Ivana Bacik
Dublin Bay South · Labour Party · Ireland
“Just today I and other local representatives got an email from the owner of two restaurants in Dublin city centre about this issue. The Minister of State’s brief includes not only the circular economy but also small business.”
“The Bill Deputy Sherlock and the Labour Party are proposing is not one we suggest is a silver bullet or a panacea but it offers one small, constructive mechanism to address the dysfunction in waste services.”
“In Dublin Bay South we have superb Tidy Towns organisations that I am proud to work with from Ringsend and Sandymount across to Portobello in my area to Rathgar, Rathmines, Terenure, Donnybrook and Ballsbridge. We see really important work being done by Tidy Towns organisations.”
“The owner says he no longer has space to accommodate additional recycling bins, cannot leave recyclable waste out for collection and cannot leave flattened cardboard outside for collection. Private waste companies must send a vehicle to collect this directly from premises. This is costly, inefficient and unnecessary.”
“I do not mean just in Dublin, though Deputy Sherlock and I are focusing on Dublin and most of the TDs present are Dublin ones, as clearly this has ramifications across the country and the dissatisfaction and the concerns Deputy Sherlock’s constituents and mine are expressing are ones felt across the board.”
“We want to see a move, as Deputy Sherlock has it in the Bill, from competition in the market to competition for the market and this Bill would represent an important positive step on that journey to quality public services provided by the State and to remunicipalisation. Deputy Sherlock has set out the detailed provisions in the Bill.”
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“These new proposals the Government is making to tighten up family reunification are going to be very harmful and hurtful for people who have been through the system and have been granted refugee status. It is deeply regrettable and I ask the Taoiseach to reconsider these proposals and stop shifting blame for his Government's policies.”
“Today, the Cabinet met regarding the Government's latest performance of deterrence theatre, the new proposals designed to look tough while making life harder for international protection applicants and refugees. The Tánaiste has doubled down, framing these changes as prudent but, in reality, it is posturing. The Labour Party is concerned about this. It is very regrettable because members of the Government have chosen to publicly link vulnerable people to homelessness, which is plainly not supported by evidence and is disputed by those responsible for homelessness services, such as the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. Instead of owning its failures in housing policy, it seems the Government is punching down on migrants, refugees and people leaving direct provision. This is not leadership; it is deflection.”
“Right now, we cannot rely on the US as a functioning peaceful democracy because we are seeing Trump threatening international law and, indeed, riding roughshod over international-law principles. That is really dangerous. Ireland is going to have an important position this year when it holds the Presidency of the EU. What is the Taoiseach going to do as leader of the country then to take a stand in support of international law and principles of democracy?”
“In the spirit of new year’s goodwill, I will start by agreeing with the Taoiseach. Of course, Russia represents the biggest threat to Europe and to democracy. That is why I prefaced my remarks by saying that. Of course, Iran is a brutally repressive regime. The Taoiseach does not need to tell us that. I am the only Opposition leader on Putin's blacklist. We have stood very clearly and firmly in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and, indeed, the pro-democracy protesters in Iran, but it is at this time, when we are seeing authoritarianism spreading across the world from countries like Russia, Iran and China, that we need our allies to stand with us. This is when we need to be sure we can rely on other peaceful democracies to stand with us. That is why I framed my remarks as I did.”
“We must stand up for the people of Greenland just as we stand with the people of Ukraine and Gaza. We must protect the soul of this country because there is a risk of political contagion. We heard Steve Bannon openly boasting of engineering a so-called Irish national party, developing an Irish Trump, which is a really scary prospect. When people like Bannon and Trump tell us what they plan to do, we need to listen and act. We need to assert ourselves to tell world leaders in an increasingly despotic landscape who we are too, and they need to listen. This July, Ireland will host the EU Presidency. The Government faces a showdown between Boston and Berlin.”
“He has sanctioned the International Criminal Court and at home in the US, he has taken extraordinary unilateral actions, without recourse to Congress and purely through executive order. When authoritarian rulers tell us what they plan to do, we must listen and act. If Trump is prepared to menace his own NATO ally, Denmark, over Greenland, then we do not know where his line will be. We are facing a stark reality now. We can only call it imperialist warmongering by the US. Ireland and the EU must take an unambiguous stance in defence of the UN Charter and the principle of national sovereignty. They are not abstract ideals; they are the foundations of international order. We, as a small country in particular, depend on those foundations for our security and prosperity and our voice in the world.”
“Over recent weeks, he has committed an outrageous and flagrant breach of international law through intervening by military force in Venezuela. There is no doubt that Maduro was a brutal leader without democratic legitimacy - we in the Labour Party condemn him - but Trump's move was blatantly illegal and it has had no effect in improving the lives of Venezuelan people as a result. Trump is not stopping there. We are hearing new threats issued daily from him, to Mexico and Colombia and, unbelievably, he is now even threatening potential military takeover in Europe, with the dire warning that he will take Greenland, by force or otherwise. No one can say we were not warned. Last year, Trump renamed the US Department of Defense the Department of War.”
“I wish the Taoiseach and everyone a happy new year. As we begin this new Dáil term, we are at a moment of genuine international crisis. The world is in turmoil. Violent authoritarian regimes are increasingly threatening peaceful democracy worldwide. Russia continues to rain terror upon the people of Ukraine, while we see courageous pro-democracy protestors being massacred by the highly repressive regime in Iran. At this time, it is sad to see this trend towards authoritarianism and warmongering also happening in a country that, for decades, has been an ally for Europe. We have seen Trump's Administration in Washington, even just in recent weeks, becoming increasingly erratic, volatile and dangerous.”
“Without them, this report would not exist. We all acknowledge that housing is not just a serious and vital national issue; it is a European one. When food security was threatened, the EU responded with the Common Agricultural Policy. Now the EU must act to guarantee housing security for all. There are welcome proposals in the report but we need more ambition from the Commission, governments,and the entire EU. As Ireland will host the European Presidency next year, will the Tánaiste commit to hosting an EU housing summit in Ireland? Will he make housing a central theme of the Presidency and action on this report a central purpose and goal of our Presidency?”
“As we close out the year, I thank those who keep the Houses running every day, including the ushers, administrative, catering and maintenance staff, and I express solidarity with the Oireachtas broadcast staff in particular. We appreciate all of their great professionalism and patience. I want to end the year by raising an issue I have raised throughout 2025, which is housing – the civil rights issue of this generation. I want to raise it at an EU level. This week the first EU housing plan was published, which I welcome. It puts housing firmly on the European agenda, giving the EU real proposals to act to deliver affordable homes. I commend the immense contribution of my colleague, our MEP, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and his S and D Group colleagues who delivered the first ever EU Commissioner for housing.”
“In 2024, the Tánaiste said he would refer this Bill, or its predecessor, to the Attorney General. Nothing has been done on it, however. More recently, when I asked the Minister for justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, about bringing forward a Bill like this to try to ensure that religious orders could be made to pay redress and unincorporated associations could not hide behind legal status to avoid paying redress that was owed, he indicated he would wait for recommendations from the Law Reform Commission. I just want us to be able to move forward. I know many in the Government share the desire to ensure that religious orders can be made to pay more and we have a legal mechanism to ensure payment of due redress to survivors. Survivors of abuse deserve justice.”
“We all know the dark and shameful past with regard to the Magdalen laundries, mother, baby and county homes, industrial schools, abuse in religious order-run secondary schools and other institutions. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to those survivors and victims who have come forward and uncovered these abuses. We, as legislators, must step up to ensure there is redress and accountability for those religious orders which, for far too long, obfuscated, hid and covered up abuse, moved abusers around and facilitated the perpetration and ongoing perpetration of abuse. We have seen victims retraumatised by flawed redress procedures and dragged through lengthy legal proceedings. We have seen successive governments bearing the cost of redress. I brought this Bill forward some years ago in a previous Government.”
“I pay tribute to the Minister, Deputy Foley, who established the commission of inquiry into sexual abuse at schools. I know that is under way. It has been five months since its establishment and the commission is directed to submit its final report to the Minister for education no later than five years after its establishment. I pay tribute to David Ryan, the late Mark Ryan and the makers of the documentary for sharing their experiences and the experiences of others because their testimony precipitated the outpouring that led to that process. I know there is a high-level interdepartmental group arising out of that process that is advising the Government in respect of funding of redress claims. I bring forward this Bill in an attempt to be constructive as part of this process.”
“He was sentenced yesterday to ten years in prison for what was, again, a horrific litany of abuse. He was sentenced in respect of 28 counts against eight boys. I pay tribute to the brave survivors of abuse who came forward to enable the prosecution to be taken. Clearly, this was an abuser who remained in employment for decades in a school run by the Spiritans. This, again, is shocking. This Bill stems from my desire to do right by survivors. I know all of us want to do that. No organisation should be able to hide from accountability, yet for years religious orders have shifted their assets into lay-run trusts, which have no legal liability. Legal loopholes have been used to frustrate the efforts of those seeking redress for the terrible harms inflicted on them in childhood.”
“I will never forget the experiences of the survivors I represented and the terrible abuse they suffered at the hands of both religious and lay figures employed by industrial schools, many of which were run by religious orders. They had shocking experiences. Desperate damage, harm and hurt were caused to so many people. The State's attempts to ensure redress were important in their time, but so much of this has been stymied by the obfuscation, delaying tactics and entirely legal but not ethical devices deployed by religious orders to avoid paying their share of redress. This enormous scandal in Irish life was brought back to us again starkly yesterday with the conviction and sentencing of the abuser Peter Kelly, a former maths teacher at Willow Park school in Blackrock.”
“It would enable such a body to pay damages arising from such proceedings from the assets of an associated trust in certain circumstances. It would extend the limitation period provided for by the Statute of Limitations in respect of certain civil proceedings arising from claims of child sexual abuse. It would also provide for connected matters. This is an issue, as I said, that I have been working on for some time. In a previous life, as a practising barrister, I represented many survivors of abuse before what was then known as the Residential Institutions Redress Board. These were proceedings arising out of abuse perpetrated, in most cases, in industrial schools.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to facilitate the bringing of child sexual abuse proceedings against unincorporated bodies of persons, to enable such a body to pay damages arising from such proceedings from the assets of an associated trust in certain circumstances, to extend the limitation period provided for by the Statute of Limitations 1957 in respect of certain civil proceedings arising from claims of child sexual abuse, and to provide for connected matters. I am glad to be moving this important Bill, which I have been working on, as the Title shows, for some years now. Essentially, this Bill would facilitate the bringing of child sexual abuse proceedings against unincorporated bodies of persons.”
“What does this say about the fairness of the 2018 selection process for the Garda Commissioner if this accommodation deal was never publicly acknowledged as part of the package? Clearly, multiple questions arise from this revelation and we need to have answers.”
“My Labour Party colleagues Deputies Eoghan Kenny and Alan Kelly have recently uncovered alarming details of a shocking sweetener given to the former Garda Commissioner. Last week, we learned from them that roughly €1 million in public money went towards accommodation, refurbishment and security for one of the highest paid public servants in the State. Public funds covered a rent-free home for the former Garda Commissioner in the Phoenix Park at a time when many ordinary gardaí cannot afford to rent or buy in Dublin. We need to know why the public was kept in the dark on this for so long. Deputy Kenny has already sought responses from the Garda and the OPW but I want to put these questions on the record of the Dáil. Why was a house leased from the OPW before the recruitment process even began?”
“The Government is choosing to spend it in the wrong way. Of course, there is space for the private market but the Government absolutely neglects the huge role the State could and should be playing to ensure people can get a home.”
“In Vienna, 40% of the rental stock is owned by limited-profit housing associations. Low-, high- and middle-income earners there all have access to stable long-term homes. There are long-term fixed-interest loans providing financial stability to those who wish to have a home of their own. In Ireland, as the Minister keeps saying to us, the issue is not money but how it is spent.”
“Unfortunately, anyone listening will realise that, of course, we in opposition put forward reasonable, costed constructive proposals. Indeed, the Labour Party supported the Land Development Agency. We support the tenant in situ scheme. We support measures that are proven to assist people who wish to be able to buy or rent their own homes - the generation that has been locked out of home ownership or even home rental. What the Minister tends to do in government is focus on what the Opposition has not done. He never acknowledges that we have put forward sustainable costed alternatives to his failed measures. The Government's measures have patently failed. Among the constructive proposals that we put forward are to look at other countries. Let us look at other countries that have models that work.”
“When will we see the radical reset of housing policy that the Housing Commission sought and that aspiring homeowners and aspiring home renters throughout the country so desperately need?”
“The number of children in homelessness is, shockingly, climbing towards the 5,500 mark. In a move that is beyond satire, the State is even funding the excellent SpunOut organisation to advise young people by video on how to cope with the move back to their parents' house when it is the Government that has priced them out of the rental and purchase markets. It would be comical if it was not so serious, with 80% of the population priced out of renting and 60% not being able to afford to buy a house on their salary. It is clear that the Government's policies are simply not achieving for people. We have seen it with the help-to-buy scheme and the first home scheme. When will the Minister finally accept that his Government's policies are failing?”
“There is no move to transform the Land Development Agency into a State construction company that is capable of delivering homes at scale. The Government's strategic housing activation office, so-called, still has no one individual person at the helm. It is tsarless and directionless. We have no idea what it will do yet and after 11 months of waiting the Government's plan looks more like what they call "busy work", rather than a blueprint for change. All the trends are going in the wrong direction. Despite the litany of measures the Minister has just articulated, the reality is that having wrongly overstated the housing figures last year under then Minister for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, the Government will miss its building targets again this year. Construction activity has declined for the seventh month in a row.”
“It is a benefit for the private sector and there is no evidence it will address what the Minister, Deputy Chambers, has just called that "viability gap". It is a direct wealth transfer from a society locked out of affordable housing into the pockets of those shutting them out. It is an incoherent and contradictory policy. The Minister must fancy his chances at the FIFA prize for housing if that should ever come to pass. If the budget primed the locked-out generation for disappointment, the Government's housing plan has pushed them over the edge. We have seen no action on the land speculation, which is delaying delivery, and the reality of land speculation delaying delivery. We see nothing to support small developers who want to help deal with the crisis.”
“Delivery of new apartments fell by nearly one quarter last year and completions for this year are expected to fall another 25%. It is no surprise. In the budget the Minister slashed tax for private developers but he did nothing to tackle land speculation, even as land hoarding runs rampant. In the greater Dublin area alone figures show that almost 41,000 permissions for apartments lie dormant. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, yet the Minister did the same thing last year and the year before. In Fianna Fáil they just cannot help themselves. They keep chasing the private developer model even when presented with all the evidence that it does not work. Far from cutting costs or delivering more homes, the Government's VAT cut is simply being absorbed by developers.”
“In view of yesterday’s historic visit to Dáil and Seanad Éireann by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, we must continue show solidarity with the Ukrainian people as they endure the ongoing brutality from Putin’s Russian regime. In recent weeks, we have seen a drone attack on a kindergarten in Kharkiv, the deliberate murder of two unarmed Ukrainian civilians and their dog as they were holding a white flag and the targeting of a UN convoy delivering aid in Kherson. These horrific crimes must be investigated and the perpetrators punished. I welcome the Government’s support for the Council of Europe-backed Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine. Can the Taoiseach update the House on progress made by the special tribunal since its establishment in May and on what long-term support Ireland will provide to the special tribunal?”
“People are welcoming. Across Ireland we are seeing that, but there needs to be political leadership to ensure people can express that welcome and host welcome meetings for new IPAS centres in their communities, as we are doing in Dublin Bay South. We need this at a national level and we need leadership on this from the Government, and not the sense that rhetoric and policies are hardening. Unfortunately, that has been the experience recently.”
“I thank the Taoiseach for the considered response. I agree with him on the need to promote the work permit scheme. Indeed, the Labour Party is looking for generosity on work permits and for a more expansive programme of legal pathways to Ireland for people who wish to bring their skills and expertise. That is a very important matter when we talk about inward migration. For me, this is personal, as the granddaughter of a refugee who came here and contributed enormously to Irish society, as migrant communities do. We need to see political leadership. Of course the Taoiseach is right that there are people seeking to stoke anti-migrant sentiment - a small number of people on the far right - but we need political leadership to counter that. That is why in my constituency I have initiated Dublin 4 and Dublin 6 for All groups.”
“These measures will only make life harder for people who are already suffering hardship and have come here fleeing war and persecution. The Labour Party calls for a positive, fact-based information campaign on migration. Rather than engaging in a race to the bottom, will the Taoiseach adopt a more positive approach to migration and recognise explicitly the huge contribution made by migrants to Irish society?”
“Yesterday, President Zelenskyy addressed a joint sitting of the Oireachtas and we all rightly expressed strong solidarity with the people of Ukraine, but the Government has just stripped financial supports from Ukrainian refugees, and with the backing of some Opposition parties, unfortunately. That cut will disproportionately affect women, children and older people. It does not look like solidarity to us in Labour. Now, the Government is introducing a mean-spirited rent payment for asylum seekers. This is not a revenue-raising measure. The Minister admits the impacts is unclear. This looks performative. It is nothing more than what we might describe as deterrence theatre, like tightening up the process on citizenship applications or introducing restrictive rules on family reunification.”
“Last month, the Tánaiste said too many immigrants were arriving into Ireland, wrongly implying that people facing deportation make up a significant share of Ireland’s inward migration. Unfortunately, he was backed by the Taoiseach and others in government. This was really disappointing because we all know what an enormously important and valuable contribution migrant workers make to our society. Our hospitality, tech, health and care sectors all rely heavily on migrant workers. We know this is a reality. Any of us who visit hospitals or care homes will see this. We should express positive recognition of this in our words and actions.”
“We have seen buildings housing asylum seekers and refugees being set alight, including an appalling arson attack in Drogheda, and a man killed last year, Josip Strok, while speaking his native Croatian on a Dublin street. Just now, during the debate on Labour's motion on transgender rights, we spoke about homophobic attacks on the streets. These violent attacks are rightly condemned by us all but we also need to recognise that policies and rhetoric can contribute to an environment where violence can develop. Words matter when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, as we have all just acknowledged, and when it comes to migrant rights too. What we say as TDs, and what Government Ministers say, really matters.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I want to speak about migration and the Government’s one-eighty change in tone and policy on immigration. Since the Greens left government, Cabinet members have notably shifted rightward on this, pandering to some of the worst instincts in our otherwise welcoming society. The Government has allowed dangerous rhetoric to obscure its own failures on housing and infrastructure. It is introducing new immigration policies without evidence despite ample evidence of their potential harm to migrant communities in Ireland. We all hear reports of rising levels of prejudice against immigrants, people of colour and anyone who looks different. We see this in our own communities.”
“On this, the tenth anniversary of the Gender Recognition Act, we need to see more done to address the serious shortcomings in the model of care for trans people.”
“The notion that so-called therapy could end up doing damage to a client must be tackled. I appreciate that complexities mire the issue of designating the profession of counsellor but the Minister must act with urgency on this. It is nearly a decade since a Labour Party Minister, Brendan Howlin, introduced legislation to regulate rogue crisis pregnancy agencies. We have seen quite a number of Governments falling since the commitment was made to give statutory protection to the title of counsellor. We need to see movement on this and the legislation must have a cross-Border element. The cross-Border nature of these deeply harmful and damaging practices needs urgent attention. We have made great strides in the past. Between 2015 and 2018 we saw significant, progressive changes for women and for the LGBTQ+ community.”
“When access is granted, the process can be invasive, pathologising and contrary to a human-rights based, informed-consent model. These are not abstract policy questions as our listeners in the Gallery know. These are personal and human rights issues and they affect real people. Plenty of people of every gender identity need access to HRT and primary care that is local and integrated. In that sense, this motion is not just about strengthening our health system for trans people but about strengthening it for everyone. Finally, I wish to speak in support of the motion's call to ban so-called conversion therapy. This is a vitally important aspect of the motion. I co-sponsored legislation with former Senator Fintan Warfield some years ago on this issue and did so proudly. We need movement on it.”
“I am sure the Minister is aware that intersex people remain invisible in Irish law, unlike in Iceland, as Deputy Sherlock has said, where strong protections exist. In 2022 Ireland was found to have the worst trans healthcare in Europe. Many of these failings reflect wider systemic issues in the health service which will be very familiar to the Minister and to all of us here including overcentralisation, lengthening waiting lists and regional inequalities but the consequences for trans people can be particularly severe. Trans people have the longest known wait times in Europe. People can be left waiting for three, five and sometimes even ten years and one in five trans adults seeking a referral from their GP never receives one.”
“I pay tribute to the unyielding campaigning of Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, the Transgender Equality Network Ireland, TENI, and so many others and the courage of people like Dr. Lydia Foy, who we recently honoured at our Labour Party conference. For the Labour Party's part, the former Minister, Joan Burton, and the former Minister of State, Kevin Humphreys, were key to passing the law because they saw the need for change. Ten years on, much unfinished work remains, particularly when it comes to the provision of gender-affirming healthcare. When it comes to trans rights in healthcare, many of the 2018 review's recommendations still sit on a shelf, including recognition for non-binary people, the need for care at home, and protections for the bodily autonomy of intersex people.”
“Today, as we pay tribute to their bravery, we should recall the path that brought us here. The years from 2015 to 2018 were a period of extraordinary progress in Ireland, with the Labour Party to the fore in bringing about change. Campaigners for trans rights, marriage equality, civil partnership and the repeal of the eighth amendment stood shoulder to shoulder because in Ireland we have resisted attempts from the right seeking to divide us. I speak as a proud feminist. Feminists and LGBTQ+ activists in Ireland know the real enemy. We recognise that there are conservative forces across Ireland who seek to turn back the clock on LGBTQ+ rights and women's rights and we resist those attempts. Last month marked ten years since the passage of the Gender Recognition Act.”
“I commend my colleague, Deputy Sherlock, for proposing this important motion. I welcome our visitors to the Gallery. I speak proudly in support of this motion as the leader of a party with a long track record of standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. The Labour Party has a proud record in this area. Indeed, it was one of the first parties to establish a stand-alone section. I want to pay tribute to all our great activists in Labour LGBTQ+ including people like Eddie McGuinness, Bernie Linnane, Aoife Corish, Karl Hayden and so many more who have done so much to progress LGBTQ+ rights. I am also proud that the Labour Party has never wavered or sought to punch down on trans people because we stand in solidarity with our trans and non-binary friends, neighbours, family members and colleagues.”
“We need a clear timeline to allow for that necessary groundwork to take place, to develop Green and White Papers, to allow for the work of citizens' assemblies to take place and to see progress made building on the work of the shared island unit in advance of the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement-Belfast Agreement. The Taoiseach said that the next meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee would be on 8 December. As we approach 2028, what substantive steps will that Cabinet subcommittee be announcing in terms of bringing the debate further?”
“I thank the Taoiseach for the update. I welcome the developments with the shared island fund. It is now clearer than it has ever been that conversations about the constitutional future of the island are picking up steam. I would dispute the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's recent claim that there was no appetite for constitutional change in Northern Ireland. I see that the leader of the SDLP Claire Hanna and others contested that claim. In the absence of leadership from the British Government and in keeping with the principles in the Good Friday Agreement-Belfast Agreement, it is essential for our Government to take on a role of preparing in earnest for the work necessary to lay the groundwork and foundations for running a referendum on unity.”
“Today marks 64 years since the international withdrawal of the drug, thalidomide, from the market, yet survivors with the Irish Thalidomide Association are forced to continue their campaign for justice. As the Taoiseach knows, I have been raising the need for justice for thalidomide survivors for years. I am always assured in replies that a resolution process is under way. However, survivors continue to contend with undue bureaucratic delays and at this stage they deserve justice, compensation and a support package designed around the lifelong disabilities and evolving needs they have as a result of thalidomide. Dragging out this process has been so problematic for them. People are dying. The mothers are dying and the adult survivors themselves are dying without seeing justice. It is long past time that this 64-year saga came to an end.”
“We are also seeing a dipping into windfall corporation tax jackpots to lavish cash on burger barons and big builders. The Labour Party stood against that VAT cut. We stood against a narrowing of the tax base. We supported Government on the legislation setting up rainy day funds. We cannot be accused of being profligate, but we are asking the Government to be more prudent.”
“I was genuinely taken by surprise yesterday when the Taoiseach was not here. However, I said it was a nice surprise to see the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, taking his place. I stand over what I say. Prudence is not being miserly. It is spending responsibly. It is about responsible spending. We are told that one of the Tánaiste's first meetings last week as the new Minister for Finance was with IFAC. The question is if he learned anything from this. What we have seen are persistent delays in producing a medium-term spending framework. The Taoiseach has said, as has the Tánaiste, that it will be produced by the end of this year, I think. The Taoiseach might clarify that. However, there has been a huge delay because that was supposed to happen after the last election.”
“Was the budget giveaway to burger barons and big builders really prudent? It is a subsidy for the wealthiest in society with no evidence it will save a single job, and the new finance Minister's fingerprints are all over it. IFAC’s report is a damning indictment of the Government's economic judgment. It provides further evidence of an abject failure to plan for the future. Will we see anything resembling a credible plan by the end of this year?”
“That is the Taoiseach's philosophy to governing too. For example, we train world-class healthcare workers and then lose them to emigration. More than 3,500 HSE jobs are vacant. There are much-needed therapist roles vacant across the country. Meanwhile, the Government will spend €750 million on agency staff this year. Is that prudent? The housing disaster is the civil rights issue for the generation of TY students with us today, yet the Government refuses to unleash the power of the State to build. Last year, councils and approved housing bodies built barely 300 social homes, but the State has spent €2 billion buying homes on the market – a model that costs 20% more than direct build. It is siphoning public money into the bank accounts of private developers, pricing ordinary buyers out of the process. Is that prudent?”
“He castigates the Opposition for calling for investment, and Government spokespersons in the media today painted a picture of perfect prudence. He claims to be balancing the need to run a society as well as the economy. That is right. Of course he should. However, what has the Taoiseach got to show for the running of society? There are more than 5,000 children homeless, unaffordable rents and house prices, a creaking health service and massive under resourcing of public services like special education for children, and our Defence Forces. Those are just two examples. As my colleague Deputy Sherlock said today on RTÉ, it is not just what you spend, it is how you spend it. The Government's failure to invest in sustainable infrastructure leaves people’s living standards at the mercy of the market.”