I take on board what the Minister is saying but last week a number of organisations, including the Global Legal Action Network, GLAN, and the Ireland Palestine Alliance launched a High Court action challenging the refusal of An Garda Síochána to investigate Airbnb Ireland and its senior executives for alleged activity in Israeli settlements. Surely companies must abide by international law as a prerequisite to operating in this country. What I am seeking from the Minister is an explanation as to why this is being p…

I thank Deputy Lawlor for facilitating me as I must leave shortly to chair a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Defence and National Security. I ask the Minister to provide an update on the action plan on competitiveness and productivity. I am aware that the closing date for submissions to the public consultation on the action plan is tomorrow. I ask the Minister to provide information on how many submissions have been received to date and what sort of outreach the Department has done in that area.

I thank the Minister for that update and welcome the work that has been done. What engagement has the Department had with the unions on the action plan? My fear is that workers' rights will be sacrificed on the altar of productivity. We need to be very careful in this space to bring workers and businesses together and ensure that there is not further division and polarisation between them. I am afraid that the threat of international trade tariffs will be used as fig leaf to guillotine employment rights, usher in b…

I am glad to hear the Minister say that. As he knows, Fine Gael having been in government for 14 years, indigenous businesses have so far been left behind. The figures for foreign direct investment speak for themselves. The Minister talks about competitiveness and he is not wrong in the figures he is putting forward. However, he dismisses the figures relating to the competitiveness of the regions. As the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, will know, the west and north-west region is in the bottom 7% in terms of comp…

What the Minister is saying is not compatible with what we are hearing from business organisations and what we know, which is that businesses are really struggling right now. They are struggling with energy costs, red tape and so many different things. That must be addressed. It is not right to say everything is okay for businesses, including indigenous businesses.

Sorry, a Chathaoirligh, I was not counting. The Minister has heard my message.

I thank Deputy Gibney for accommodating me. I did not have an opportunity before Question Time began to ask her to do so. I am seeking an update on the newly established and hugely important cost of business advisory forum, which met recently for the first time. Costs in general are spiralling, with the cost of energy being one of the major difficulties reported by the SME sector. I am pleased that ESB and EirGrid are members of the forum. Will the Minister confirm whether they have indicated any reductions in the …

I am specifically interested in the outcomes from the sector meetings. Can the Minister confirm whether there have been any indications of a reduction in energy prices? The cost of energy is huge for businesses, with many owners telling me their energy costs are greater than their wage bill. We must do something about that. I am also keen to know whether there has been any discussion about the cost savings utility providers have made being passed on to consumers. Working people are being absolutely crucified by the…

Many business owners barely have a wage at the end of the week by the time they have paid all of the costs of doing business. This did not begin today or yesterday. Many businesses tell us they are under threat of closure. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, is represented on the forum. I welcome that. The remit of the commission has expanded in recent years, particularly in light of EU legislation aimed at strengthening consumer protections and ensuring fairness in digital and online markets.…

I ask the Tánaiste to do a practical thing to help families impacted by the defective concrete blocks scandal. I ask him to tag on a non-consequential amendment to the emergency planning Bill to ensure homeowners currently in the process of rebuilding can avail of the updated Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, SCSI, rates. This will help bridge the gap between the building costs and the grant. It will also help those who are constrained by the cap. The Minister has accepted that the rates needed to be increase…

The legislation proposed by the Minister, if enacted, will bring Ireland in step with an EU directive that should have been transposed into domestic law in 1983. While I welcome the fact that it is better late than never that the Government is attempting to provide these protections to Irish workers, I cannot help but wonder how many more workers could have been protected if this legislation had been brought in the eighties, as should have been the case. The Government will say that workers who believe they may hav…

As we have done for several years now, I welcome Lucia, Jim, Gemma, Pia, Aimee, Hannah and the extended O'Farrell family to the Gallery today. They are absolutely the family that would not go away, and I thank them for that, although I wish they did not have to make yet another trip to the House to try to secure justice for their son and brother Shane. It was important that the truth of what happened that led to the death of Shane O'Farrell was outlined here today. Reading that into the record is important, but wha…

This evening, the Minister stands between €12 billion that has been spent on bombs and bullets to slaughter the people of Gaza. The Minister and the Government can stop that. The horrors and the genocide being visited on the people of Gaza by the State of Israel is shocking, disturbing and disgusting. I have never seen a state so devoid of humanity and so cruel and callous - a child with no head; a child crawling through the flames of a makeshift hospital camp trying to get to safety; patients burned to death as th…

I commend all the home carers and the people who are providing a great service. We need to have some truth around this situation because the Minister of State knows, going back to 2007 and 2008, we had an excellent home care service in this country. The HSE and the Minister for Health at the time went around and they chopped and chopped and privatised the service. They privatised home care, which is such a vital service. This was wrong. I have a file that thick at home since we worked at it in Mayo, because they st…

Before I talk to the Minister about the wider CAP agenda, I raise the schedule for the women's farm capital investment scheme, in which women get 60% grant aid for TAMS 3. The normal rate is 40%, so it is attractive for many women farmers. However, when drawing up the rules of the scheme, the Department set a base year of 2022 as the year a woman has to have submitted a basic payment form. It is now 2025 and a woman farmer who took on the herd number in 2023 will have submitted three basic payment forms but will st…

How much more do homeowners in Mayo and other counties impacted by defective blocks have to endure, whether they have partially completed their rebuilds or whether they are trying to get into the scheme? At every stage, homeowners were given assurances that they would not be disadvantaged by the timing that they entered the schemes. Now, homeowners who are in the middle of rebuilding their homes and lives have been told that they have to wait for legislation to be prepared and passed to enable them to avail of the …

The Minister of State said that the Government understands that this can be a difficult and challenging time for homeowners. I am sorry, but he does not and the Government does not. I am glad the Minister went to Donegal, but, my God, you would have to be hiding under a rock for the past 15 years to not know that this was one of the biggest scandals that has ever faced this country. The Minister of State has not answered the question. When is the legislation going to be amended? I am dealing with families who are r…

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this important Bill. The aims of the Bill are honourable, and that is why Sinn Féin is happy to support it being progressed to Committee Stage. The establishment of a clear legal process for trade union recognition from employers if at least 20% of employees are members would be a very positive step for workers' rights in this State. The North is forging ahead on workers' rights issues in view of the introduction of the good jobs Bill by economy Minister, Dr. Caoimhe Archib…

I welcome the students and teachers from Coláiste Pobail Acla here today. I know the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Dara Calleary, would want to do likewise. While we are on the subject of Achill, which the Taoiseach will know is one of the most beautiful places in the world, there is a severe shortage of facilities for young people on the island such as a youth centre. They need a permanent home and a permanent youth centre. I met Foróige in Dún Ibhir last Sunday. It is doing marvellous work.

That is the question. What importance is the Government putting on facilities for young people, especially in rural areas?