I thank Deputy McDonald for the question. At the outset, can I say that she does not have a monopoly on empathy or compassion for householders-----
Sentiment score: 0.41
-----when it comes to addressing the difficult circumstances that members of the public find themselves in as a result of cost-of-living pressures? It is important to point out that this Government has done a huge amount in respect of those cost-of-living pressures. By looking at what was done in budget 2025, the Deputy is invoking those measures today as a means of assisting people. She was not so supportive of those measures when we announced them 12 months ago-----
Sentiment score: -0.08
-----and indeed 24 months ago. In budget 2025, a wide range of measures were introduced which had the effect of protecting members of the public from the excessive costs that were arising as a result of inflation. We introduced an increased payment in respect of the rent tax credit; it went up from €1,000 to €2,000. There was the extension of the 9% reduced VAT rate for gas and electricity. That very real measure was introduced for the purpose of ensuring we reduced the cost of energy for householders. We also saw the extension of mortgage interest relief until the end of 2025 and the €300 lump sum payment in respect of the fuel allowance. That is not even getting to the double-month child benefit payment. The Deputy is correct in stating that there were two €125 electricity credits for households. They were very effective at a time when there were very high energy prices and inflation was out of control. Fortunately, we are now in a position where inflation has come down. Let us be clear that this Government will continue to introduce measures in respect of the forthcoming budget that will have hard-pressed families at the centre of them. My colleagues, Jack Chambers and Paschal Donohoe, will have that at the forefront of their considerations when it comes to the measures contained within the budget. The Deputy will note that in April we decided to extend the VAT reduction to 9% on gas and electricity, a measure that will save households €70 for gas and €55 for electricity. This decision was further supported by the announcement made in June by the Minister, Darragh O'Brien, of a 40% reduction in the renewable electricity PSO levy for 2025 and 2026. Also, from September, there will be a significant increase in the number of people who qualify for the fuel allowance. In terms of other pressures that people are under, and other costs, at the beginning of June the carers' support grant increased to €2,000, which is its highest level ever. That benefited some 138,000 carers. Last week the income level disregard increased for the carer's allowance. This Government has therefore introduced a whole range of measures in the past. I assure the Deputy that when the Government comes to announce the budget two weeks from now there will be measures in it that will have hard-pressed families at the centre of considerations. We also need to look at the fact that parents of schoolchildren have been given considerable support by this Government. The back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, which is paid out over the summer months, has been extended to foster carers for the first time. Parents who have schoolgoing children at present do not have to pay for schoolbooks because of measures that were introduced by the Minister, Norma Foley-----
Sentiment score: 0.31
-----and brought forward by the Minister, Helen McEntee. The Deputy might not like the fact that a huge number of measures have been taken by this Government to relieve pressure on hard-pressed families. The fact of the matter is that any fair assessment of what is being done shows that this is being done by this Government. I must say that the Deputy's concern about what is going to happen in the forthcoming budget is misplaced. I assure her that the Government will be placing hard-pressed families at the centre of its deliberations. I look forward to seeing Sinn Féin's budget proposals to see what it is putting forward. I will be interested to see if it will again adopt the measures we introduced previously and which it denigrated when we introduced them.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I am the Minister for justice. I am not the Minister for Finance or the Minister for public expenditure.
Sentiment score: 0.26
I do not announce the budget terms two weeks before the budget is announced. We will all have the opportunity to hear the budget two weeks from now when it is announced by the Ministers for Finance and public expenditure. On hard-pressed families, the Deputy has not responded to the issues I have raised about the measures we have taken in the past.
Sentiment score: 0.14
They cannot just be ignored.
Sentiment score: 0.24
The Deputy cannot ignore the past.
Sentiment score: 0.28
The Deputy cannot ignore what we have done in the past and now try to claim credit for what we did previously in circumstances-----
Sentiment score: 0.57
-----when Sinn Féin did not support those measures at the time we announced them on a previous budget day. Let us consider the VAT rate on energy costs. We have retained the 9% rate. That will be dealt with on budget day and we will wait to hear what will be announced. I am not going to pre-announce the budget. What I will do, and what I assure the Deputy that the Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Chambers will also do, is read carefully Sinn Féin's budget submission. If there are good proposals in it, they will give them consideration. If there are not, and it is just populist outrage, they will ignore them, as they should.
Sentiment score: 0.02
I thank Deputy Bacik for her question. Obviously, child poverty is an enormous issue in this country and an enormous one that the Government wishes to respond to. The Deputy will have heard the Taoiseach, and indeed the Tánaiste, say that child poverty will be at the centre of the budget that is forthcoming and will be announced two weeks from now. I can understand why the Deputy wishes me to give information in respect of the budget that is forthcoming in two weeks. I cannot do that. We are just going to have to wait to realise what the content is when it is announced. However, the Deputy can be sure – the Government will be adamant about this – that tackling child poverty is a central aim. The Deputy talks about the impact the housing crisis is having on children. We are fully aware of that. The Deputy is not the only one aware of the impact it is having on children and families. Although she displays great empathy, I have not heard any practical solutions from her on how we can improve-----
Sentiment score: -0.01
-----and alleviate the issue in respect of housing. We have repeatedly stated that the most effective way of getting people off the homelessness and housing lists is to ensure a greater supply of housing in our society, and available housing. Although the Deputy can criticise the Government for the amount, we have stated that this is our commitment. When you look at the figures produced, you can see definite progress in respect of it. Between July 2020 and the end of quarter 1 of 2025, 48,939 social homes were added to the social housing stock. That is a very significant number and cannot be ignored. Also, more than 13,100 homes were brought back into use under the voids programme. The Deputy will know from having been a TD for the city of Dublin that there are too many voids in Dublin, which means houses unused. We need to get them back into operation so families can get back into them. The years 2023 and 2024 saw the delivery of newly built social housing reach levels not seen since the 1970s, with almost 16,000 social homes built over those two years. We are aware, and I am sure the Deputy is also, that our population is increasing very significantly. The population increased in the 12 months up to April 2024 by 98,000. This is putting huge pressures on the system. We have to recognise that although the Government is making a considerable effort and getting a lot of social housing developed, there will be issues because of the population rise.
Sentiment score: 0.23
When we add the housing assistance payment and rental accommodation scheme data, we see that 2,712 housing supports were delivered in quarter 1 of 2025. The Deputy also mentioned the tenant in situ scheme. That scheme has worked. It has worked throughout the country. I note there will sometimes be issues in respect of Dublin, but the measure------
Sentiment score: 0.12
-----has been important in the prevention of homelessness since its introduction in 2023. The Government is providing €325 million in 2025 for local authorities to buy second-hand properties.
Sentiment score: 0.10
As I said to Deputy McDonald, when the Labour Party produces its budget proposals, we will take them into account and the Government will give them consideration. I have no doubt that will happen in respect of that matter. On what the Deputy said about the tenant in situ scheme, she should be aware that on 4 March last, the Government decided on a total of €325 million for second-hand social housing acquisitions this year. That is not a feeble effort; it is a hugely significant amount of money that the Government has made available. The funding allocations approach was a change from the approach in 2023 and 2024, when local authorities were issued with a guide number of acquisitions. The purpose of it is to allow local authorities to negotiate the acquisition costs with vendors and landlords and achieve the best value for money. Each local authority has received its individual allocation. The Deputy will be pleased to hear that Dublin City Council is the highest at €95 million for 2025. Local authorities are being provided with significant amounts of money and the Government wants to see them buying properties.
Sentiment score: 0.26
What is happening in Gaza is horrific slaughter. It is not just me, the Deputy and every other Member of this House saying that. We saw recently that a United Nations independent commission has ruled that what Israel is doing in Gaza is committing genocide. Many people in Ireland feel a sense of helplessness in the context of what can be done in response to it. My view is that this Government has done more than any other government in the world in response to the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza. If we look around the world, what stands out is the fact that so many countries, including many Arab countries, have done so little for the cause of the Palestinians in Gaza. In contrast, Ireland has led the way, not just in Europe but also internationally. Like the Deputy, I was very pleased to hear at the weekend that so many other countries, including Portugal, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, the UK, Canada and Australia have decided to recognise the Palestinian state. Very many of these countries are small European countries. They have followed the example that Ireland set when, we along with Spain and Norway, decided that we would recognise a Palestinian state. There was huge pressure on the Irish Government not to do that, but we did it because it was the right thing to do. We can see that the example set by Ireland is being followed by other EU countries. On the proposals regarding trade between Israel and the EU, when Ireland advocated that we should introduce an occupied territories Bill at European Union level, there was very little support. We now know that other countries are considering and introducing such a measure. That Bill has been very effective from Ireland's point of view in terms of putting the Israel-EU trade agreement on the agenda. Like everyone else in this House, the Deputy is aware of the historical alliances that exist between Israel and certain countries in the European Union. We can do very little about that, but the pressure Ireland has put on is having an impact. We can see that the EU-Israel trade agreement is coming under consideration. I am hopeful - and I know the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste are hopeful - that when it comes to suspension of that agreement, measures will be taken. Of course, they should have been taken many years ago. However, Ireland is a small country. We are an influential country but all we can do is use our reputation and influence to try to get others to follow our example. We can see that, to date, this has been done. When we look at the cases that were taken at the International Criminal Court, again, Ireland intervened in respect of them. The Deputy can criticise the Government. When we look at this matter objectively internationally, however, we can see that the Irish Government is one of the most vociferous supporters of the Palestinian people and is standing up to the genocide that is happening in Gaza.
Sentiment score: 0.10
It is in priority legislation and will be enacted and certainly introduced into the Oireachtas this term. I wish to make one important point that is sometimes not emphasised enough. The entity responsible for the genocide in Gaza is the Israeli Government. We all need to point that out and state it repeatedly. Rather than criticising the Irish Government for narrow domestic political purposes, the Deputy should acknowledge the very real efforts that have been made by the Irish Government to support Palestine. She inquired as to what else is being done. We have made responses in respect of the cases that are before the International Criminal Court. We have provided €90 million. We have tried to influence our international partners. As I said, Ireland cannot just dictate to the rest of Europe or, indeed, the rest of the world what foreign policy decisions should be made.
Sentiment score: 0.11
We can influence it but we cannot dictate it. She can see what has happened over those horrific 700 days, that people and other countries are gradually coming around to recognising the Irish Government's position is the correct position.
Sentiment score: -0.33
I thank Deputy Ward very much. I will try to be as succinct in my answers as his questions were. His first was whether or not the Government would use the Public Service Management Act. The answer to the question is "No". The Government will not use it because the defective concrete block grant scheme operates under its own primary legislation and in November 2024, following the receipt of preliminary results from scientific research in Donegal, the Department announced changes to the way the scheme works for certain homeowners. All homeowners who have been given a non-demolition option have been offered a choice of continuing with the work on their dwelling under the option determined or the option of a full technical review of their application by the Housing Agency. This review will be informed by the current research once the full review of the national standard is complete. The Deputy's second question was on whether the Government would use its ministerial authority to direct the Housing Agency to reinstate original engineering recommendations. In response to that I would say an appeals panel has been established to assess appeals made under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act. The panel offers those affected by decisions made by the Housing Agency and local authorities an opportunity to have their cases assessed by an independent group of industry experts. The points of appeal that are available to an applicant include the validation stage by the local authority, the damage threshold determination made by the Housing Agency, the remediation option and the grant amount approved and where a local authority refused to make a grant payment pursuant to a grant approval. It should be noted the appeals panel is statutorily independent in the performance of its functions. It is independent of the Minister, the Department and, indeed, the Housing Agency. The Deputy's final question was on whether families who were early movers in the scheme were told they would not be disadvantaged. He wants to know if the Government will pass the legislation to ensure that all homeowners receive the uplift in respect of rates and the cap retrospectively. The decision by the Government in 2021 was to the effect that applicants under the previous grant scheme would not be disadvantaged from being early movers and would benefit from the increased grant amounts that were available under the current scheme upon its commencement in 2023. This was allowed for in the 2022 Act under transitional provisions, and these early movers have benefited from the increased scheme cap and grant rates provided for. I welcome the Deputy's direct and surgically focused questions. I just wanted to give him those answers as best I could in respect of the matter. I am conscious that he referred to legislation. I am instructed that legislation will be introduced as a priority in the forthcoming term. That is something the Government will give priority to.
Sentiment score: 0.23
I will talk to the Minister for housing who has responsibility for this matter. I will raise with him the issues the Deputy has identified. The Deputy stated that there is unethical engineering ongoing in Donegal. If that is the case, there are mechanisms in place to report engineers who are acting unethically. I urge people who believe they are the victims of unethical engineering to use the appropriate mechanism to report engineers involved in that type of activity. We have an institute of engineers in Ireland. That body regulates engineering performance and anyone engaged in unethical behaviour should be brought to its attention. In the context of the issue of defective concrete blocks, from speaking to Deputies McConalogue and Gallagher, I am conscious of the impact this is having in Donegal. The Government has not been found wanting when it comes to providing money to resolve this matter via the scheme. A huge amount of money has been made available in the past and more will be available in the future.
Sentiment score: -0.12