Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for the commitment on the referendum. That is welcome. However, we need to see Government policies on care and housing that recognise the difficulties and discrimination still faced by so many women, in particular. It is not just parents who are being failed. While there has been a welcome reduction in fees, there is a huge problem now for childcare and early years professionals.

I met one young early years professional last week who told me she is forced to emigrate to Brisbane in Australia to work in her chosen profession, where childcare is valued, where she will receive decent pay and conditions and, critically, where she will be able to afford a mortgage and buy a home of her own. That is a right and prospect she is not being afforded in this country, where we see Government failure on housing, despite the moves the Taoiseach described on renters’ rights. It is simply not good enough. The cliff edge faced by many renters as the eviction ban comes to an end is likely to lead to a tsunami of evictions. We have heard this from homeless organisations and organisations working with renters. We hear it from our constituents all the time. They face this frightening prospect. What can the Taoiseach do for them? Will he be putting in place another eviction ban in the winter? He has to, because the policies his Government is pursuing are not delivering for renters.

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