Not the majority of existing tenants.

People are sick of seeing derelict buildings across this country when they cannot get a home of their own but the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste's blaming of councils is shameless. The Taoiseach was in government during the Celtic tiger when councils were gutted. Fine Gael has been in government since 2011 and has starved local authorities of funding. The reality is the new derelict sites tax, just like the vacant homes tax, is designed to fail. There are over 20,000 derelict properties but it is only going to apply to…

Of course they were.

It is not stupid. The Government did it during austerity.

The Government absolutely destroyed councils' capacity.

The stupid statement is the Taoiseach's.

He just said I made a stupid-----

It hit a bone because it is true.

That is the Government's fault, not theirs.

The Minister of State is probably well aware of the significant concerns of a number of rights-based organisations working directly on housing on the front line, including the statutory body, IHREC, and others. I will outline what they have highlighted as some of the significant concerns about this Bill. I was not a Deputy during the previous Dáil term when this legislation went to the housing committee. I am looking at it from the perspective of someone who is coming new to these particular proposals. Stepping bac…

The Minister of State did not reply to any of the questions I asked.

It is farcical.

I also thank Deputy Gibney for her work in bringing forward this motion and the excellent work done in recent days highlighting what this Government should be doing. It is deeply disappointing to see this amendment moved and the Government should reconsider that seriously. When we talk of sport and football, I will start by reading the words of 13-year-old Saif, who suffered a life-changing injury when he and his uncle were shelled by an Israeli tank. He said that he used to walk but everything he does now is in th…

I raise ongoing issues in my constituency of access to appropriate school places for children with additional needs. A parent was in touch with me about her child, Roman Slater. She is really worried. He is five years of age. He is currently in his third year of ageing out in pre-school. He has no placement and no July provision. He is on the list for schools locally, including St. Brigid's Infant National School and Gaelscoil Uí Earcáin, but he has not yet been placed in a school, St. Canice's, where classrooms ar…

I thank Deputy Gibney for outlining very clearly why services need to be included in this Bill. I will further develop that case because the Government is making a fundamental mistake in not including services. I will outline some of the international law, practice and findings in relation to the West Bank and what is going on. It is deeply disappointing that the Government has decided to exclude services from the Bill. This effectively significantly reduces the impact of the changes. The argument that Blinne Ní Gh…

We want to raise an issue of deep concern to the community around Griffith Avenue, Glasnevin, in relation to a proposal – which seems to be going ahead – to sell the An Post depot on Griffith Avenue. This has been publicly advertised for sale. Will the Minister of State set out what is planned on this? We have a number of issues of concern to the residents. They really want to stop this happening.

I again express the deep concern we have for our constituents in Glasnevin and Drumcondra. This service delivery office has been an important local service for the community, and this is happening in the context of the removal of a number of local services like local transport infrastructure, bus changes, the closure of Whitehall Garda station, the loss of parking, restriction on transport and ongoing disruptions. This area also has an older demographic. Residents are deeply concerned that changes being made to ess…

I thank Independent Ireland for tabling this motion. As my colleague said, we would not agree with all the proposals set out, but this is an important debate that needs to happen. When we look at what is going on right now across the country, we can see that people are really struggling. They are not just struggling financially; they are struggling to get around on public transport and they are struggling with the lack of basic infrastructure. This is the fundamental problem. Ireland is not working for people. It i…

I am not sure whether we are speaking on all the leasuithe now.

Ceart go leor. Tá an ghéarchéim tithíochta sna Gaeltachtaí uafásach ar fad. It is time to give a direct role to Údarás na Gaeltachta to deliver affordable housing in the Gaeltacht areas. Táim ag tacú le Conradh na Gaeilge agus grúpaí pobail eile, ar nós Tintéan agus BÁNÚ, agus iad ag lorg cumhachtaí breise don údaras ionas go bhféadfadh sé talamh a cheannach ar mhaithe le tithíocht a sholáthar. It is very clear that the future of the Gaeltacht as an Irish-speaking community and the future of the language itself is …