I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill and acknowledge the long journey that has taken us to this place. In 2019, when Deputies Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire and Martin Kenny published their Bill, it was clear that no victim of sexual assault should face questioning on their clothing in a courtroom without legal representation. Some four years later, following Trojan work by victim advocacy groups, we are finally at a place where the Government has listened. This year, the Cork Sexual Violence Centre celebrated 40 …

Cork University Hospital, CUH, is a hospital that is constantly overcrowded and understaffed. The staff members there do Trojan work in the face of huge difficulties often caused by the failure of successive Governments to invest in healthcare in Cork. In recent weeks, they have been informed that their car park is to close. This was done without consultation with their union, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, and without consultation with the staff, especially those on a night shift. The union carr…

Energy companies made huge profits on the backs of ordinary hardworking people and families. The Government allowed this to happen. It stood idly by while Europe moved ahead to bring in windfall taxes. I welcome the Bill, but as others have said, it is too little, too late and not enough. Ordinary people have suffered. The question now is whether the Government will finally grasp the straw and bring in a proper windfall tax. These companies have profiteered on the backs of ordinary people, some of whom are the most…

The Minister is a great man for the facts. The real facts and the truth on the ground is that last year he and the Government delivered 323 affordable houses and 135 of them were in Cork. I can be critical of Cork City Council sometimes, but on affordable housing, it has led the way. The Minister gave it a target of 278, to be completed by 2026. It will probably have it met next year or, at the latest, the year after. Two hundred and seventy-eight by 2026 is a paltry target and the Minister is saying the Government…

On a point of order, does Deputy Ring realise that he has been in government for 12 years?

For the Deputy to come in here and talk about it, has he amnesia or what?

That is the truth.

You did.

You got rid of the town councillors, yourself and Phil Hogan.

Telling the truth - a first time for everything.

Does the Minister know the fear many people felt last July when the first interest rate hike was announced? Can he imagine the fear they felt last week when the tenth interest rate hike was announced? These are families who are struggling and are waiting on the Minister. A man who lives in Cork contacted me. His current mortgage interest rate is double what it was 18 months ago. He said "I am hoping Cork politicians will talk to Minister McGrath and get him to see sense and tackle the banks while helping mortgage h…

He was right.

I agree with the Ceann Comhairle and Tánaiste and thank all the staff and everyone involved in providing the services that allow us to run this House. As the Tánaiste said, they will still be working over the summer but they might not have to deal with all the carry-on that goes on here sometimes. We certainly respect all the work they do. They do a fabulous job which should be acknowledged. Households are under huge pressure from the cost-of-living crisis. Energy bills are sky high and totally unaffordable. New fi…

Sinn Féin stands firmly in support of Palestine and the Palestinian people. On this island, we have faced centuries-long struggle and oppression endured over 800 years. Our history has taught us at first hand the harsh realities of being under the rule of a foreign oppressor that believes it has a right to seize our land. It is not difficult, therefore, to draw significant parallels between the actions of the British empire and those of the Israeli state today, such as the brutal tactics of burning homes, committin…

I agree with my party colleague Deputy Ó Laoghaire. We have been dealing with the residents of Noonan's Road for years, but even before that, the residents of Noonan's Road and St. Finbarr's Road had been promised works on their flats for years, with very little done. These flats were built in a bygone time. We have to move beyond that now. Deputy Ó Laoghaire and I are looking for full regeneration, similar to other regeneration projects, where the flats would be knocked down and the residents would be moved elsewh…

The Minister of State spoke about preventative maintenance, planned maintenance and deep retrofitting. There has been no planned maintenance or preventative maintenance done in Cork sine I became a councillor in 2009. There has been none. The Minister of State came in here and gave us an answer. There has been no funding to Cork City Council for those works to be carried out. I remember being chair of the housing committee in Cork City Council and being told it would be every three years. Then, I was told it was ev…

Yes.

What about-----

The Taoiseach is wrong.

There is a real opportunity at European Council meetings to learn from Europe and to use these learnings to assist us in resolving issues at home. One such issue is the funding to drug and alcohol task forces. The Minister of State may be aware that task forces were in the Dáil last week, including our own task force in Cork. They are operating at a €3 million deficit when compared with 2010. This is a barrier to them taking proactive, localised community responses to addiction. All across Europe, the importance of…