I am grateful to the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, directors for the publication of their update today. When any report is published, it is very important not just to just cherry-pick one figure in isolation and present it as the reality or, indeed, the totality of the analysis that has been carried out by the RTB because, of course, that is not the case at all. In fact, the report that was published a very short time ago shows that there was a 39% decrease in the number of termination notices issued in the month of March compared with the month of February. While the Deputy might be right and while he may wish to scoff, the reality also shows that there was a downward trend from February to March in terms of termination notices. That is also in the report, but perhaps it was overlooked. The report also shows that there are clear signs of continued resilience in the Irish rental sector. We see more tenancies and landlords in the market than we did at the same time last year. That is a statement of fact. There are more tenancies, more tenants, more landlords and more homes. In many ways, this also tallies with the information we have seen from a recent market report on daft.ie which showed a modest rebound in the availability of rental properties. We have seen 16,548 new tenancies registrations in the first three months of this year. We have also seen 246,477 registered private tenancies in quarter one of this year, an increase on last year. A total of 105,847 private landlords registered in the first quarter of this year compared to the same quarter last year. This report shows there are more tenants, tenancies, landlords and homes than there were this time last year. That is not to say that there is not a very significant housing challenge or that we are not still in the midst of a housing emergency, but it is to provide some fair and balanced analysis of the actual report that has just been published. The Deputy referred to protection for renters. He knows, because he voted against them, that we took measures in this House to strengthen the rights of tenants. He knows that there are people in his constituency in Donegal who are now covered by rent pressure zones who were not covered before this Government brought in that legislative measure. He knows that since 1 March last, there is a rent increase restriction in place nationwide on all tenancies and that rent increases are capped at the level of inflation to a maximum of 2% for existing tenancies. He also knows that we strengthened tenancy protections, improved security of tenure, introduced tenancies of minimum duration involving rolling six-year tenancies and effectively ended no-fault evictions by larger landlords. A point I would agree with the Deputy on is that it is about supply. We need to continue to build and provide more homes. We are doing just that. We have built 241,000 homes since 2016, 36,000 of them last year alone. The Deputy talked about first-time buyers and people having the right to buy their own home. More than 27,500 people bought their own home in 2025, which was the highest number since 2007. More than 500 first-time buyers buy a first home every single week. When it comes to helping people in need of social housing, we have added over 85,000 new homes to the active social housing stock since 2016. We are building more social housing, with an additional 55,600 new-build social homes since 2016. Alongside that, we continue to keep supports in place, including the help-to-buy scheme, which the Deputy would get rid of, and the first home scheme, which he would get rid of as well. We have serious issues when it comes to housing but we are now seeing more homes being built. We see more people being able to access tenancies. We are seeing more landlords in the market. We see encouraging figures when it comes to commencement of planning. We will continue to drive that agenda forward and get 300,000 homes delivered by the end of 2030.
Sentiment score: 0.13
No, I do not accept it. Of course, Deputy Doherty wants people to give up hope and to give up on this country because his politics thrives on that negativity and divisiveness. However, the people are much more reasonable than him. They know we are building more homes than the EU average. They know that Ireland delivered the strongest rate of new housing completions across 19 countries in the EU in 2024. They can see the homes and the cranes. They can see the figures. They know there are more first-time buyers than at any time since 2007. They know there are more tenancies and that we are making progress. The reality is that all Deputy Doherty does each and every week is hop on the latest headline. While we are making serious policy decisions across a spectrum of housing challenges, he has no sense of direction.
Sentiment score: -0.01
Whatever way the wind blows, Pearse goes. The problem is it does not add up. He wants to get rid of all the taxes and he wants more spending. He wants a mini-budget every week. Sinn Féin says it wants more affordable and available rental supply, yet Deputies opposite vote against every measure we bring forward. They are not even capable of responsible Opposition, which is why the people have never put them in government.
Sentiment score: -0.06
At the outset, while respecting the rules of the House in relation to by-elections, let me say that I absolutely deplore, condemn and abhor any racism directed towards any candidate in this democracy. I want to be very clear in relation to the comments of the former Taoiseach: they were not appropriate and they were wrong. It absolutely is perfectly legitimate in this country - in fact, I would even go so far as to say it is essential - that we debate migration policy. No one has an issue with that. It is important to debate it. We might have different views and perspectives on it, and that is okay. It is important that we debate the laws and systems around migration. No one has an issue with that. The policy of the Government has been clear. Anyone who comes to Ireland seeking asylum from outside the EU or outside the EEA should be treated humanely and in accordance with international law. They have a right to be here and their application should be processed quickly. We have been trying to do our bit to ensure faster processing times. Of course, as per the point the Deputy is making, most people who come to Ireland do not come through the international protection system. They come through a whole variety of other ways, legitimately and legally, to play a positive role in our country. I take up the opportunity the Deputy has afforded, as I hope will everyone in the House, to recognise the very positive contribution those people make to Irish society and the Irish economy. Having people come here to work or study contributes to our country and makes our republic better and more complete. Of course, as I said, we can have sensible and rational discussions on migration policy. The same is happening in every country in the world. That is different. However, it is never acceptable to single out an entire group of people based on their race, ethnicity or religion. That only serves to demonise or stigmatise a group of people and it is not a helpful contribution; in fact, it is hurtful. I was struck by the comments by the chief imam of the Islamic Centre of Ireland, Shaykh Dr. Umar Al-Qadri, that Mr. Ahern's remarks were offensive to all immigrants. He said it is important to discuss the challenges facing the country openly and honestly, that it is important to do so in a democracy and that we should always be willing to do it but that we should avoid the kind of rhetoric that would seek to scapegoat an entire community. We benefit hugely from people who come here and make Ireland their home. They are working in our public services, including, as Deputy Bacik mentioned, as nurses, doctors and healthcare assistants. Hospitals would not function without people coming here. We are a better country as a result of people coming here. As I said, it is perfectly legitimate to debate migration policy and the systems we have. However, we should never group people based on religion, nationality or race. The former Taoiseach's comments have caused hurt and harm. I am sure that was not the intention. I certainly hope it was not the intention. I am sure it was not. It is important that everyone in this House, of all parties and none, is united in terms of being very clear on our views in this regard.
Sentiment score: 0.10
Are there by-elections on, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle? Sorry - I will certainly respect the rules of the House and take that point, but I also take the serious point the Deputy made because it is a serious issue. There are people feeling hurt today and we have to acknowledge that. I feel very strongly that we have to facilitate – the Deputy suggested ways we could do this and it is worth exploring those – ways of being able to debate migration in this country. That is a legitimate and important part of our democracy. We will all have different views, for example, on whether we should opt into the EU asylum pact. We believe we should, some people do not. We have different views and that is fine. That is politics and policy. It is evidence and debates that we will follow and work our way through. That is what we should be doing in this House. However, that is different to making comments grouping people based on race, religion or ethnicity. I am quite sure it was unintentional but those comments have caused significant hurt to a significant number of people who make a very fine contribution to our public services and society. It is up to individuals what they wish to do, but I am quite sure, knowing Bertie Ahern, that he did not intend that harm and, therefore, he should reflect on it further.
Sentiment score: 0.14
I thank Deputy O’Callaghan. I will come back at a time when we have longer than three minutes to debate my party’s record in government, but I will debate it anywhere, with anybody, at any time in terms of the state we inherited this country in in 2011, the progress we have collectively made with our coalition colleagues since then, and the progress this country has seen across a whole variety of economic and social issues. Perhaps that is for another day, but I am not going to have a widespread, snide slur made on the record of my party. The Deputy is right on the need to do more when it comes to renewable energy. I have already said in this House that, to be fair, the Deputy’s party has put forward ideas that definitely merit consideration. Some of the Social Democrats’ ideas around solar - I think I said this last week - merit further consideration. We as a Government will be looking at what more can be done in the budget in October to assist with what is an energy crisis for the world and an energy affordability crisis for many people. We have taken a number of measures in the here and now to try to assist people with fuel prices. The Minister, Deputy Heydon’s fuel support scheme for farmers is an example, with more than 3,000 people applying so far. There is the scheme for hauliers and the reduction in the cost of fuel at the pump. There have also been the changes made by the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, in terms of retrofitting grants, which we are seeing good responses to. There has been a very significant increase this year and last year in the number of people looking to get windows or doors replaced or to get solar panels. That is going in the right direction. I am not suggesting that the Deputy is, but we can sometimes be fatalistic about climate, climate action and our ability to make progress. We saw the most recent emissions report of the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, in recent days confirming progress for this country. Ireland's recorded overall greenhouse gas emissions have reduced for a third consecutive year. We have managed to grow the economy and reduce our carbon emissions, proving that it is not a choice between economic growth and climate sustainability. We saw a decrease of 6.8% in 2023 and a further decrease of 2% in 2024. Ireland now has its lowest level of greenhouse gas emissions in 35 years, which is notable, given the fact that our population has increased by 1.5 million people in that time, there are 1 million new homes and there are 1 million extra vehicles on our roads. We are making progress. We have seen electricity generation from renewables increase fivefold since 2005. In February, which was only a couple of months ago, wind energy provided a record 50% of our electricity and Ireland has reached a record circa 8 GW of renewable generation capacity, up from only 4.8 GW in 2020. We are objectively making real progress in terms of our switch to renewables. That is true. The Deputy is not saying it, but all too often, it is a question of do we want this or that. We have to continue to grow our economy and not suggest it is a choice between being on the side of the planet or of economic growth. It is possible to do both. This country is proof of that. The Social Democrats have put forward constructive ideas on what more we could be doing around solar power, and we will give consideration to them in the time ahead.
Sentiment score: 0.28
I have loads to say for myself, I can assure the Deputy. I am in a Government and leading a party in a Government that is managing to see emissions fall in this country for three years in a row while growing the economy, creating more jobs, seeing wages rise and seeing more homes built. It is entirely possible to do more than one thing at a time in government. It is not fair to say that we are not making progress when it comes to climate. We objectively are. We are proving that despite the ideology of some, it is possible to grow the economy in a sustainable way. I have never bought into the view that it is a choice between one or the other. Yes, we need to protect the planet but we also need to make sure that people have jobs. These data centres are not the bogeyman the Deputy likes to paint them as. They are a very important part of our economic model, literally fuelling jobs, economic growth and taxation across the country, and the Deputy will come in next week with an idea for how I should spend the taxes. Before we spend money in Ireland, we have to generate it. The National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, gave a very significant warning to the Oireachtas today. When was the last time anyone came into the House with an idea as to how to grow the economy rather than just spend more money? We will look at more ideas around solar in the time ahead. We have already taken action. There are more people qualifying for fuel allowance and household benefits than ever before. We are reducing the excise on diesel and petrol and there are support schemes for farmers and hauliers. We are not having a mini-budget every Thursday.
Sentiment score: 0.17
I thank Deputy Healy for raising the issue of roads, road maintenance, the quality of roads and, quite rightly, the implications that can have on road safety. The Government has increased the level of funding provided for roads. I will follow up specifically with the Minister on what the Deputy said about Tipperary and the council's submission to the Department. The budget for regional roads is around €718 million, which is higher than in previous budgets, and I think we allocated to Tipperary County Council just over €49 million as part of that. Quite a lot of it is for the renewal and protection of regional and local roads. However, the Deputy is not wrong to highlight two challenges that councils are facing through no fault of their own. The first is the significant periods of adverse weather we had. Some parts of the country were more impacted by that than others. On top of that, there is the absolute truth that when commodity prices rise, inflation rises and the cost of doing something increases. We have seen figures out today that show the consumer price index rising again. The war on Iran, apart from to the horrific humanitarian consequences of war and conflict, is not consequence free in terms of economics and costs. I accept that local authorities through no fault of their own are having to deal with this as well. As a Government, we will continue to keep these issues under review. At the moment we are working with local authorities specifically on the issue of storm damage and have asked for submissions to be sent in by local authorities. They will be assessed as speedily as possible. In my county, significant damage was done to roads as well. There is often a churn, if I can describe it as that, in capital spending, where there is often an ability to allocate and reallocate capital spending to these areas. We will have to have an honest conversation. I do not mean this to be critical of councils at all but unfortunately rare weather events are not very rare any more. Therefore, as we set out our budgets each year for roads, we will need to be conscious of the proportion set aside or ring-fended for the inevitability of some adverse weather. We need to get a bit better at doing that so we do not find ourselves somewhat surprised by the sadly more frequent adverse weather events. More broadly, on the issue of the impact of the war on costs, this is something the Government is having to review right across the system. We cannot chase inflation. We need to be careful that we do not do anything to worsen the situation but we will continue to do all we can to support State agencies and local authorities in the delivery of projects. On foot of the Deputy raising this, I will specifically ask that the Minister for Transport consider the submissions made by Tipperary County Council and come back to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: -0.06
I can confirm this morning that we are working our way through the various impacts of the storm damage and we will continue to engage on that. I also acknowledge that the Government has been increasing public funding. I am not directing this at the Deputy but I hear public bodies speaking as though they are speaking at a time of reduction, while public spending has only gone in one direction and that is up. I absolutely assure the Deputy that Tipperary County Council has received more support across a variety of funding heads from this Government than it did in previous years. I also acknowledge the funding we provided for the main street in Tipperary town and the ongoing works on the N24 from Cahir to Limerick. I think €2.7 million was allocated to that. However, the Deputy referenced specific issues, including storm damage and the impact of the war. We need to work our way through these in a methodical fashion. However, I have to make the point - and it is not specific to Tipperary - that we cannot have a situation where local authorities find themselves surprised by adverse weather, climate change and storms. Sometimes things can be worse than we expect but we need to get better at planning and factoring into our roads budget and other budgets that damage can happen to infrastructure due to adverse weather. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: -0.09