Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That indicates rents are stabilising and that the policy of rent pressure zones is working. The 600,000 tenants who have not experienced a significant rent increase in the past year or so know that.

The risk assessments on Brexit are real and serious. It all depends on the type of Brexit, whether it is a hard Brexit or one where the UK stays in the customs union and is aligned with the Single Market. There are many different scenarios and the period of transition, if there is one, will be important in that regard. None of the many analyses I have seen to date indicates that even a hard Brexit would put Ireland into recession. They indicate that in all the scenarios for Brexit our economy will grow more slowly than it might have otherwise and employment growth will be less than it might otherwise have been. The issue is the opportunity cost as opposed to triggering a recession or a downturn. However, we must be wise to even that possibility because it represents a major change in our economy and our trading relations. That is the reason the Government is working so hard to ensure we continue to have the closest possible relationship with the UK after Brexit - that there is a transition period and that things change as little as possible after it. That is where we are at the moment in the negotiations, but they are not easy negotiations.

The office of emergency planning has worked very well. I have no difficulty crediting the former Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea, with establishing it. A great deal has been learned from the various emergencies it has handled. The chairperson, Mr. Sean Hogan, and his staff have done a good job. I noted a slightly snide remark from the Leader of the Opposition about Ministers being more prominent at press conferences and so forth.

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