As the Minister of State has said, you will be back every week now doing a tour of the Dáil and the Seanad.

Private rents have hit their highest level in 25 years according to the latest Daft.ie rent report. That is courtesy of the Government’s rent hike Bill. Since the Government’s residential tenancies Act and market rent reset, landlords have been able to hike up rents to the highest possible market rate regardless of what they were before. That means that this quarter, average rent hikes have jumped a staggering 7.8% in just three months. That is the highest quarterly rent increase since 2002. In Dublin, a two-bedroo…

First, I wish to put on the record that Sinn Féin is completely opposed to this legislation and we will vote against it on every single Stage. I commend my colleague and former Member of this House, MEP Lynn Boylan, as well as her staff, on the work they have done on this Bill. They have shone a light on the potential impact of both this legislation and CETA on this country. This is a Bill with far-reaching implications. If enacted, it will undermine the sovereignty of our courts, workers’ rights and environmental …

I thank the Minister of State. As there has been a vote in the Dáil, we may have to wait for the next Minister of State, who I understand is on the way.

Before we move on, I will break with the normal rules of the House and ask Members to join me in giving a warm céad míle fáilte to an incredible young man, Austin Appelbee, aged 13. Members may have heard Austin's story from February of this year, when he undertook an incredible act of bravery in Western Australia in order to save the lives of his mother Joanne, his brother Beau and his sister Grace. Austin undertook a four-hour, 4 km swim, followed by a 2 km run, to contact emergency services, which ultimately led…

I send my condolences to the friends and family of Yves Sakila. It is important that there is an investigation. No one should end up dead in this way. I also raise the matter of the human rights activists who have been kidnapped from international waters. Once again, the Government has condemned the act without actually doing anything. It seems to repeat itself. There is condemnation and no action. Israel faces no consequences for the kidnapping of activists, who are trying to do what Government should be doing and…

RTÉ recently highlighted that new housing developments are being built with limited car parking spaces and no additional transportation routes. What is happening is that the new residents are parking on existing housing estates close by, which leads to a lot of tension among residents. An example is the Glass Bottle site in Ringsend, where 3,500 new homes are going in, but a limited number of car parking spaces are being allocated. Residents at the Glass Bottle site will be moving into their new homes very soon, wh…

I was asked. I just wanted to say that I will speak to my colleagues in Tallaght if Senator Costello speaks to hers in Ringsend. That would be great.

A fair trade.

I, too, would like to object to these amendments being ruled out of order. It is very unfair. It is basic information which gives protection to various cohorts in Irish society that evidence has clearly shown need protection. It is about ensuring that we have all the information we need. It only requires another line on the PULSE system. It is not trying to reinvent the wheel, nor does it involve some huge endeavour. It is clear that there is a need for data. As has been said, in the North of Ireland this is in pla…

I do not think that anybody believes for a minute that it is the Cathaoirleach. It is clearly coming from the Department of justice. It is clear that the Department has ruled it out of order. There is no reason the Minister could not take on these amendments to allow them to be integrated into the legislation. We certainly disagree with these amendments being ruled out of order. I will support Senator McDowell on this.

I acknowledge and congratulate Senator Nicole Ryan on the birth of her little daughter, Réidín. I remember, back in 2024, when the Dublin city task force was announced with great fanfare. It had ten big moves and one of those was social housing regeneration. That has morphed into the Dublin city regeneration authority. The CEO of that authority gets a payment of €280,000 per year. I cannot help thinking this is like jobs for the boys. When you look at the community groups that work with regeneration groups, they ge…

We in Sinn Féin also support the Bill. The Omagh bombing inquiry was established by the Northern Secretary of State in February 2024 to investigate whether the bombing in the town of Omagh, County Tyrone, on 15 August 1998 could have been prevented by the British authorities. The Irish Government has rightly made commitments to assist with the inquiry and this Bill is to facilitate that assistance. Sinn Féin has supported the demand of the families of the victims of the 1998 Omagh bombing for a full cross-Border pu…

Can I ask for clarification?

I am sorry. Can I ask for clarification?

Can I not seek clarification to find out what Senator Blaney is alluding to?

He seems to know more than everybody else does so maybe he could outline it.

It is disappointing that he just throws out those sort of allegations and does not make any sort of-----

It speaks volumes that he will not actually explain himself. It is very disappointing.

This is very disappointing.