Does he now deign to care about that? If he does, what will he do about it? Talk is cheap so what action will he take?

It is extraordinary that the Tánaiste did not seem to be aware of this happening right under his nose. Two weeks ago, he denied this was the case or that any action was needed. Yesterday, the Taoiseach also seemed to be taken by surprise by this. This evening, the Dáil will debate Second Stage of the Social Democrats Bill to help end the practice of the State entering into long-term leasing deals with developers and institutional investors instead of building and purchasing social and affordable homes. That is happ…

Yes, it does.

It is part and parcel of the same thing.

I want to return to the issue of pregnant women and the Minister confirming they will be offered an mRNA vaccine between 14 and 36 weeks. They have been left not knowing what the plans are and what the situation is. It is particularly worrying for people who are past 30 weeks of pregnancy. They do not know whether they are going to get it in time for that 36-week cut-off point. What, therefore, is the situation? Has that process begun? Who is going to be responsible, or who is responsible, for registering pregnant …

I accept the complexity involved but this particular cohort is time-limited, unlike many others. It is not really fair to leave them in that kind of limbo, where they do not know what the plan is. What does "as soon as possible" mean? That is not good enough. I ask the Minster to get some kind of concrete timescale so women know where they stand and when they are likely to receive it. On those other practical issues relating to registering, who will give the vaccine and all of that, the Minister has announced it wi…

It is seen as one and the same so we need that detail. I ask the Minister about the cohort of people that received the AstraZeneca vaccine before the recent advice on it being administered to those under 60 and under 50. As of today, approximately 7,500 healthcare workers would have been due to get the second dose as the 12 weeks is up. What is the position of that group? The suggestion is that they wait until 16 weeks but is that for all that cohort or just those under 50? What is happening with the people over 50…

How are they being distinguished with respect to being under or over 50? Will people be notified automatically or do they have to register again?

Are people in their 60s only receiving AstraZeneca or are any of the other vaccines being provided to those people?

I commend my colleague, Deputy Cian O'Callaghan, for bringing forward this important Bill. It makes a contribution to an important aspect of the area of what we are now seeing, namely the increasing privatisation and commodification of housing. After Fianna Fáil crashed the housing market in the late noughties - we all experienced the devastation of the associated banking crash - most people would have thought it should never be allowed near housing again. It was kept away from it for some time but it did not make …

I would like to join with others in extending congratulations to the Minister for Justice and her husband on the arrival of their new baby and extend very warm wishes to them. The Tánaiste said that people have to see it to be it. There is no doubt that the Minister for Justice has provided a very good example in that regard. We also need to see it from Government in terms of making provision for senior politicians in respect of the provision of supports during pregnancy and the early months of motherhood. We look …

I thank the Tánaiste. It would be helpful if we had a statement from him, the Minister for Education or the Taoiseach on the new programme that has been developed. Many people would have serious difficulty with it and it would be helpful to hear what the Government's position is on it. There are 2,800 Catholic primary schools in the country, accounting for 90% of primary schools. Does the Tánaiste know how many schools transferred patronage from either the Catholic Church or the Church of Ireland to multidenominati…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2019 and for that purpose to amend section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in relation to ministerial guidelines, to restrict section 4 of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 to applications received on or before the coming into operation of this Act in respect of strategic housing developments and to provide for related matters. Members from all part…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I wish to return very briefly to the issue of housebound people aged over 70. The response we have received is not adequate. I have had contact from the family of a 90-year-old woman who is housebound. Her general practitioner referred her case in January. She has two people living in the house with her who are in education – they are teachers – with all the risks that involves. The woman is not living in a remote area but in a major urban area in Dublin. It is really hard to understand why she has not had a vaccin…

I want to raise again the building in the Miesian Plaza, Baggot Street, that houses three Departments. An error that was made by the Office of Public Works, OPW, in measuring that building has resulted in an overpayment of rent of approximately €344,000 per year, amounting to an estimated total overpayment of €10 million over the lifetime of the lease. What progress has been made in addressing this issue and recouping the overpayment?

I am afraid the Minister of State's response does not align with what has been reported in recent weeks on this ongoing matter. It is one thing for the OPW to regret the mistake it made but what the public wants is for it to recoup the public money that has gone to the overpayment and ensure it does not continue. When I raised this matter with the Minister of State six months ago, he told me there would be ongoing dialogue. There does not seem to have been any dialogue at all since last November. Thanks to Cianan B…

Putting an advertisement in the newspaper does not sound like being serious about proper dialogue. We all know the constraints arising out of the Covid restrictions but they do not preclude a meeting from taking place with a small number of people in a large room. Can the Minister of State give an undertaking that this meeting will take place within the next month? That is reasonable. It is more than three years since the OPW and the Comptroller and Auditor General established that an error was made. The error in t…

When will the meeting take place?

I agree that the vaccination programme has the potential to be transformative, but only if it operates properly. I do not have confidence that it will operate properly. For probably the sixth week in a row, I ask the Minister to publish a plan for the roll-out of the vaccines. I agree with the points made earlier by Deputies. One sometimes wonders what the point is of coming in here on a Thursday morning. I have lost track of the number of notes that have been promised. It is not possible for Opposition spokesperso…