We cannot but call out the Government's double standards.

Does the Taoiseach support Amnesty's recommendations for sanctions against Israel?

NATO is not their friend.

I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following after "good offices to search for a peaceful settlement" "— further calls for Ireland to provide increased humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine and for Ireland to offer refuge for all people fleeing the war; — further condemns the arrests and persecution of anti-war protestors by President Putin and the Russian state; salutes the bravery of the growing anti-war protests in Russia; and calls for support across the world for further mobilisation of anti-war moveme…

The Minister, Deputy Coveney, will have his chance. I cannot help but call out the double standards, unless the Government will surprise me tomorrow. Instantly, it wants to and has imposed sanctions against Putin for crimes against humanity, which he is committing. They are crimes against humanity.

I ask the Minister to hold on and not to interrupt.

Yes. Come on.

Amnesty International is calling for sanctions against Israel for crimes against humanity and today we had a briefing from people from Yemen who talked about the direct involvement of the USA in supporting Saudi Arabia to commit crimes against humanity in Yemen. There is not a word about those things, but active support for the countries that do it or at least trenchant opposition to sanctions. Double standards will not help the people of Ukraine or help to end the scourge of war and militarism.

There have been no sanctions.

No sanctions.

I wish to share time with Deputies Paul Murphy and Barry. It is laudable to launch a policy referring to town centres first to address the often unacceptable levels of dereliction and neglect that many of our town centres have suffered from. The town of Dún Laoghaire is the capital of my local authority area. I remember as a teenager that it was a vibrant, buzzing and dynamic town. For decades it has been commonly been referred to, perhaps a little unfairly, as a ghost town compared to what it used to be. That is a…

Since the cost of living crisis erupted and ordinary people face being crucified by energy and heating price hikes and rising accommodation and rental costs, we have sought to point out that this is not some natural phenomenon but that some people are benefiting from the misery and hardship that others are suffering. Last week we pointed out the enormous jump in profits for energy companies, electricity suppliers, oil companies and so on. The latest evidence for the argument we are making, which the Government is d…

Seriously, the Taoiseach's arguments are utterly threadbare. He mentioned HAP. I just told him rents in Dublin are over €2,000. The highest HAP payment anyone can get is €1,950. Someone looking for a HAP tenancy in a housing crisis might as well just walk up to the nearest homeless hostel. That is the reality of what is going on. The biggest fantasy the Taoiseach is peddling is that the Government is delivering additional social housing in any substantial numbers. In the first three quarters of last year, actual co…

Walk around the city. Check how many are public housing.

I just do not think the State should be facilitating its profiteering.

Zero council houses-----

I want to add my voice to the appeal on behalf of the Stardust families for the Taoiseach to ensure that legal changes are made so we have transparent jury selection and that it is independent of the gardaí who are a party to the case. The jurors should be remunerated for the period during the inquest because it could go on for months. For the Taoiseach not to do so at this stage would be to add to the trauma and abuse the families have suffered. The only reason we have an inquest is because these families have nev…

On Leaders' Questions earlier, I asked the Taoiseach to consider imposing rent controls as is being done in France. The problem of rising and unaffordable rents is worse in Ireland than pretty much anywhere else in Europe, but it is happening everywhere. The Taoiseach gave me what was, no doubt, his scriptwriter's pat answer to fob this off, that it did not really work in Berlin.

Okay.

Berlin imposed a totally pathetic form of rent control, which only controlled rents for apartments or houses built before 2014. Anything built after 2014 they can charge what they like. So what happened? Rents for apartments and houses built before 2014 were stabilised and everything else went through the roof. I asked the Taoiseach to look at what they have done in France, which is working. They did it in July 2019, in Lille and Paris, where they set rents at affordable levels. These were reference rents and you c…