Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The census results show that under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, home ownership has collapsed. Last year, the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, found that 15 years ago, of those between the ages of 25 to 32 years of age, 60% of them owned their own home. Today less than half that percentage is the case. Yesterday the EU agency found that the number of young Irish people living with their parents has seen among the largest increase in Europe since 2010. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have pushed home ownership beyond the reach of an entire generation. They have plunged them into unaffordable and insecure accommodation, forced them into extortionate rents, forced them to move in with their parents or to face homelessness. Their policies have not only failed this generation but are making things worse. For the past seven years Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in a Government arrangement. Do they accept that their policies have resulted in a collapse of home ownership or do they deny the census figures and the ESRI's findings?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I do not accept the Deputy's charge. It is important to note that last year, one in two new homes that were purchased were bought by first-time buyers supported by the schemes that this Government brought forward. I will remind the Deputy of those schemes, which include the help-to-buy grant, which is €30,000 of people's own tax back in their pockets to help with the deposit, which the Deputy and his party opposed.

He said his party would scrap that support. The first home scheme has helped 1,700 householders in less than a year to buy their own home, through the State stepping in and taking an equity at a level between the finance available to the purchaser and what is needed to buy the home. The average equity we are giving is €69,000. That does not amount to a second mortgage as Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson said at the time, and it is not inflationary in any way, shape or form. Sinn Féin opposes those two measures that are helping people to buy their own homes. Inexplicably, it also opposes the measure to bring vacant homes back into use and help people to buy them with grants of up to €70,000. Again, Sinn Féin has opposed that.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Home ownership has collapsed under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy must let the Minister respond.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The fact of the matter is-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The facts are there in the census figures. Home ownership has collapsed under Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in government.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please, Deputy.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Doherty needs to calm down a little.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The facts are the facts.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Will the Deputy please have some respect? The next speaker is Deputy Duncan Smith.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I have given the facts about everything the Deputy's party has opposed. He does not want an answer and he does not like to hear the truth. He is opposed to first-time buyers and home ownership. It is as simple as that.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I have called Deputy Duncan Smith.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister's party has collapsed home ownership.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy, will you please stop interrupting? I have called Deputy Duncan Smith.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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There are currently 856 unsolved missing persons cases in the State. In addition, an unknown number of unidentified remains are documented in various files in coroners' offices throughout the country. Advances in DNA profiling have led to some cases being solved in recent years. In the middle of May, for the first time ever, the Department of Justice published information provided by coroners on unidentified remains. However, there are limits to the data provided. Does the Minister share the concerns expressed that an unidentified skull found off Lambay Island in 2006, which has been the subject of numerous news reports and appeals by the Garda, was omitted from the recent list of unidentified remains submitted by coroners and published by the Department? Does he agree that this omission shows the need for a new specialised task force to assemble all information properly, to assume accountability for compiling a compete and proper list of unidentified remains and to ensure everything is done to solve these cases? Coroners do not have the resources to do so.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I share the concerns regarding the omission of the partial remains to which the Deputy referred from the list of unidentified remains. In recent weeks, for the first time, we saw data being produced. That is important. I will engage with my colleague, the Minister for Justice, to see whether a more comprehensive list can collated. I agree with the Deputy's concerns regarding the specific case to which he referred.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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Between 2010 and 2019, Ireland had one of the largest increases in Europe in the numbers of people aged 25 to 34 still living in their childhood bedrooms. Since the Minister took office, home ownership has fallen to its lowest level in more than 50 years. Rents have reached record highs and the number of people living in homeless emergency accommodation has exceeded 12,000 for the first time. Last year, the Minister returned €246 million to the Exchequer in funds left unspent. That money could and should have been used to build more social and affordable homes. With record homelessness, record rents and record numbers living in their childhood bedrooms, how can the Minister possibly justify leaving €246 million unspent?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Last year, my Department spent €3.5 billion on housing alone, which is more money than has ever been spent on it in the history of the State. As the Deputy knows, there were issues with supply chains, particularly following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, that led to some projects falling out of 2022 and into 2023. That is just the reality of what happened. Even though it happened, we still managed to deliver more new social homes last year than we have done since 1975. Affordable homes are being provided for the first time in a generation, through local authorities and the Land Development Agency, and more people are being supported to buy their own home. There were 25,000 first-time buyer mortgage drawdowns last year. One in two new homes purchased in 2022 were purchased by a first-time buyer using schemes like the first home scheme and the help-to-buy grant, which is being further expanded.

We need to turn the corner on home ownership. Rates have been dropping since 1991. The recent census figures show a very small decrease in the past six years. We can reverse that.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Following the historic vote last night on the Bill to amend the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 and the very welcome free vote allowed by the Government parties, it is reported that the Taoiseach has conceded this morning that the Bill may pass through the system much more quickly than the Government had planned. That is from the horse's mouth. Will the Minister confirm that the Government will support the expeditious proceeding of the Bill to Committee Stage, in line with the O'Shea report, which shows that more than 200 women and girls per year are being forced to travel for abortion care? Given this is a very time-sensitive issue, can he confirm that the expeditious proceeding of the Bill to Committee Stage will be allowed?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I absolutely recognise the result of last night's vote. As the Deputy knows, a review of the 2018 Act is under way and we await its findings. The Bill that passed last night will go to the health committee. It will be a matter for the committee to schedule Committee Stage hearings.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I have just come from a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts at which officials from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage were before us. I am not impressed. Before the country is bankrupted, the Minister needs to have a discussion with his Secretary General and insist on a cost-benefit analysis for any of the schemes being brought forward. If he cares to look at the record of the meeting this morning, he will see that Deputy McAuliffe has joined me in calling for a cost-benefit analysis.

There also needs to be a cost-benefit analysis of the national children's hospital project. As reported in the Irish Examiner, it is going to have an impact on all the HSE's capital infrastructure projects. One of those projects is the 97-bed unit for Wexford General Hospital. I am asking the Minister for a straight answer. Will the 97-bed block be sanctioned and built in Wexford before the end of the Government's term, as was promised?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I did not watch the meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts this morning but I will review it. I respect the committee greatly. I served four years on it as Vice Chairman. I will raise directly with the Minister for Health the situation regarding the 97 beds in Wexford and ask him to respond to the Deputy.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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The Minister has answered some questions today about the fire services. Whole-time retained fire officers earn only some €700 per month, which equates to 99 cent per hour. They are on call 24-7, 365 days of the year. They must stay within 3 km or five minutes of the station. They must do eight weeks of compulsory training in the first year. The Minister made a lot of promises to these people but now he is hiding from them. They are going on strike next week. The Minister said the Cabinet has signed off on a report he commissioned. Twenty-two years ago, Noel Dempsey, as Minister, said the fire service was in a crisis state. It is in a huge crisis now.

The Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, is giving two fingers to the Government. Who is in charge here? Is it the Government or the LGMA, which is refusing to go into meaningful negotiations? Less than €50 million would sort out this whole problem. It must be resolved out of respect for the people who save lives and put their own lives on the line every day of the week. I met a group of them last night in Bray, County Wicklow. We all remember what happened there some years ago.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy's time is up.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Noel Dempsey, a ministerial colleague of the Tánaiste 22 years ago, said at the time that there was a crisis. It is time for the Minister to act and to make the LGMA toe the line.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I am glad the Deputy and others have raised this matter, which shows the importance of the retained fire services. I commissioned the review to which the Deputy referred and the Government has accepted its 13 recommendations. We have been working with all stakeholders to move the process forward. We are very close to achieving that. The best place for any of the outstanding issues to be resolved is within the existing infrastructure of the State. I ask the retained fire service representatives to take that on board. As is their right, they have served notice of industrial action. I do not want to escalate the matter any further. Suffice it to say that I, as Minister, want this resolved. We have come a long way on pay, conditions and rostering. In fairness, the union representatives recognise that too. There are some outstanding issues that can and, I hope, will be resolved.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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I was asked to raise a particular issue that has escalated this week. I refer to the ongoing industrial dispute at the Irish franchise of the Iceland chain over poor conditions, unpaid wages, sick pay and leave. The owner, Naeem Maniar, appears to be using an opaque corporate structure to avoid paying his workers what they are due or engaging with their union, which is the Independent Workers Union. Furthermore, workers who went on strike at the Coolock store on 19 May, whom I met on the picket line, have been targeted through unpaid wages and dismissal. One woman is owed €700 in unpaid wages and was dismissed this week. There is now deep worry among the workers that Maniar will declare bankruptcy and the staff will get nothing.

A few weeks ago it was said that the Minister of State with responsibility for employment affairs and retail business, Deputy Richmond, was due to meet the head of Iceland in the coming weeks. The workers want to know if this meeting has taken place. It appears not. The workers want to know what measures the Government will take to ensure these workers get the wages, sick pay and holidays they are owed. If the Minister cannot answer that question, will he contact the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, urgently, to let us know what exactly is going on with that meeting?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Workers deserve to be treated well, to have the pay that is due to them paid, and to have conditions upheld by any employer. I am not sure whether that meeting has happened but I will speak directly to the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, in that regard. I will get the Minister of State to contact the Deputy directly to provide the Deputy with an update on the situation and how the meeting went with the owners of the Iceland company.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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A commitment was given in 2022 to close the driver testing centre at Marian Park in Drogheda by the end of February, as the lease on that site expired. This test site was always a temporary solution. There is no question, however, that with a town and region as large as Drogheda and the surrounding areas, the provision of alternative driver testing facilities is very important. I do not have an update for the Deputy right now but I will speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, about it and get him to respond to the Deputy directly.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Government has insisted there is "no hidden agenda at play" or prejudged outcome on the consultative forum on security and defence. These are the words the Tánaiste used in this House on 18 May. In the following Sunday's newspaper editions, however, we were told that the three Government party leaders had reached a consensus that the triple lock mechanism that underpins Irish neutrality is to go. Today, the Taoiseach said that the Government is giving strong consideration to joining a NATO mission off the Irish coast. The reason we depend on others to monitor our skies and our seas is because of the historical and systemic underinvestment in our Defence Forces. Rather than continually seeking to undermine our neutrality, will the Government instead accelerate investment in our own defence capabilities? Will the Government provide for a citizens' forum that can lead to the principle of neutrality being enshrined in the Constitution?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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There is no prejudged outcome to the consultative forum on international security policy. That has been convened with a view to initiating an open and evidence-based discussion on the State's foreign and security policy. The consultative forum will take place in three different locations across four days this month, that is, at University College Cork on 22 June; at University of Galway on 23 June; and at Dublin Castle on 26 and 27 June.

The Government is committed to investing in our Defence Forces and in our Defence Forces' capabilities and equipment. We have had a debate on this very recently. There is no prejudged outcome. It is not an excuse to abandon neutrality. There is no question of Ireland joining NATO or anything like it. It is about co-operation. We co-operate also with our European colleagues around the security of our continents in the EU. This consultative forum does not have any prejudged outcomes, nor should it be suggested that it does.

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Two weeks ago, I raised the issue of Louth County Council closing the applications for housing adaptation grants for new applicants because of the lack of Government funding. A total of 610 people are currently on the waiting list, many of whom are priority 1 cases. Since the applications were closed, my office has been inundated with people in dire need, all of which are serious cases. I will give the Minister one case as an example. A person in their early 50s had a leg amputated two weeks ago. This person was discharged from hospital last week. The family contacted Louth local authorities and they were told that applications had closed but they could apply in January 2024. This is just one of many similarly serious cases. We need extra funding urgently. When will it be delivered? Seriously, how bad does it have to get? What would the Minister say to those people? Does the Minister believe it is fair they are forced to wait until next year?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The allocations for the housing adaptation grants for all local authorities, including Louth, have been issued to the local authorities, with a further increase in that regard. The issue of a backlog of applications in Louth County Council has been raised by other Deputies too, including Deputy O'Dowd who is here also. My Department officials are engaging directly with them. We overspent our budget last year on housing adaptation grants. I fully support this roll-out. We will do that and we are engaging with Louth County Council to see if there is any assistance we can give in working through their backlog.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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On 11 April last, Cork County Council wrote to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage looking for extra resources to appoint people to work on vacancy and dereliction. I believe they seek about 18 extra people. Given that Cork County Council has the equivalent population size of Cavan, Roscommon, Sligo, Monaghan and Leitrim, will the Minister tell the House when his Department will finalise examining the resources needed to enable local authorities to carry out this important work?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Stanton has raised this important matter and he is very committed on it. Certainly, our Department is actively looking at the submission that was received from Cork County Council. I have asked my officials to look specifically at it on a case-by-case basis and that work is currently under way. I hope we would be able to come to a conclusion on that to provide additional resources to Cork County Council as quickly as possible.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Today 125,000 carers across the State will receive the support grant of €1,850. This was announced by the Minister today. Contained in the press release was an announcement that the Government will put place measures to provide paid pension contributions for long-term carers who have been caring for more than 20 years. These are people who are saving the State money and who are providing quality care. When they retire, they have an entitlement to retire and have financial security like any other workers in the State. Does the Minister welcome this measure? Will he ensure that the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, announces the details and prescribes the scheme as soon as possible?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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As Deputy McAuliffe has rightly said, the grant will be paid out for 125,000 carers. The overall cost of this grant is expected to be in the region of €260 million. Very importantly, the Government is committed to enhance the State pension provision for carers who have spent more than 20 years of their lives caring. This is part of our response to the Government's Commission on Pensions, recognising that our long-term carers deserve support in that regard. We will see details of this coming forward over the coming months in advance of the budget. I thank Deputy McAuliffe for his continued support and advocacy for our carers. I want to let the Deputy and the House know that the Government continues to be very grateful for the work that carers do, and we will continue to support them and enhance the support we give them.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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As already mentioned, and as the Minister will be aware, carers do fantastic work. There is no doubt about that. I believe that every Deputy in the House would agree with that statement. Carers save the State €20 billion every year, in addition to the fantastic work they do. Family Carers Ireland support some 500,000 carers across the State. That is not enough, however, in the context of supports. That organisation is fantastic. I attended the launch of their Heart of Gold campaign last Thursday. We need more support from the Government for carers. For example, will the means test be abolished? It is unfair that the means test is set up in such a way for carers. Will it be abolished or will the income threshold for carers' allowance be increased? These are practical measures the Government could take to help carers and support them into the future.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I agree with Deputy Nolan completely. Carers carry out an incredible role across the State in looking after loved ones. Even if we set aside the financial costs, the work they do and their commitment to it is something we absolutely support. In my response to Deputy McAuliffe just now I mentioned the additional grant payment that is being paid out to 125,000 carers at a cost of €260 million. We are going to enhance pension provision for carers, which is a really important step forward. We will also look at other supports for carers in advance of the budget.

The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, is actively engaged in that. I commend the work of Carers Ireland as an advocacy and representative group. I thank Deputy Nolan for raising the issue.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Our Government is doing wonderful work in rolling out public transport options, both in urban and rural settings: the Bus Connects scheme in urban areas and Connecting Ireland in rural areas. However, there is a major inequity that needs to be addressed. Let us take, for example, the town of Loughrea in County Galway. It has a population approaching 6,000 people. Its only public transport link to Galway city is a bus service, and the last bus leaves Galway city for Loughrea at 6.30 p.m. each evening. It cannot serve the needs of nurses, shift workers, students or people simply wanting to socialise in their local city. I ask the Minister to engage with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the NTA to expedite the delivery of additional services for Loughrea, which is just a 30-minute drive from the city. If you live in Dublin city centre and you want to take a 30-minute trip out to Swords for example, there are 18 additional buses after 6.30 p.m. in the evening. Loughrea has no options, and this inequity needs to be addressed.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Swords has good representation.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Cannon for recognising the increased investment in public transport the Government has made over the past nearly three years. Regarding the specific matter he raises, there is no question that it is an issue that needs to be looked at when for people living in Loughrea, a half an hour away from the city, the bus services ceases at 6.30 p.m. I will speak directly to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and ask him to correspond with Deputy Cannon directly on the matter.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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My constituent, Graham Meehan, is being denied his right to live an independent but supported life because of the Government's refusal to properly fund residential care for those living in the community. Graham is 32 and an adored son of Maura and her husband. He has cerebral palsy and associated disabilities and autism. He is not alone in north Kildare, but he is alone in being named here today because the other parent to whom I spoke yesterday is too afraid of losing services as a retribution for speaking out. How sad is that? It tells its own story about the denial of rights in this country. Graham is receiving a week's respite in the coming months, the first since Covid. The reason for the delay is because another family had left their child in respite as they could not cope any longer. Maura told me this morning that she does not judge that family, but she wants Graham's transition to be organised and dignified. Graham is entitled to his rights, the same as any of us, because he is a citizen of this Republic, albeit an incomplete one. The Government says it does not want people with disabilities living in congregated settings, but it refuses to fund them to live independent lives in the community.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The time is up. I thank Deputy Cronin.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Why is that?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Cronin for raising this issue on behalf of two of her constituents. If she sends the details through to me, we will certainly look at it. We are committed to providing accommodation for people, be it assisted living or independent living. That has increased in recent years. I do not know the specifics of the case, as Deputy Cronin just raised it here with me.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I have already raised it with the Minister.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I am offering to do that now for the Deputy. In fairness, the family has given Deputy Cronin permission to raise the case here. If she gets me the details, I will raise it with the Minister of State directly and ask him to respond to Deputy Cronin.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister of State get support from the Tánaiste this time? She never did before. Any time she gives out about the HSE, she gets no support from her leader.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Cronin should send me the details.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The HSE contract for services for medical equipment, which includes wheelchairs, is about to end in September this year. I believe the HSE is currently undertaking a review of the existing service, so I ask that the Government ensures that the HSE engages with wheelchair users and disabled persons organisations, which include wheelchair users among their members. They should engage on their experience of the company because the average wait for a new wheelchair can be up to eight months. If people do not have a wheelchair, it means they are basically prisoners in their own home.

I also raise the cost of other mobility aids such as prosthetics and silicone socks, which have risen dramatically. A lot of this is due to the fact that they are sourced from Britain and Brexit has had an impact. Could these vital products be sourced, preferably in Ireland or at least in the EU, so that we could see a reduction in the costs?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Tully. This may be an issue arising specifically with her community healthcare organisation region within the HSE. I am not familiar with the details of it. I know that the HSE contract is being looked at. If Deputy Tully wants to send the details to me I will get them to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. The HSE is responsible for its own procurement in that regard. The Deputy says there are issues with service provision, in particular of wheelchairs. A wait of eight to nine months for wheelchairs does not seem to be an acceptable level of service at all, to be very frank with the Deputy. If she wants to send me over the details, I will make sure the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, gets them and can respond directly to her.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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We all acknowledge that housing is the biggest challenge facing the Government at the moment. I acknowledge the energy and vigour the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has brought to this challenge, the priority the Government has given it and the resources that have been allocated. One area where there are bottlenecks is when applications are referred to An Bord Pleanála. Priority legislation is in train to reform our planning laws. When will that legislation be complete? When will the Government publish the updated rural housing policy? While we wait for this reforming legislation to be enacted, will the Minister consider amending the existing planning laws to put a time-specific requirement on An Bord Pleanála to determine planning applications? We are all well aware of planning applications that are kicked out time and time again-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Deputy.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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-----but if a time was specified for when decisions would be made it would release a lot of properties onto the market.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Troy for his comments and his question, and indeed his support for the delivery of Government housing policy. First, in relation to An Bord Pleanála, we now have 15 board members in place. It was as low as five last year. That is the highest number of board members that we have ever had. That was permitted in the legislation that we brought forward late last year.

The consolidated planning and development Bill, which is the reform of the planning system that would bring in those statutory timelines, has just concluded pre-legislative scrutiny. We received the formal report from the committee the week before last, and that is being considered now. We will work through that with a view to moving forward to publish the Bill. It will take to the end of this year to get the Bill passed. It is the third biggest piece of legislation ever published in the State.

We already have made changes under the Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Act, which brings planning back to local authorities. There are statutory deadlines and timeframes in it. That process has worked really well.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Minister.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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There is no question that we need to do more work with the board and our planning system.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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It is hard to overstate the anger among people about the increases in fuel today. We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, a situation where people are in poverty, and where people are in arrears with bills. We are also in a situation where the Government has never taken in as much fuel tax in the history of the State, yet Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party are hiking the cost of petrol and diesel.

Some 670,000 people in this State are living in poverty. A quarter of all domestic gas customers are in arrears. Some 200,000 electricity customers are in arrears. Ireland has the second highest rate of rent and mortgage arrears in the whole of Europe. A reply from the Minister to a parliamentary question received by Aontú shows that the Government has never taken in as much in taxes on home heating oil, gas, electricity, petrol, diesel, and solid fuels. The Government took €294 million more last year in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Deputy. His time is up.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I want to know why the Green Party, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are fleecing families at this time of need.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Rather than fleecing families, we have done the exact opposite. Aontú opposed the budget of €12 billion in cost-of-living measures, equivalent to 4.5% of our national income. That is what this Government introduced to help working families right the way through. That fact is indisputable. We did reduce the excise on petrol and diesel by 21 cent and 16 cent per litre, respectively. As Deputy Tóibín is aware, at that time, both were heading beyond €2 per litre at the pumps. Today, the national average is €1.57 per litre of petrol and €1.47 for diesel. The Government has not been found wanting in regard to cost-of-living measures.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Minister.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Thankfully, because we have an economy with near full employment-----

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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The working poor.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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-----and surpluses in the Exchequer, we will continue to help families. We will look at those families and individuals who need it in advance of the budget.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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A harsh one.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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We will continue to roll out the payments.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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As the Minister is aware, Youghal is a town very close to my heart. It is where I grew up. It is a town I feel has been dealt an extremely poor hand by the Government, with the loss of more than 70% of our tourism accommodation permanently because of the sale of the Quality Hotel in Redbarn for use as an emergency accommodation centre. While this is something the local community has embraced, I do not feel enough has been done to provide additional DEIS educational supports.

I plead with the Government to do something about this. I have brought multiple Ministers, including the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to my local town, which was greatly appreciated, but I am anxious to see action. Action is important. It matters for Government backbenchers supporting the Ministers and the work they do in the Cabinet. Will the Minister bring my comments to the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach and tell them that Youghal needs more support from the Government, especially for our educational facilities?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I visited Youghal with the Deputy slightly more than a month ago. We had a good visit. We met many people from the business community, community groups and residents of Youghal. I know Youghal has taken more than its fair share of newcomers and has been a very welcoming town to people, especially those who have fled the terrible war in Ukraine. It has had an impact, especially on accommodation in the town.

I will speak directly to the Minister for Education about the Deputy's specific request for educational supports and DEIS status. We discussed a few items on my visit such as potential future public realm works in Youghal and sites that might be significant for the future development of the town that I am happy to look at with the Deputy. I thank him for his support in that regard.