Does that mean the Minister will not meet them? They asked me to ask the Minister if he would meet them.

With respect, thousands of these families came to the streets of Dublin twice. The Minister should respond to the question of whether he will meet them. It is unfair on the families.

Today, the Government will set out its climate action plan and we wait to see the detail of what will be announced. I put it to the Minister that there is little point in waving the big stick at Irish farmers if the EU market is about to be flooded by environmentally damaging Brazilian beef in the coming years. The first step the Government should take in bringing farmers on board with a more sustainable food production is to reject the EU-Mercosur trade deal. It is bad for Ireland and it is bad for the planet. It …

Does the Government support Mercosur now?

I thank Deputy Harkin for bringing this Bill before the House. In a time of pandemic and economic downturn, the credit union movement has served the local needs of the communities within which it is embedded. We all agree that credit unions are trusted, visible and they understand what makes and strengthens communities. Just this month, credit unions maintained the top spot for best customer experience at the customer experience insight awards for the seventh year in a row. They hold this position among the Irish p…

As we begin discussing the Finance Bill tonight, I am deeply disappointed, to say the least, that the Government is going to miss the deadline once again to do what is right by the families in Donegal and elsewhere who are suffering as a result of no regulation or light-touch regulation. Their houses are crumbling around them. The extended deadline, 9 November, is now going to be missed by the Cabinet because it has not got its act together. That is not acceptable to the many families who are in mental turmoil wait…

Mar Theachta Dála atá i mo chónaí in aice leis an bhfarraige, tá aithne agam go pearsanta, agus beidh ag Teachtaí eile chomh maith, ar na mná agus fir chróga atá mar pháirt den gharda cósta agus a chuireann iad féin i mbaol go minic ar mhaithe le sláinte agus sábháilte daoine eile atá i dtrioblóid ar an bhfarraige. Ar an drochuair, tá amanna ann nuair a bhíonn baol agus dainséir na farraige móire róláidir. Ní thugtar buíochas ná ómós d'fhoireann an gharda cósta minic go leor ach conas nach féidir fearg a bheith ort…

I am glad to hear there is a change of tune but it should never have got to this point. The Minister said what I said was not true. Did the Department oppose the applications by the families' teams to the review board to have their costs covered? The review team made a determination on this. In part of its determination it said: "... it would have been difficult if not impossible for the Commander's family to represent its own interest and the late Commander's interests without legal representation". Members of the…

Did the Department object to the application?

In its wisdom, the Government in July pegged rents to inflation. That was at a time when we were warning about rising prices and my colleague, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, said this measure was too little, too late, and tenants would be left at the mercy of unpredictable and high inflation. Three months on, what has happened? It is exactly as we said. Inflation is now running at over 4.3%, meaning a tenant subject to a landlord's review today could see the rent pushed up by 4.3%. Somebody in Dublin paying the average rent …

Just like you did in July.

The failure to include any measure for renters in this year's budget speaks volumes about this Government's attitude to renters. It speaks volumes that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Government are so out of touch they do not understand the real pain that is being felt by renters as rents increase again and again and all the while the Minister and the Government are dithering and dathering. The Government is hiding away but this motion calls it out. Before t…

Rents up, house prices up-----

A dose of reality-----

A bit of reality from the Minister is all we are asking for. Rents are up, house prices are up-----

This budget is a reflection on the Government that delivered it - out of touch, out of ideas and out of time. Never has so much been spent to achieve so little. There are no answers, no urgency and no leadership. Rents are out of control and the Government has done nothing. Some 1 million people are on waiting lists and there is no real step change. Energy prices are spiralling and the Government's plan is to increase them further with carbon taxes. Budget 2022 should have responded to the major challenges we face …

The Government claims to have responded to increases in the cost of living with a tax package it argues would ease the burden on households but let us drill into the details. The Government has decided to increase the standard rate bands by €1,500 at a cost of more €300 million. This is a tax measure that excludes 80% of income earners, as eight out of ten people will not benefit from this measure, which will cost taxpayers more than €300 million. That equates to 2 million people who will not benefit from this beca…

There is nothing new set in stone to deal with vacant homes. There is only €60 million for redress for the families and homeowners who have been victim of the mica and pyrite scandal. There is nothing for people affected by fire safety defects. The Minister did not mention in his speech - it is in his budget book - that there will be €20 million extra to address the issue of defective concrete blocks, which will bring the total up to €40 million. That is an insult. As a person from Donegal, I proudly marched in the…

The people impacted by the mica scandal are outside the gates of Leinster House and have been every day for months. They are pursuing justice as their homes crumble around them. Yet, as often is the case, the Government's suggestions regarding a redress scheme were selectively leaked last night before the families involved even had sight of the working group report. That is completely unacceptable. Some families did not have a decent night's sleep last night because of worry about whether that leak was accurate and…

I am not interested in the Tánaiste's snipes against me. It does not interest me. For years, we have been raising the issue of rent being out of control and for years the Tánaiste has stood up in his seat and given different excuses. Forget about what Sinn Féin is saying, and just listen to what the RTB is saying. Rent increased in the past year by 15.5% in Kilkenny, 16.1% in Clare, 15.9% in Longford and 17% in Leitrim. The Tánaiste can talk about real rent freezes and so on and so forth. Inflation is running at 3%…