I see Deputy Sean Crowe is here. I apologise.

The Government has abandoned whole communities to the drug crisis. Yesterday, it reduced the overall budget for drug and alcohol task forces by a shameful 25%. I am a director of an addiction service in Clondalkin and I know the devastating effect this is going to have. The cut will have a negative and immediate effect on some of the most disadvantaged communities. In the area where I grew up, there is not one person - be it a particular individual, a neighbour, a family member or a friend - who has not been affect…

You let them down.

A 25% cut. Come on.

The budget is a pittance overall. In Europe-----

The Deputy is standing over a budget that cut €3 million-----

This question is about so-called affordable housing schemes.

I thank the Minister. One of the problems we have at the minute is that the Government’s social and affordable housing targets are too low. Not only are they too low, but they are simply not being met. The Government has failed in its pre-election promise of 40,000 new homes to be delivered this year, but I want to concentrate on the affordable purchase schemes. Last year, the Government only delivered 779 affordable purchase homes. Even with this low number, the affordable housing that came out of that was way too…

The Minister can criticise Sinn Féin’s housing plan all he wants, but I am going to be straight with him. I live in the real world, and the prices of affordable houses in my own area in Dublin Mid-West are simply not affordable. I will give some examples. A two-bedroom affordable home in Clonburris costs €380,000. A three-bed affordable home on the same scheme costs €418,000 and a four-bedroom affordable home costs €465,000. How is this affordable? Pop up the road to Saggart, another part of Dublin Mid-West, a thre…

These are public homes built on public land.

Our spokesperson wrote a book on it.

You have had 100 years.

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. It is simple: the means test for carers needs to be abolished. The means test excludes thousands of carers right across this State. I will give some examples. These are real people from my constituency who have come into my constituency office looking for help. There is a woman from my own area who was in receipt of carer's allowance. Her income and her partner's income were reassessed in January 2025. The Department used her partner's payslip from Nove…

As we speak, there are boats on the way to Gaza, boats with aid for a starving population and with support for a population inflicted with genocide. The only arms on these boats are prosthetic arms for children who have lost limbs during this genocide. There are also 22 Irish civilians on these boats. One of them is my friend and comrade Senator Chris Andrews. I have been in regular touch with Chris over recent weeks and I fully support the flotilla. I wish him and his fellow activists safe passage as they deliver …

Collinstown Football Club in my area is right at the heart of my community. There are 28 teams with over 400 players. Since 2019, it has been waiting for a dressing room from South Dublin County Council through a sports capital grant. Nothing happened until 2024 and the club had to apply for more money because of the delay, which meant costs had spiralled. This football team, which caters for boys', girls', men's and women's teams, has no dressing room. Some 400 players are without a dressing room. It is simply not…

I acknowledge that the Minister of State mentioned legislation is coming down the line. This is really welcome but it cannot come soon enough. If it is sensible and gets to the core of the issue, the Minister of State will receive support on it. Again, as Deputy Graves said, we are again having statements. There is a vacuum, and when there is a vacuum it is like the Wild West when it comes to vape shops. They are popping up all over the place. There is nothing to stop them from popping up outside schools. I walk th…

EU studies have shown harm to reproductive health of people working in medical settings caused by nitrous oxide. These studies showed there is a decreased level of fertility in these workers. My fear is that people who are misusing nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, are taking much more concentrated doses than those who took part in these studies. There has also been a 175% increase in the number of young people who are presenting to the HSE with problems from nitrous oxide in the past year. It can have fat…

Migration must be managed in the context of Ireland. We should not simply allow it to be determined by global and domestic market forces. The Government must manage migration in a fair, efficient and enforced manner that has the best interests of the people of Ireland front and centre. The Government must consider Ireland's needs in terms of workers for key sectors such as health. I visited Galway hospital last year. I did not see one Irish person working there and I could not have been looked after better. The hea…

I thank Deputy Paul Gogarty for bringing forward this motion and giving us an opportunity to discuss antisocial behaviour. I may not agree with everything in the motion but I do agree with its sentiments. Basically, something needs to be done to address antisocial behaviour. I agree with the Minister when he said that a lot of the stuff Deputy Gogarty spoke about was not antisocial behaviour but actually criminal activity. The phrase "antisocial behaviour" is often used to describe a myriad of low- to mid-level cri…

I do not know how the Taoiseach has done it but he has pulled off an amazing feat of illusion. Somehow the Taoiseach has normalised the housing crisis. I want to be clear that it is not normal for people to be still living in the back bedrooms of their parents' homes. It is not normal that rents have skyrocketed and that most young people feel they will not be able to buy their own home. It is not normal to have 16,000 citizens of this country homeless, as we speak, and over 5,000 children, at this moment, staying …