The Taoiseach is facing an autumn of discontent in this country when it comes to his failure and that of successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments to address the housing crisis we face. This morning, the Raise the Roof coalition met to discuss dates for a major demonstration before the budget. The national housing and homelessness coalition has already set a date for a demonstration on the date of the reopening of the Dáil. As a member of the budget scrutiny committee, I can tell the Taoiseach that my concer…

The misguided and ill-fated Rebuilding Ireland programme to solve the housing crisis put forward by Fine Gael and Labour projected 87,000 HAP, RAS and leasing tenancies. It was a disastrous plan which has left us reliant on vulture funds and so on to deliver housing. Of course, they have not delivered. That is not their job. Their job is to make money and charge extortionate rents. That target was bad enough but does the Taoiseach know what we are up to now in terms of HAP, RAS and leasing tenancies? The number is …

It is not just us. The ESRI is saying it now.

Stop building hotels.

The committee the Taoiseach is talking about also deals with social affairs and equality. A week or two ago, I raised the issue of St. Mary's Boys' National School in Booterstown with the Taoiseach. For months it has been seeking to get sign-off from the Government on an attempt to purchase the parish hall, which the parish is willing to sell, for an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit. At a large public meeting last night, the school community pointed out that there is a deficiency of 66 ASD places for the entiret…

Could we give the Taoiseach an extra two minutes to respond and take the time from the third group? There are only a couple of questioners in the third group.

I am hoping to get answers.

Will the Taoiseach look into it?

NESC has done quite a lot of work on the area of good employment and what that should be. I have raised with the Taoiseach on a number of occasions, as have others and advocates in the areas of arts, film and cultural works, the distinct lack of good work. Film relief under section 481 contains a legal requirement for quality employment but, as NESC points out, that is not defined. I will give the Taoiseach a couple of instances of where he needs to do something about this, because this is public money. I watched a…

The film producers refused to engage with that.

As we get towards the end of this Dáil session, I appeal to the Taoiseach on an issue I have raised a number of times over the past few weeks. Despite his promises that there would not be a PUP income cliff for those who have lost income or employment as a result of the pandemic and who are still significantly impacted by the pandemic and the lack of recovery in their sectors, such a cliff is being imposed on them. A taxi driver, musician, artist or performer who is on the €203 rate of PUP will, as of 7 September, …

The Government should not push them over a cliff.

Some of them are going over the cliff in September.

I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, line 9, to delete "the later of" and substitute "9 October 2021". The purpose of these amendments is to ensure that there is no option to extend the measures in this Bill, as is currently the case. We have put down this amendment in the context that we are opposed to the Bill. Regrettably, we will have to vote against it. If, as is almost certain, the Bill passes, there should not be the option to renew the measures included in it after 9 October. The Oireachtas should now make th…

This section removes the exemption for newly-built properties and, as such, we are against it.

This section abolishes the first-time buyer's exemption from next year so we do not agree with it.

This section abolishes the exemption for unfinished estates from next year. We are against it.

Not agreed.

We have major concerns about the vaccination passports for the reopening of hospitality being discriminatory and unethical and about young people working in the hospitality sector potentially being put in the position of risking their health. These are serious matters. In that context, the idea that the legislation is going to be rammed through in one day, when it has such serious implications in the context of civil liberties, health and equality, is absolutely unacceptable. On the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Am…

What about the workers?