On 4 August, I called on the Minister to convene a meeting of the Central Bank and the banking sector to chart a pathway for households whose mortgages were sold to vulture funds to return to the mainstream mortgage market. That meeting took place on the last day of that month but the pathway was not outlined. Instead we had an announcement after that. Can the Minister outline the measures that were agreed, and comment on their effectiveness, given the financial pressure they are facing as interest rates soar? Can …

I would always encourage people to switch, whether they are in the hands of vulture funds or with the mainstream banks and lenders. They should always look at the option of switching if better value is available to them. I have serious reservations on the effectiveness of the measures that were announced. We know that 80,000 households have mortgage loans held by vulture funds and they have little option to switch. They have received letter after letter in the post confirming other interest rate hikes, adding hundr…

I have been raising this now for a long time as households were thrown to the wolves, including by the Minister's party and Fine Gael. We now have mortgage prisoners who are facing interest rate hikes that simply do not exist in the other retail mortgage market. The Ministers were told this. My legislation, which would have prevented the sale of these loans to vulture funds, was blocked. I made it clear on Committee Stage that vulture funds would hike up interest rates. Let us look at the data that the Central Bank…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Bhille seo agus muid ag déileáil leis ar an Dara Chéim. Seo an Bille Airgeadais (Ráthaíochtaí Stáit, Cistí de chuid Forais Idirnáisiúnta Airgeadais agus Forálacha Ilghnéitheacha), 2023. Mar atá a fhios againn, tá an reachtaíocht seo de dhíth mar gheall ar an slad atá á dhéanamh ar mhuintir na hÚcráine ag lámha na Rúisigh, agus an slad atá déanta ar na daoine, ar na pobail ansin agus ar an infreastruchtúr atá ansin sa taobh sin tíre. Tchíonn muid ar an teilifís an buile trom atá buailte ar an …

What we have just heard from Deputy Clarke is example after example of families in crisis. That is what it is for those families. If you cannot get your children into school and you have to make alternative arrangements, in some cases, it is a crisis within the family. I spoke to a constituent last week who has written to many other elected representatives through tears, as she put it, talking about how she had to give up work for the past month just to be able to get her children to school because the school trans…

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Mar atá a fhios againn uilig sa Teach seo, chímid go bhfuil líon na ngardaí ag titim anois bliain i ndiaidh bliana agus ag an am céanna an méid nach bhfuil á dhéanamh ag an Rialtas i leith an ama seo. Chímid nach mbaintear na spriocanna earcaíochta atá ag an Rialtas amach bliain i ndiaidh bliana agus anois tá aighneas tionsclaíoch fógartha ag An Garda Síochána agus níl an tAire le feiceáil ó thaobh seo a réiteach. I will take the opportunity to welcome the seizure of a …

I acknowledged the work the Garda does in our communities keeping people and our communities safe, and particularly in regard to the operation in the south during the week. However, Government needs to support that. The facts are very clear. Since this Government has been in office, every single year, there has been a reduction in the number of gardaí in this State. The Tánaiste talked about the number of people who are going through training and attestation, but he did not say that the numbers leaving the Garda ar…

These are the facts.

Every single year since the Tánaiste has been a Minister in this Government, there have been fewer gardaí.

What is the Tánaiste going to do? The talks need to go ahead and it is hoped we will get a resolution.

What is the Government going to do to support the work of the Garda by increasing numbers and by moving members of the force off non-core duties?

In 2021, a whistleblower revealed that the Department of Health was holding secret dossiers containing information on children with autism whose families were taking legal action against the State to ensure that the children's rights were upheld. On the other side of these challenges was the Department. When the scandal broke, it was claimed that there was nothing untoward in the Department's actions. We now know that is not the case. The Data Protection Commission, DPC, has found that the State was engaged in unla…

Is the Government's position that the Department did not break the law?

That is shocking. There is clarification required. Is the Government's position that the Department did not break the law because, obviously, the Minister has decided not to apologise on this occasion? I would like clarification.

I move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that: — workers and families continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis; and — the prices of petrol and diesel have risen in the past number of months and are due to rise further, resulting in significantly increased travel costs for workers and families; notes that: — from March to August, average petrol and diesel prices increased by 7.6 and 9.9 per cent, respectively; — on 1st September, the Government increased the price of petrol and diesel by 7 and 5 cent per lit…

You did not even turn up.

I thank all the speakers who spoke in favour of the motion tonight because it is a very important one. As many of them mentioned, we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. I will not name all the parties. It was disappointing we did not hear from any of the Rural Independent Group Deputies who were not here to contribute to the debate but I am sure they will have plenty to talk about on those issues later on.

The key issue here-----

That is why I am sorry the Rural Independent Group Deputies were not able to contribute to the debate because I am sure-----

That is why I said I am sorry they were not here to contribute to the debate because I am sure they would have a lot to add to it.