I thank Deputy Quaide for the work he has done to bring forward this motion and, indeed, the commitment of the Social Democrats to prioritising people with disabilities through its policies and what it does. We should be straight here. The Irish State has never treated disabled people as equal citizens of this Republic. One or both of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael has been in government since the foundation of the State. What is the history? It is one of shameful treatment. People have been hidden and institutionalised…

The Taoiseach knows all about-----

It is deeply disappointing that the Minister has rushed through this legislation. I have been working in the area of homelessness for over a decade as an academic and researcher, but also campaigning with people directly in homelessness and working with homeless organisations. The homeless providers have never once asked for this legislation. It was never put forward as a solution to homelessness. The question is why the Minister is doing it. I have not yet been given a rationale that justifies rushing this through…

I raised all the issues earlier that I wanted to talk about but I just want to ask the Minister something again. I appeal to him at this late stage to change the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. closure provision. I think it will lead to unintended, or intended, consequences that will be potentially severe this winter. I urge him to come up with some other form of wording, or just remove the provision. I just do not see why he does not remove it at this point. It is not necessary. I would ask him to do that on a humanitarian basis…

Are these new ones that were not on Committee Stage?

We have discussed this. We in the Social Democrats have serious concerns about the change being introduced. We are concerned in particular about the lack of rental rights that will apply to those residing in back garden sheds or structures. Why will the Minister not apply the Residential Tenancies Act to these dwellings? Obviously, I do not agree they should be rented, but what the Minister is doing is even worse in terms of allowing them to be licensees. Threshold, the renters' charity that does excellent work and…

I move amendment No. 17: In page 13, to delete lines 12 to 16 and substitute the following: “(6) A social housing appeal shall be made to an independent appeals office located within the Housing Agency within 28 days of the notification by the housing authority to the household concerned of the making of a determination in respect of the application or reassessment for social housing support concerned under section 20.”.

I move amendment No. 19: In page 13, line 25, to delete “a housing authority” and substitute “the appeals office”.

I move amendment No. 20: In page 13, to delete lines 30 to 35 and substitute the following: “(10) An appeals officer shall be a qualified and suitable person appointed by the Housing Agency to undertake appeals with an appropriate knowledge, in order to ensure quality and consistency of decisions made over time.”.

I support this amendment. Given the nature of the way these changes have being put forward, it is important that there be a process and a clear setting out of an assessment as to the impact the changes will have, particularly in view of the need to have accountability in respect of decisions. That is very important. I support the amendment on that basis.

I support this amendment and I add that there is a real issue in terms of us understanding what is getting planning permission, what is the nature of the tenure, and who is developing it. Particularly in the area of apartments, there is concern in my own constituency and in Dublin generally regarding the proliferation of the build-to-rent model, how many apartments are being developed and who is developing them. I have asked the Department through parliamentary questions a number of times whether we gather data on …

I will not comment on my own age.

I am ageing very quickly in here tonight, but-----

It is. There is a key concern that I outlined last week and we have outlined a number of times before. I wish to make a number of points on it. The first point is that this change is a result of intense lobbying by institutional investors and developers about this whole idea of viability. Viability is about profitability. Were the guidelines that existed prior to this good planning or bad planning? Were they guidelines that were about ensuring that people had liveable spaces and apartments were of decent design sta…

I will return to the Minister of State's comment on Vienna. There is a very different mix of floor sizes available in Vienna. There are larger units available for families, in particular. This legislation is reducing the number of units within developments that will be available for families of a size. Fundamentally, they will not even be affordable to families. What is happening as a result of this is a reduction in the availability of two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. It is shifting, not creating, sustain…

We need to build affordable homes and not just roofs, because it is not just about shelter. I want to come back to the issue of profitability. There is an issue in relation to the profits being made. In some ways, the Government is being taken for a fool. I have great respect for Deputy Carrigy as Chair of the housing committee but, seriously, what else are they going to say? They are private developers. They are investor funds. Of course they are going to say that. Michael Stanley who appeared the committee had €8…

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. There are a lot of important aspects to this that merit serious engagement. I reiterate my colleague’s call on the Government to seriously engage with this. I do not believe its response was a serious engagement. If we are serious about a united Ireland, it will take a massive amount of work on inclusion and engagement and that work has to start now. While the Government has set out the different initiatives it has taken, it is clearl…

I echo what Deputy Ó Broin has outlined, which is the Opposition’s extreme disappointment at the pace at which this Bill is being rushed through. It does not take seriously the role of Parliament. It is also extremely frustrating that the Government gives out and complains that the Opposition does not come forward with solutions when the key point - the only point, really - at which we have a real opportunity to engage with Government policy in a meaningful way is on legislation, amendments and discussion at commit…

I will raise two issues. The first is the issue of policing. It is deeply disappointing that there has been a reduction in Garda resources across the country as a result of the EU Presidency. In my own constituency, Ballymun and Finglas Garda stations will see a reduction in the coming months as a result of gardaí being allocated elsewhere in relation to the Presidency. There is a feud ongoing in Ballymun and shots fired yesterday. We cannot have a situation whereby the EU Presidency results in a reduction in safet…

I thank Deputy Kerrane and Sinn Féin for bringing forward this really important motion. It is very close to my heart as someone with children going through the early years sector. I thank the early years educators who provide an excellent and caring service and who are absolutely not treated properly. I completely support SIPTU's campaign for proper pay and conditions. I thank the Minister for coming to my constituency of Dublin North-West to visit childcare and early years services and see at first hand the need f…