The ask is very simple; it is a modest ask. Will the Government introduce an emergency €400 winter payment to disabled people and will it introduce that now?

Does the Taoiseach recognise that disabled people are €1,400 worse off as a result of the budget and the decisions the Government made? Can he imagine what it would be like not to be able to leave your home because you cannot afford to charge your electric wheelchair or mobility aid? There are people in that situation now because the Government took away income supports and did not replace them. Of course, income supports should be permanent, not once off - there is no disagreement on that - but to take €1,400 off …

The decision by Paschal Donohoe last April to give €10 million in additional funding over and beyond what was initially recommended by his officials to the World Bank raises a number of questions about what his intentions were at the time and whether he was aware that he would be taking up a senior role in the World Bank later in the year. The Minister for Finance, Tánaiste and leader of Fine Gael, Simon Harris, should come into the Dáil and answer questions on this.

I would like to say fáilte to the British ambassador agus roimh na daltaí freisin. I want to begin by wishing the Tánaiste, his family, all Deputies, people watching at home and all the staff in the Oireachtas, who do very important work, a very happy and peaceful Christmas. I also want to take this opportunity to highlight the plight of Oireachtas broadcast workers who will now be laid off for the Christmas period without pay. This is completely unacceptable treatment of a group of workers who carry out a vital ro…

What do you say to the record number of children and their families who will spend Christmas in emergency homeless accommodation?

There will be more children spending Christmas in homeless emergency accommodation this year than ever before in the history of the State. When Fine Gael entered office, there were 641 children in homeless emergency accommodation. That was too high. There are now 5,247 children who will spend this Christmas without a home. This has a detrimental impact on each and every child involved. It can often mean missing key developmental milestones. Yet, the Tánaiste did not even acknowledge the damage homelessness does to …

Child homelessness has increased tenfold since Fine Gael entered government.

There is a significant problem with Irish banks charging very high interest rates to mortgage holders, especially in comparison with UK banks and the spreads in the UK, while at the same garnering record profits. What is the Tánaiste doing about this? Cad atá ar siúl?

Irish banks are making huge profits from charging high interest rates on mortgages. Research by RBC Capital Markets shows that Irish banks are making more than three times as much on mortgages as UK banks by charging higher interest rates. It is the last thing people who are struggling to buy a home need. At the same time, profit levels in Irish banks are at a record high. AIB and Bank of Ireland last year made a combined profit of almost €5 billion and these same banks paid virtually no taxes on these profits. Doe…

Of course interest rates have fallen in the past year. The European interest rates have fallen. Why on earth would they not? The issue is that we have record bank profits and Irish mortgage holders are being over-charged in interest rates compared with other countries. I gave the example of the UK. The spreads in Ireland are more than three times higher than those in the UK. Does the Tánaiste find that acceptable? Is he going to do anything about it? He is simply talking about more banking competition. That has bee…

I thank the Chair. I have never been grouped with myself before. Má chaitheann muid ár súil siar, we will recall that huge economic damage was done by property tax reliefs that were not well designed or indeed well researched. In relation to recently introduced property tax relief measures, what research and analysis was done in advance? Will the Minister publish that research and analysis and share it with us?

I am aware that there have been reports on housing, viability, financing and so forth and that there has been research in the area; that was not my question. My question was on the tax measures that were introduced by Government and by the Minister's predecessor as Minister for Finance in the budget on property. What research or analysis was done before those tax measures were decided on? The Parliamentary Budget Office, which is independent, has been highly critical of the Government for introducing measures like …

As the Tánaiste has said, a political decision was made. We know that there was intense lobbying from the sector for that decision to be made. It appears that there was not any actual research or analysis done in advance on these tax measures by the Department. The Tánaiste is not aware of any and none has been published. The SCSI report that he referenced shows only the top 20% of earners can actually afford to rent an apartment. Not doing that analysis, not doing that research and not tying these measures in with…

Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam; tá sé sin fíor. It is equally true to say that a city without arts and culture spaces is a city without a soul. I join others in urging the Government to intervene in regard to The Complex arts centre. It is really important that we do not continue to have arts and artists being pushed out of Dublin city. We need more, not fewer, arts and community spaces and spaces for culture, and we need more creativity in the city to have a happy, thriving city. This Bill is a constitutional requir…

In advance of the last election, the Tánaiste said disability was "an absolute priority issue". He said, "We've got to look after people with disabilities". He could not have been any clearer. However, those words now ring hollow. That is not me saying that; that is the assessment of disabled people who feel forgotten, abandoned and betrayed by this Government for good reason. The Disability Federation of Ireland called the recent budget a devastating setback for disabled people that leaves them poorer, unsupported…

Does the Tánaiste not see something fundamentally wrong with producing a budget that leaves disabled people €1,400 worse off, pushing disabled people even further into poverty? It was a €9.4 billion budget package and that is what the Government produced. That is a huge problem that it needs to address now. For years, the Government has promised a cost-of-disability payment but where is it? We have had years of promises on this. There was huge disappointment in the disability community that there was no permanent c…

I agree with the comments by Deputy Mac Lochlainn. That is unacceptable. On the occupied territories Bill, there were media reports at the weekend saying it is being scrapped. The Tánaiste then said those reports were not true. He had promised that the Bill would be brought to the House by the end of November but we have not seen it. There was a promise during the election that it would be passed. When are we going to see the occupied territories Bill?

Agreed.

I want to make the point that there was a discussion on this at Business Committee and all parties were involved. That meeting has just finished. Therefore, we do not have any objection to it.

I join others in welcoming the group from the Shankill Shared Women's Centre. It is great to see them. I welcome also Commissioner McGrath. I join the Tánaiste in saying our thoughts are with all those affected by the devastating fire in Hong Kong. The cost-of-living crisis may have ended for Fine Gael but for ordinary families it is getting worse day by day. Food, heating, electricity, rents and college fees are all more expensive than they were last year. The CSO found recently that food prices alone are up 4.5% …