Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to have a row about this because it is an important matter and very serious issues are at stake, not least the capacity to get Richard O'Halloran back home to Ireland, which is my objective and that of the Minister and the Government. There has been state-to-state engagement on this at all levels. People at all levels of this State have communicated with their counterparts at all levels of the Chinese Government. Unprecedented measures have been taken by the Government, through the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in respect of commitments given by this State regarding this issue. I do not want to say anything more than that. It is not true to say that this has not been attended to but, and the Deputy may not want to accept advice, there is a way of proceeding with this. It is extremely frustrating and agonising for the family. It is terrible that they have been without their father and husband for so long.

We have worked on this, particularly the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and his officials, to get the best outcome. I will leave it at that for the moment. The Deputy might talk to the Minister who might brief him on the measures taken to date to secure Richard O'Halloran's return to Ireland.

Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the right to housing. The Government supports a right to housing constitutional amendment. I am not clear yet as to whether an amendment of that kind would deal with the issues in St. Helen's Court. Just because a senior counsel advances that argument, that does not necessarily mean it is the case. There are specific issues, which the Deputy has highlighted, that need to be addressed now in terms of the tenants involved.

There are issues in terms of protecting tenants in various situations from unacceptable activities. In addition, having units vacant for so long is unacceptable in the current housing situation. We want to deal with that through a number of measures, particularly the vacant property tax. Across the board, from zoning to vacancy, we want to bring in a system that penalises vacancy and incentivises occupancy and protecting people. One of the first tasks of the new housing commission is to work on a constitutional referendum on the right to housing.

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