I find myself conflicted. I agree with the Deputy on some points but some of the others are not of a fair reflection. We have taken a number of measures to try to protect people in their tenancies. When this Government, albeit a different version, came to office in January, I do not think many people on the Opposition benches predicted that we were going to extend the rent-pressure zones, make them permanent and make them nationwide. We did that. We also brought in a very comprehensive suite of protections-----

-----for tenants.

A whole series of new measures will be coming into place for 2026, as the Deputy knows. On the 9% VAT rate for apartments, we debated these financial resolutions here. That measure does not just benefit developers - although I am pleased it is benefiting people who are building more private apartments because we need more private supply and private investment - it also benefits AHBs. It will benefit people in the Deputy's constituency and mine who want to build apartments which will be made available to approved ho…

Let me try. I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for raising the issue. It is highly unlikely that there will be a vote before the end of the year. That is indicative of the fact that I do not believe that the blocking minority has disappeared. The programme for Government sets out two things. It states that Government will oppose the Mercosur deal in its current form and, I am paraphrasing here, that we will work with like-minded countries in relation to that. The Government has significant concerns regarding the Mercosur d…

First, if we have not let me join with France in saying I do not believe the vote should take place in the calendar year 2025. I also do not believe it will because unless everybody is saying very different things in different countries, I believe there is currently a blocking minority in relation to Mercosur. I share the French position that there should not be a vote on Mercosur this side of Christmas. I do not see the issue as one of sides but in terms of what is the outcome. Is the outcome that there is enough …

Sure. We have very serious concerns about the Mercosur agreement. Some of what we have seen in the Irish Farmers’ Journal heightens that concern. The Deputy is right. However, to be honest to farmers, we have always said that Ireland on its own cannot stop Mercosur. It is about like-minded countries and whether there is critical mass.

That work is ongoing. The Deputy has a job to do and he does it well, I do not say that critically. However, the Irish Government has to work behind the scenes diplomatically and engage with those like-minded countries. I can absolutely assure the Deputy that work is under way.

I thank Deputy Daly for raising this important matter. I assure him, as he knows, that this Government is absolutely committed to ensuring high-quality regional connectivity in the west. We have demonstrated that by the progression of a number of projects, including the project on the N5 in recent years. The recently published sectoral investment plan for transport reaffirms the NDP commitment to deliver many new roads across the State. The era of not building roads is over and the national development plan shows t…

I thank Deputy Daly. He has outlined to us quite correctly a number of the challenges being faced in terms of the road infrastructure in Roscommon, Boyle and the region, whether the heavy volume of traffic or the safety issues, which are really important. I am struck by how every morning, including today, we wake up, look at our newspapers and news bulletins and see more fatalities and tragedies on Irish roads. We think today of all of those people, in particular the families at Christmas as well. Investing in road…

It has been, but it is important we are honest with fishermen. I would like to know which fishing representative body does not feel that I showed up or that the Taoiseach showed up, considering I met them, and I was in touch directly with the European Commission. The Taoiseach met them, as did the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, a dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries, and the senior Minister, Deputy Heydon. Deputy Doherty is right that this is a devastating blow for fisheries but it is al…

I wish a happy Christmas to the Deputy, her family and her Labour Party colleagues. I too welcome the developments at an EU level this week. I acknowledge the contribution of her party colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. She will also understand why I acknowledge the contribution of Regina Doherty, who is on that committee in the European Parliament. We now have a housing Commissioner and a committee of the Parliament on housing. We do have plans to host an EU housing summit. The jury is still slightly out on whether that…

The rules of the House are one thing but Deputy Hearne is rightly highlighting a very important issue. As a constituency TD, I absolutely do consider this. I also consider it as the Tánaiste. Everybody in this House considers what more we can and must do in relation to child and family homelessness. We have different policy perspectives that we debate in this House. It is not a question of people ignoring each other. I hope it is not. We all need to be better than that. When we had the eviction ban in place, we did…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Nobody wants to see anybody on hunger strike or to see anybody get ill arising from that. I note he took the opportunity of the presence of the British ambassador in the House today to raise his concerns in relation to this. I will also relay those concerns to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.

I thank the Deputy for making the effort today with his Christmas jumper and for injecting a degree of Christmas cheer into this place. I wish him, his family, colleagues and staff a very happy Christmas too. The factual answer in relation to a Dublin allowance is that all of these issues are matters for pay agreements. It is for the unions and the Government side to bring proposals to the table. While I tend not to comment on public pay policy outside of those agreements, I would just say, as a Wicklow TD, that on…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge that this is something that has been going on for quite a significant period and it is understandable that people want to a resolution to this as quickly as possible. When I leave the Chamber I will ask the Minister for communications for a direct update on the timeline in relation to that and he will make contact with the Deputy on that later today.

I wish the Deputy a happy Christmas too and thank him for raising this very serious issue. It is very timely because when we turn on our radios at the moment, we all hear the very chilling advertisements from emergency department consultants and ICU consultants in children's hospitals reminding us of the law in relation to e-scooters but also, on a purely human level, of the absolute devastation that children and others can experience as a result of accidents involving e-scooters. A report by the Royal College of P…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue relating the Navan Road schools. I can hear the frustration in his voice on behalf of those schools. I will certainly speak with the Minister, Deputy Naughton about timelines and next steps and ask her to revert to him directly.

I thank Deputy Butterly for raising this issue. I have seen at first hand the benefit of the work that was done by the Drogheda Implementation Board, which formally came to an end on 31 December 2024, having had its term extended. The board produced a very good report, Drogheda: Creating a Bridge to a Better Future, which had 74 recommendations. They were really under two headings: the need for improved interagency co-operation and the need to resource additional services. I am pleased that over the lifetime of the…

I thank the Deputy and Nollaig shona dó. On the points he made about the Mercosur deal, they are points made by the Taoiseach, myself, the Minister for agriculture and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Farmers in Ireland have expressed very serious views. The Irish Farmers' Journal has revealed concerning information, as the Deputy said, following its trip to Brazil as well. As the Taoiseach said this morning, we now see safeguards have been published. We need to have a greater understanding of them but a…

Very respectfully, on three or four occasions in the House today, I have outlined the Government's position as the Taoiseach did this morning as well. The programme for Government is clear. We have significant concerns about the agreement in its current form. We will work with like-minded countries to oppose it in its current form. Those two pieces of work are ongoing. It is not prudent or sensible to have a vote on this in advance of Christmas. I share the position of French on that. I was in the Deputy's constitu…