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

I referred to two cities - Sydney, where the average house price is AUD1 million, and rents in New York. The Deputy has represented what I said in a way that was not said and certainly not the way I intended it.

I believe Ireland is a great country in which to live. That is not just my opinion. The United Nations, which assesses these things objectively, put Ireland in the top ten countries in the world in which to live out of 200 countries. Everyone's lived experience is different and people travel abroad for all sorts of different reasons. I would not discount for a second anyone's lived experience or dispute the examples the Deputy gave earlier, but I do not think any individual's lived experience is everyone's. I need to look at things in the round. I see a country with thousands of people coming here every year from England and Europe to live. European citizens have 27 countries to choose from and tens of thousands come here. Even when it is narrowed down to Irish citizens, more Irish citizens return home every year than leave. It might not be true every year, but it has been true for most recent years. How does that fit in with the Deputy's narrative?

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