I thank the Ceann Comhairle and our Malaysian colleagues for those kind words. The abuse, neglect, beating and mistreatment by tens of thousands of children by church-run institutions in this country over decades with the collusion or facilitation of the State is a dark chapter of shame in the history of our country. Thousands and thousands of people who survived those industrial schools, orphanages and other forms of residential institutions where this abuse, neglect and incarceration took place are elderly now an…

I think Deputy Smith is not coming in. I thank the Regional Group for bringing forward this important motion. People Before Profit strongly believes we should abolish the means test for carer's allowance. Indeed, we are against means testing full stop. I will talk a bit more about that. In the case of carers, it is completely unacceptable. Hundreds of thousands of people in this country, out of care and love for children with special needs or disability, family members, or the elderly who are unwell or disabled, pr…

The International Court of Justice, ICJ, concluded earlier this year that Israel was plausibly committing genocide against the people of Gaza. Yesterday the Government of the United States of America made a decision to give €13 billion to a State that is plausibly - and in my opinion undoubtedly - guilty of genocide. Thousands more people have died since the ICJ ruling. Does the Taoiseach believe it is appropriate that the United States of America should, in effect, reward Israel for genocide? In the context where …

Much has been said today. I hope that, for the families of those who lost their loved ones and for the survivors, the State apology and the words spoken here today can do something to provide the solace, truth and justice they have fought for and long deserved. I am very conscious that I am not qualified to know or understand the pain, loss, injustice, trauma and hardship you have endured as a result of the loss of your loved ones and the obstacles that have been put in your way for 43 years as you have tried to ge…

Some of us thought the Housing for All targets were inadequate to begin with. The housing crisis, ever worsening, is testimony to the fact that is the case. There is now a growing consensus that we need to dramatically increase our targets. The Housing for All targets of 33,000 per average year are not enough and we are not delivering on the social and affordable targets in any event. Is the Minister considering changes to the national development plan to ramp up the plans for housing and, in particular, for social…

The ESRI has already indicated that target of 33,000 in Housing for All is inadequate. There is a general consensus that we need at least 50,000 a year. When the Housing for All targets were first set, in my local authority we did the maths and it was clear that the failure to take into account those who will join the housing list meant that at the end of Housing for All, and this was a few years ago, there would be more people on the housing list in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown than there were when the targets were set.…

It is still not enough. We have record numbers in homelessness, huge numbers on housing lists and a particular failure to deliver social and affordable housing. Even properties that are built are too expensive. They are completely out of the reach of the vast majority of people. It is clearly not enough. The Minister raised the issue of capacity. The NDP says that the Government will strengthen the capacity of local authorities to deliver social and affordable housing. The local authorities seem to have no capacity…

It is a matter of recruiting and training.

These questions follow on from our earlier discussion and relate to what the Government is doing to build up our labour and skills capacity to deliver housing, in particular, but also some of the other key infrastructure we need. My point, given the Minister said he did not understand it, is not that everything the private sector does is wrong but that it simply does not have the capacity and, therefore, the State has to build up its own capacity. However, there is little sign that the State understands that and is…

Yes.

We are dealing with a housing emergency. Most people recognise that. I hope the Government does. We need to dramatically increase the amount of housing we build, in particular social and affordable housing. Recently, Goodbody Stockbrokers produced a report showing that there are only five builders in this country capable of building more than 500 houses per year while the majority of the rest – 473 or so small contractors – can only build an approximate average of 34 houses per year each. The capacity is not there,…

No, I am not suspicious. I can just see the facts for myself, as can everyone else, including the builders. Even they are saying this. We cannot deliver the necessary housing. Cairn Homes has said it. Goodbody Stockbrokers have said it. Builders do not have the capacity. By the way, they are not in the business of producing subsidised housing. They do not do that. What they are delivering is unaffordable, but let them away. We need social and affordable housing and the State has to have the capacity to do that, sin…

The Minister stated that local authorities are delivering more housing. No, they are not. They are not building anything at all. They are commissioning private construction. I accept that is better than doing nothing when we do not have the capacity, but they are not actually building anything themselves, given that the State does not have any capacity. I wish the Minister would not mischaracterise me, as what I am arguing is that this is not enough. The Minister can play politics if he wants, but I am saying that …

No. I said they were not building.

They contract people to do it.

I just said it was better than nothing.

The basic income for artists was introduced at the end of 2022 after a great deal of campaigning by the arts sector. To date, it has led to significant improvements in the well-being and mental health of artists, a reduction in the amount of time they have to work in other jobs, an increase in the amount of time they work at their arts practice and some improvements in people's incomes and deprivation levels, the latter of which were significant before the scheme's introduction. As we head into the budget, are we g…

Before the pilot scheme, 72% of respondents to a survey earned less than the national hourly average and 16% earned less than the minimum wage. The reality for most people working in the arts is precariousness, a lack of employment and income security, being forced out of the arts because they cannot sustain themselves, and high levels of deprivation and stress due to their precarious situations. It is clear from the reports to date that the scheme has improved, albeit not enough, the situation of arts workers, so …

There was a promise a number of years ago by, I believe, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, who was under pressure from the campaigning by the arts sector, that arts spending would be doubled. I doubt that has happened. Maybe the Minister could comment on this. Our percentage of GDP spent on arts is significantly less than the European average, so we have a long way to go even if there have been some improvements as a result of the campaigning by arts workers in recent years. I do not believe that the gathering o…

Not for apartments.