I thank the Deputy for his question. I want to clearly point out that the underpayments and overpayments in question have come about through a series of administrative errors in the National Shared Services Office, NSSO. Critically, the cohort of people who are affected include, first, retired civil servants who previously work-shared and whose pensions were undercalculated and, second, current and former Ministers and officeholders and retired civil and public servants. Those are the cohorts who are affected by the error in the NSSO. Primarily for Government Ministers, what has happened is that, through a series of Government decisions where Ministers took a deduction in their pay, a salary sacrifice, the question was posed of whether the pension deduction calculation should be on the gross salary or on the net amount that was sacrificed. This was obviously brought to the attention of the Minister for public expenditure and reform last year. Unlike what the Deputy said, there was a public statement on the matter and the Minister answered questions at that time. This was not the fault of any politician or former civil servant; it was an error by the NSSO. The Government immediately committed to having a review carried out by Derek Moran, the chairperson of the NSSO. That will report in March to ensure that something like this does not happen again. Regarding the ten Ministers the Deputy cites who currently have not concluded the pay agreement to repay moneys owed, a number of clarifications have been sought about the calculations that were brought forward. I know that everyone has the right to ensure that they are paying the correct amount and every single Minister wants to ensure they are doing that. That is very important. The Government is crystal clear that any retired civil servant or Minister who does not comply or pay back what is due to the Exchequer will not receive their pension because this is a key requirement in funding their pension. I also robustly challenge what the Deputy says about the social welfare protection code that we have in this country. I, like many politicians, do weekly clinics, meeting constituents who are very vulnerable. The Department of Social Protection does not demand a repayment immediately. It works out payment plans that respect vulnerable citizens throughout the State.

Sentiment score: 0.16

There are limits on the gross threshold that is deducted every single week, bearing in mind the vulnerable situations that families find themselves in. I have worked with the Department in representing people who, sometimes through no fault of their own, have an overpayment to the Department of Social Protection.

Sentiment score: -0.61

The second point I want to robustly challenge is that there is nothing in this budget for workers or those who are most vulnerable in society. We have put forward a €300 million package for people who are vulnerable and to ensure that those who are working on lower incomes are rewarded. We have increased the minimum wage by 40% over the last four years. Deputies will see from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, returns that real growth in wages in our economy has come through over the last number of years, with 13 sectors growing. We have also protected the most vulnerable by reducing the VAT rate on gas and electricity to 9%, which is €100 a month, implementing the free schoolbook scheme and increasing social protection payments by €10, which amounts to €520 for families every single year, as well as making improvements to the hot meals programme. There is also the public service pay agreement, which gives an increase of 17% over the lifetime of the agreement to those who are most vulnerable, in particular, a 3% top-up for incomes under €50,000. That is how the Government is delivering and protecting the most vulnerable. To do that, we need to have a strong engine room, a strong economy, about which Deputy Doherty would know absolutely nothing.

Sentiment score: 0.39

I robustly challenge that Ministers are not engaging with the NSSO and are not going to pay this money back.

Sentiment score: -0.11

This has a huge net in terms of the number of people affected. I listed the three cohorts that were affected by the NSSO, through no fault of any public representative or anyone who was in-----

Sentiment score: -0.21

-----or anyone who was in receipt and was overpaid or underpaid in relation to a pension deduction for the NSSO. I am making quite clear that all Ministers are engaging with the NSSO, all Ministers will bring this to a conclusion and will ensure-----

Sentiment score: 0.32

When they get the clarification.

Sentiment score: 0.00

People are fully correct and entitled to seek clarifications from the NSSO, which has made a series of errors in this regard over a number of years. People are entitled to seek clarifications right across the public service, and people are doing that. I can absolutely assure the House this will be brought to a conclusion. I can also say that in terms of our budget, we have protected the most vulnerable with a €300 million package to ensure the most vulnerable in our society - our carers and those with disabilities - are protected and, critically, that our lower paid workers are getting an increase that is outpacing the rate of inflation in our economy.

Sentiment score: 0.34

I thank the Deputy for his question on a very important area which is very much to the fore in the mindset of the Government, namely, the cost of living and how vulnerable families grapple with the weekly shop and the price of groceries. In the context of budget 2026, I want to outline how we as a Government are supporting people who are the most vulnerable. We came forward in budget 2026 with a €9.4 billion package. This is about 3.25 times the size of the pre-pandemic package. In terms of wages, if we look at the CSO data, which is the gold standard, it shows a 45% increase in weekly wages since 2015. The average wage is over €1,000 a week. All 13 sectors of our economy are growing evenly. Critically, regarding real wage growth, we are outpacing the rate of inflation. To assist the most vulnerable families, we extended the clothing and back to school footwear allowance to two- and three-year-olds. We increased the child support payment by €16 for over-12s and €8 for under-12s. We brought forward the reduction to 9% in the VAT rate and extended it to the end of 2030, saving people €100 a month on utility bills, at a cost of €254 million. We brought forward a number of changes to the social welfare code. We brought the fuel allowance to help 46,000 additional families. At this point, one in four households gets the fuel allowance. We have increased the allowance by 15%, which is well above the rate of inflation. Again, we are looking to prevent poverty and fuel poverty over these critical periods. We have also increased the basic rates of social welfare and the thresholds for the carer's allowance, bringing us on a pathway to abolishing the means test. Again, this is rewarding carers and trying to assist those who are protecting the most vulnerable and doing the State a huge service in keeping people in their homes and living independently. We have worked very hard in increasing the basic social welfare payments by €520 per year. This, again, is a great assistance. We have extended the thresholds of the working family payment for those who are working and on lower incomes. In the public sector pay agreement, we can see how we have ensured that people on incomes under €50,000, those who are under the most pressure, get the greatest increase. Over the lifetime of the agreement, as I just outlined, the increase will be about 17.3%. This demonstrates what the Government is doing and the action we are taking to respond to the challenges. This year, I will enhance the powers of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, the key agency that looks into competition in our sectors, to ensure we are getting fair competition in the grocery sector. We have seen a number of investigations to date in this regard. We have also seen the work the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is doing in meeting the energy companies. They are very clear. They have hardship funds, and anyone who is in danger should liaise with their energy company. There is assistance there. We want to work to ensure that everyone is protected in society. That is what you do when you have a strong economy.

Sentiment score: 0.20

I have pointed out a series of actions that the Government has taken to protect the lowest-paid workers in our economy, those who are on disability and those who are caring for the most vulnerable in our society. There is a €300 million package aimed at child poverty, for which we have a unit in the Department of the Taoiseach, trying to ensure that families are protected through what we see is a significant challenging period through inflation. Families are now in receipt of all of those actions throughout 2026. We want to do more as a Government. That is why we have set out a pathway that is sustainable. Some of the calls made in this House weekly are not costed and are not sustainable. Our job is to protect the most vulnerable in society through the social welfare code. As I said, one in four homes in our country is now in receipt of fuel allowance. We have seen improvements in terms of social welfare being linked to work with the back-to-work allowance, all those key areas that we need to do more on. If the Deputy looks at the warmer homes scheme, there has been an elevenfold increase since it was brought in in 2020 to future-proof homes throughout our country to ensure that we bring costs down and make our households more sustainable.

Sentiment score: 0.23

Over the negotiation of our capital plan, the Government took a view that we have clear priorities. Critically, we know that if everything in an economy is a priority, nothing is a priority. In the €19.1 billion that we are going to spend this year, there are four clear priorities. Housing is number one, along with the enablers of housing in water, wastewater, energy costs and transportation, which are key to unlocking housing. For every single person in this State, it is one of the critical things. You have to see a trajectory for owning your own home, for getting the keys to your own home or to be supported in accommodation if you do not have the means to do so. That is why this Government has worked to ensure we are prioritising housing. If the Deputy looks at the CSO data that was published at Christmas, apartment completions are up 30% year-on-year for the first three quarters of 2025 compared with the previous year. Other scheme dwellings have seen a significant increase, with 12,200 for schemes and single dwellings, one-off houses, at about 4,136. The first-time buyer rates are at record levels. A total of 27,000 drew down mortgages to September - 60% of the market share. That is the balance we have had a huge challenge in reversing over the last seven years. We now have first-time buyers at that level of drawdowns in the market share. At this point, we have 29,000 social housing units that are at varying stages of completion in the cycle that will be coming into our economy. We also know in terms of our first-time buyers that we have 24,335 in the first three quarters of the year, which is up 13% year-on-year. That is why the Government is really focused on making the changes that are going to bring more affordable housing into the economy, to ensure that we have options for people who want secure tenure for renting in terms of our cost rental model, for those who are most vulnerable in social housing, and also the opportunity to buy and own your own home, like the first home scheme, which gives that opportunity, as well as the help to buy scheme, which has helped thousands of families across our economy get the keys and realise their ambition of owning their home. I assure the Deputy that this is one area that is being supported by record capital on behalf of the Government to ensure that people get that opportunity. Year-on-year, the Deputy will see huge improvements, as the data shows. The Deputy only has to look at the CSO data. It is the gold standard. If you go around the country and look at the construction sites, people can see diggers on the ground, builders there and housing being delivered which is of the highest quality it has ever been in the State.

Sentiment score: 0.25

The Government has taken a number of actions across 2025 and into 2026 to try to speed up construction while ensuring that we are getting high quality housing into the marketplace. We have revised the national planning framework which ensures that we have the infrastructure matched with the zoned land to ensure that we are getting those high-quality houses. We have increased the amount of funding for the purchase of local authority housing. This is key to ensure security of tenure for those who fall into a position where their property is being sold. We have also increased significant investment in our State utilities, such as Irish Water, to ensure that we have the infrastructure and allowing developer-led initiatives. Again, this is trying to speed up the timeframe in which we can deliver housing. I absolutely assure the Deputy that, in terms of cost rental, affordable housing and social housing, it is a fact that we are at record levels. These have not been seen since 1970s in terms of social housing and also since the records go back to 2007 in relation to first-time buyers coming into the economy. This Government is critically supporting first-time buyers to get their keys to a new home. This is vastly different from what other politicians offer in this Dáil. They want to pull the rug from under them. We want to support them.

Sentiment score: 0.31

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter. It is a priority of the Government to get as many rentals as possible, cost rental and indeed in the private rental market, particularly those mom and pop landlords who have one and two houses, of whom there are about 85% in terms of those who have the market share. It is critical for a functioning economy that we bring in further supply into rental accommodation which is so important. That is why we have also been supporting renters by increasing the rental tax credit. This is critical to assist them and ensure that 320,000 people who are renting get that key support. If renters are jointly assessed, they get €2,000. It is so important that would continue. In relation to the changes that the Deputy mentioned, I understand that the Bill is coming before the House shortly. It is critical that if there are any issues or unintended consequences, we can put forward amendments in relation to that. The pre-legislative scrutiny report has concluded. That is being presented to the Minister and the Department. They will take into consideration some of the issues that have been raised by the Deputy and at the committee. It is important that we look at how we can get more rental properties into the market. That has to be the first objective here. Second, how do we protect those who are vulnerable and renting in our economy and ensure that we have and continue to have the security of tenure that we have done over this current Government? This is key to ensure that people have that certainty in the rental market. That is why there are so many forms of cost rental of rental options now which are critical for renters. As the Bill comes forward, it will be up to the House to scrutinise it. The pre-legislative scrutiny report from the Oireachtas joint committee will also provide recommendations to the Minister. The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, is working very hard on it. There was strong collaboration with all the bodies in this sector in trying to ensure that there are no unintended consequences and that we get those key rental properties into the marketplace. This has been a challenge, if we are being honest, over the past number of years because of either the regulatory burden or the supply issue. That is what we are committed to resolving.

Sentiment score: 0.19

The fair deal scheme has its own primary legislation that underpins it. Any unintended consequences can be looked at through that prism. We absolutely do not want any policy that would go against the Government's incentivisation with regard to dereliction and vacancy. One can see the very significant moves we have made by bringing 20,000 homes back into use, supported by the vacant property refurbishment grant. We can see the extensions of that, particularly for over-the-shop living and through the croí cónaithe scheme where people can get a grant to bring a derelict property back into use, as well as grants from the SEAI. There is €100,000 collectively between both grants to bring derelict properties back into use. For those who are in a situation where they are embarking on drawing down the fair deal scheme, we will also have to look and ensure that we do not see properties vacant for a long time. We have to respect the wishes of relatives too. This is very important in that process. We will work with the House in the context of the pre-legislative scrutiny report and when the legislation comes before the Dáil.

Sentiment score: 0.32