Maybe the Minister is thinking that is something that should be addressed.

That is how fine it was - 14 votes. Fraud can make a very big difference in these kinds of things. Maybe it should have been 114 votes in reality but we will never know now.

That is it. I am here to stay. Regarding the management of the register, research has shown that there is public confidence in local authorities managing the register due to the practical benefits of local knowledge. I would agree with that. The committee recommended an oversight role for the electoral commission in the management of the electoral register and I agree that an oversight role of local authorities' management would be sufficient. The councils have the role now and they should continue with it. However…

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this Bill. I fully support workers’ rights to statutory sick pay. The fact this country has never had a statutory sick pay scheme needs to change. One positive element of this Bill is that it starts to bring about change in this area. However, it must be viewed very much as a start because we have a long way to go if it is to be in any way adequate. In preparing to speak on this Bill, I was thinking about my time working in London, Engla…

Much of the European Council statements were rightly focused around the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. We must continue to condemn Russia's bloody and destructive attack on Ukraine at every opportunity we get. I am glad that this was the main focus of the European Council talks. We stand with Ukraine and its people. We should continue to condemn Russia at every opportunity we get. We also must continue to maintain and strengthen our military neutrality at every opportunity. Both are not mutually exclu…

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I have long been speaking about the devastating effects of dereliction and vacant housing on our towns and cities and the potential they hold in addressing the devastating housing crisis in this country. I have, in the past, called for a public housing programme led by local authorities, with a view to addressing dereliction and vacant housing, and I wish to call for this again. In my constituency of Donegal, 7,700 houses are vacant. That is about 10% …

I recently received an answer to a parliamentary question from the Department of Social Protection that stated the Government intends to complete a review of the rural social scheme, RSS, later in 2022. I am sure the Minister will agree that the benefits that schemes such as the RSS have had on rural communities across this country have been immense, especially from a community and social perspective. I see this again and again in Donegal in community organisations that depend on this work to deliver for their comm…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. There is no doubt there is a need for a stronger focus on a circular economy and stronger accountability in terms of waste management and our personal environmental impact. It is important we start to consider the lifetime of products rather than see them in a linear, take-make-waste approach, as currently we tend to do. According to the 2021 circularity gap report, the global economy is only 8.6% circular. That is incredibly concerning. We would need to double this …

I thank the Acting Chair for the opportunity to speak on this. I support this Bill and I want to thank People Before Profit for bringing this important issue to the House today. The importance of Irish neutrality cannot be overstated. Our neutrality is more important than ever following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which, I fear, may threaten our country’s vital role in being militarily neutral on an international level. Irish neutrality is under attack by many of the Members in this Chamber and I completely op…

Last month, I raised with the Minister for Education an issue around school transport eligibility for families forced to move to temporary accommodation due to the continuing mica crisis in Donegal. The Minister committed to ensuring, as she put it, scheme flexibility in this regard, yet Bus Éireann, which administers the scheme, in reply to the same query said there can be no such flexibility. Which is it? Both answers cannot be true. To be honest, I am losing what little faith I have in the Minister. She previous…

What is going on in Ukraine is truly horrific, and I want to express my solidarity with the Ukrainian people and join the call for an end to this terrible war. Nothing can justify the aggression the Russian Federation has imposed against Ukraine and we must do all we can to support the Ukrainian people and condemn Russia’s unprovoked and destructive attack on a peaceful nation. I would also like to take this opportunity to recognise the more than 14,200 people who have been arrested in Russia for taking part in ant…

According to a national survey by the Real Estate Alliance, the average house price across the country is now rising by almost €100 per day. Today saw the release of the latest Daft.ie sales report, which shows that the average listed price nationwide in the first quarter of 2022 was €299,000, up 8.4% on the same period in 2021, with the largest increases in Connacht–Ulster, where prices rose by 20.1% in the year to March. This is indicative of the systemic failure of the housing policies being pursued by the Gover…

The Taoiseach said the housing issue is the single most important social issue of his time. That is true, but the Government has failed miserably, and is continuing to fail miserably, to solve or deal with the issue because it has focused entirely on the private housing market to solve this issue, and the private sector will not do it. The only way to deal with this issue is through a public building programme. A family of four earning €28,000 a year cannot get on the housing list in Donegal and will never, ever be…

I am thankful for this Topical Issue matter being taken again today. It was on the agenda for last Thursday, but it was not dealt with because the Minister did not come to the House. That was unfortunate.

Well, the Minister did not come to that Topical Issue debate. It was submitted in the morning, the Minister's Department agreed to take it and then nobody turned up to take it. That is a sign that the Minister did not come, as far as I can make out. That is a problem in the context of the Dáil's procedures and how Topical Issue debates are treated. Overall, that is probably an issue for another day. I am glad this Topical Issue matter is finally being taken today. It arises from legislation that went through the Ho…

I can keep going. Start the clock going there.

I thank the Minister for his belated summary on the matter. The legislation may not have completed its journey through the House of Commons but basically the British Parliament has voted to include this measure. What can the Minister do other than impress on the British Government the importance of not having the measure? That clearly has not worked too well up to now. There must be some sort of follow-up if this goes ahead. To my mind it is a breach of an international treaty but perhaps it is not; maybe the Minis…

I wish to ask about the way our traditional policy of military neutrality is expressed at European Council meetings. How can we ensure finance we send as aid to Ukraine is used for non-military purposes?

I thank the Minister for his response. In recent weeks we have heard mention of being politically active and militarily neutral. I am only aware of it having come up recently. Nobody has ever said we should not be politically active. Nobody has ever said we should not be putting our views across in any situation. The question is about military neutrality. That is always been the question and has always been the concern. Some of the Minister's recent statements about the EU developments have also been of concern. He…

Who questioned it?