerged today and, for the first time, answered some questions about his unethical behaviour, not from Deputies because he refused to do that and the Taoiseach shielded him in that decision, but instead from the media. So, for the first time, not on the Dáil record but to the media, the Minister of State admitted that in January 2007, when he participated in the decision to put land up for sale, he knew at that…

It is worth reminding ourselves what is the essence of this. What was being investigated was a massive rip-off and loss for the public to the tune of €118 million written off by IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, to the benefit of the Denis O'Brien-owned Siteserv. The fundamental conclusion is that the IBRC was misled by Siteserv directors over the transaction. The phrase "tainted with impropriety" is mentioned an incredible 44 times in the report. In that context, it is very unfortunate that 37 other transactions wi…

Ireland is now the third country in Europe in the context of the number of European works councils, EWCs, based here. It is a requirement under EU law for major corporations to have councils for, effectively, consultation and discussion with their employees. After Brexit, a substantial number of companies moved their EWCs to this country. Millions of workers, therefore, are affected by how EWCs operate here. In recent weeks, we have seen major lay-offs by tech multinationals. We have seen the danger that Ireland wi…

I do not have a problem, and neither do the residents, with masts in and of themselves. They are part of public infrastructure today. We need them for mobile phones and so on, but what people have a problem with is waking up one morning and finding that significant work is happening at the entrance to their estate. A 2 m high platform has been erected, upon which a 20 m high mast is going to go, all deliberately without a shred of public consultation. That is the abuse that is happening currently of section 254 of …

I thank the Minister of State for the response but unfortunately it did not answer the questions. Therefore, I will go again. Is it the case that where An Bord Pleanála is considering an appeal, the company has to stop? Alternatively, can it continue? That is a very simple question. The written response circulated, which I think the Minister of State did not read out, states: "With regard to the case which is the subject of an ongoing appeal to the board, the board must be allowed complete its determination of the …

A Greenpeace report published today has found that Dublin is the capital with the least affordable and most complicated ticketing system in all of Europe. Luxembourg, Tallinn and Valletta, where public transport is free, are rated top. Has the Minister considered the impact that including free access to car library schemes as part of free public transport would have on reducing private car ownership and use and was this taken into account in the Ernst & Young Global Limited report? Could I politely suggest that the…

That report was effectively rigged. It managed to come up with a car usage reduction figure of 1% by running simulated modelling based on current trends across the country, where public transport is mainly poor or non-existent. Most car users do not have access to public transport alternatives, meaning that making public transport free would not change their car usage. The point, however, is that there does not have to be a choice between expanding access to public transport and making public transport free; we nee…

No. It would be like using GoCar but through a public system.

The driver would have access to the car and get to use it. The driver would be an ordinary householder.

The only aspect of Ireland's public transport ticketing system that the Greenpeace report praises is free public transport for people over 66, people with disabilities and carers. It states that, apart from this, there are no best-practice elements in the ticketing system. It finds that Dublin has the second most expensive daily public transport costs in Europe, second only to London, which of course has a much better transport system. The report praises free public transport and climate tickets as some of the most…

A certain amount-----