Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will take these questions in the order they were asked. Deputy McDonald raised the franchise for the presidential elections. I have not had an opportunity to comment on this since I became Taoiseach. I am in favour of this proposal and acting on it. The Deputy is right that the programme for Government contains a commitment to that. In line with that commitment, the Government restored the Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Presidential Elections) Bill 2019 to the Dáil Order Paper. The date for holding a referendum will be decided once legislation is passed. The Deputy knows all of that. We need to have an honest conversation about where we are at this stage in the cycle, both with regard to what is left in this Dáil term and the context of the next presidential election.

As the Deputy says, it was already indicated previously by Government that these changes would not be in place in time for the next presidential election. My understanding is that if a referendum on extending the franchise for presidential elections were to be passed by the people, implementing legislation would be required in addition to making the necessary practical arrangements to enable an extended franchise to participate in future presidential elections. I am told that international best practice would recommend that these arrangements should be settled at least 12 months in advance of a presidential poll.

I understand the Deputy's frustration and accept her legitimate question. I am happy to work to see if we can develop a political consensus around the timeline for that, bearing in mind that, at this stage, it will probably straddle this Dáil and the next. I am happy to engage with the Deputy. I will do some thinking on it and correspond with the Deputy on the matter.

To answer to Deputy Barry's question is that the Government is neither cruel nor incompetent. The Government is dealing with a significant intergenerational housing crisis which we can debate, and do, but the Government is not cruel. It is also dealing with a significant increase in migration numbers. There are many opportunities, as we discussed, in positive immigration, which I know, but those challenges intertwine on occasion in the monthly numbers that are now published. We are investing significant resources in trying to make real progress on social and affordable housing, housing supply in general and investing more in emergency accommodation. We continue to do that. The Deputy and I can debate how best we believe we can rectify that. That is the truth. Certainly, nobody in Government is cruel in relation to this matter.

On a referendum on the right to housing, I have no issue with that or consideration of putting the latter in the Constitution. The wording the Deputy read out is not something I find objectionable. There are questions, however. First, in the midst of a housing crisis, it is a little like the care referendum, although I do not want to conflate the questions. I met many people on the doorsteps who might have liked words in the Constitution around care but would have liked a speech and language or occupational therapist a lot more. It is never for us to second guess the Irish people but to be truthful, a reason the referendum was voted down significantly was that people thought constitutional change is grand, but can the Government roll up its sleeves and get stuck in on disability services, children's disability network teams and assessments of need. Passing wording on housing will not address the housing crisis in the here and now. I am not sure we will get to this in the lifetime of this Government in terms of a referendum on housing. There has been no firm Government decision, that is just my honest evaluation of the situation.

To Deputy Boyd Barrett's point, we heard a message. I am not being partisan or political - we all need to reflect on the message the electorate sent during the referendums. It probably was not one message but there was a message for us in the need to do more for carers. I personally met carers' groups with the Minister for Social Protection, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities and others recently about their legitimate asks and expectations of the next budget. We will continue to engage with them in the days and weeks ahead.

It is our intention to ratify the optional protocol of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. My understanding is that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, will bring an update to Cabinet this month. I have been clear that I want to see us ratify it this year. That is what we are working towards.

I join Deputy Paul Murphy in expressing my sympathy to the families and friends of Donal Scanlon and Alex Warnick, both of whom tragically passed away at the Grand Canal in Dublin over the weekend. We think of both of them, their families and their friends. The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive confirmed that both men had engaged with its services. It has also advised that there is sufficient emergency accommodation in Dublin. I urge anybody seeking accommodation to please contact their local authority because the message from the executive is that it has emergency accommodation.

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