-----to please revisit this. There need to be some controls put in to protect tenants.

The fact that it takes a nurse's pay to pay a month's rent-----

-----shows there is something wrong.

I appeal to the Taoiseach to do something.

And more affordable housing.

I raise again with the Taoiseach the three public dental schemes. He will recall me raising them with him on Leaders' Questions last year. The three schemes - the dental treatment services scheme, the dental treatment benefit scheme and the school dental scheme - are in chaos and are not functioning. The situation with the school dental scheme in County Laois, for example, is worse now than it was last year when I raised it with the Taoiseach. It is like the Dark Ages. Current figures from the HSE show that there a…

The Taoiseach does not have the specifics for County Laois, but I have given them to him. Most of the statistics I gave him are only a week old. The three public schemes are in crisis. I did not get to raise the boy with special needs I mentioned to the Taoiseach, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and previous Ministers. After six years of waiting in severe pain with periodontal disease, severe inflammation and bone loss, he has to be treated under anaesthetic in hospitals. I have raised this a number of times…

Will the Taoiseach now employ more HSE dentists to fill the gaps?

There has to be more public dentists to fill those gaps. That is the message I want to get out.

In support of the motion, I have to say the laissez-faire policies the Government is pursuing has led to this. If the Minister of State has read history, which I am sure he has, in the 1840s, mass evictions and mass starvation was pioneered by Sir Charles Trevelyan, a British autocrat. This time, it is being pioneered by the Minister of State's party, Fianna Fáil----

----- with hands-off rent and people charging whatever they can get. The more who are evicted, the more homelessness and the bigger the demand, the higher the rents landlords can charge. It is happening, and the situation continues to get worse. In Laois, rents are sky high. Notices to quit are up, homelessness is up, house purchase prices are up, and what the Government has done is given a charter to landlords and developers. The Government's changes in rent rules have made the situation worse, screwing workers an…

My question relates to the future use of the accommodation at the Curragh Camp. There are many vacant homes there at the moment.

I take it from the response that there has been some progress. The Minister referred to 63 but my information is that up to 80 properties are in a derelict state. Soldiers are travelling distances to work, and many travel from County Laois. There are also retired soldiers, some of whom, unfortunately, end up in difficult housing situations. It is important these properties are put back into use. We cannot have vacant homes of any kind lying empty, given the housing crisis. Has there been liaison with the Department…

How much will be spent on accommodation?

The Minister outlined the many different locations, barracks and naval bases. I welcome that. However, the issue at the Curragh is of particular concern. This has gone on for a long time and in the past three or four decades, these houses have gradually fallen into disuse. I know some of them might be a challenge as they were built at a different time, some during the period of British rule. Whether it was 100, 120 or 130 years ago, housing standards were not what they are now. There has been a lot of talk in this …

I ask for the number of naval vessels that are in service and that we can staff and safely put to sea. As the Minister knows, in recent years that has been down to one or two at times. I am just looking for the current level of ability or capacity there.

I thank the Minister for her reply. Of course, the maritime area that has to be protected and that comes within our jurisdiction is massive. From her reply, I take it that there are four vessels that are seaworthy and available, as she said, at any one time. In relation to the rotation, are there some ships within that fleet of eight that are not seaworthy at all? The Minister might clarify that when she comes back. If I heard her right, I think she said that there are 833 staff. What are the numbers that were recr…

In relation to the eight vessels, there are four at sea at any one time. I understand there is rotation and that they cannot all be at sea at any one time. Is it the case that there are one or two of those ships that are not seaworthy and that are permanently docked at any time? I ask the Minister to clarify that. That is the question I am asking. Of course, we have to protect our undersea cables. As a result of the agreement signed with France, the Celtic interconnector will now be coming on stream. The import of …

I welcome the proposals to reduce the cost of living for people. We have had a cost-of-living crisis since the end of Covid. That has escalated and it is now at crisis point. It is a serious situation and Government needs to understand that. Middle- and low-income households were never under so much pressure. Fuel, petrol, diesel, solid fuel, gas and costs are high and, as we learned today, electricity costs are the most expensive in the European Union. Rents, mortgages, house prices and waste charges are high. Hea…

I raise with the Taoiseach the situation in our prisons. Our overcrowded prisons are after reaching crisis point. I have complaints from prison staff going back over the past year or two on this issue. The situation in the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise is like a pressure cooker. It is unsafe for staff and vulnerable prisoners. It is vastly overcrowded, operating at over 120% capacity. It has capacity for 890 inmates but the number stands at just over 1,100. Prisoners are sleeping on bunks and mattresses on the floo…