Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Before I call the Opposition leader, I welcome back Deputy Holly Cairns. I also congratulate Deputy Emer Higgins who married her husband Brian Lawlor over the recess. Under Standing Order 38, I call the Opposition leader, Deputy Mary Lou McDonald.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I extend my comhghairdeas to both Deputies on very significant and joyous life events.

Harvey Morrison Sherratt died on 29 July. Last week I spoke again with his parents, Stephen and Gillian. They are heartbroken and shattered by the loss of their beautiful little boy, and we again send them our condolences and our love. Harvey had a very short life. He was only nine years old when he passed. As the Taoiseach knows he suffered from scoliosis and spina bifida. He waited years for spinal surgery as his condition worsened, and his dad Stephen said, "We watched him deteriorate, cry in pain, struggle to breathe and lose the sparkle in his eye." Harvey was born the year the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, was appointed Minister for Health. In 2017, when Harvey was just one, his parents were told that his ribs were crushing his lungs. That same year Simon Harris promised that no child would wait more than four months for spinal surgery. Over the last eight years that promise has been broken again and again. Harvey did eventually get his surgery last December, but he had waited far too long. He was badly let down. He was, in fact, failed by Government.

Harvey's story is not an isolated case. Such failures are shamefully a hallmark of the Taoiseach's Government. On Monday, Cork mother Antoinette Burke felt she had no choice but to challenge the Taoiseach publicly. Her daughter Katie has cerebral palsy. She has been left waiting 15 years for the surgery she needs. Antoinette said that she first contacted the Taoiseach's office back in 2010 but her pleas went without action. The Taoiseach said in reply, and I use his words, that Katie's case is not "necessarily emblematic" of what families go through in their fight for disability services and treatment, but in fact it is exactly that because Antoinette's hurt and anger is recognised very well by the parents of children with scoliosis and spina bifida. It is emblematic of what they have experienced.

It has been a litany of broken promises from Government. It promised it would do everything possible to end the scandal of children waiting and waiting for spinal surgery, but today that waiting list is growing.

As we speak, there are 135 children on waiting lists without a date for surgery, up from 108 since the start of the year, and 40 of these children have been waiting six months or more just for a date, mind you, not even for the surgery itself. Last year, the Government promised that children waiting more than four months would be given the option to travel for surgery but since then only seven children have had surgery abroad. It is shockingly low. The Government continues to fail these children.

Tá bás Harvey Morrison Sherratt tar éis solas a dhíriú ar theip an Rialtais i leith leanaí na tíre. Caithfidh an Taoiseach cur in iúl dúinn cad atá i gceist aige a dhéanamh chun cinntiú go bhfaigheann leanaí le scolóis nó spina bifida na hobráidí atá de dhíth orthu le práinn. Harvey's battle with scoliosis was a race against the clock. It is the same for each one of these children. The longer they wait, the more complex surgeries they will require. The risk of permanent paralysis is very real. The fear of becoming inoperable is very real. This neglect of children with scoliosis and spina bifida must end and must end now. I ask the Taoiseach directly today to tell those children and their families what he will do now to ensure they get the operations that they require urgently.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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At the outset, I want to take the opportunity to offer my deepest condolences to Harvey Morrison Sherratt's family and his parents, Gillian and Stephen. No words of condolence or consolation to Harvey's parents are enough. It is an extraordinarily traumatic thing to happen to any family, but in these circumstances even more traumatic in terms of the experiences the family and Harvey had with the hospitals and the clinical world itself, and it is unacceptable. The Minister met with the HSE and CHI board and has been working on this issue non-stop since she was appointed Minister for Health. The Minister has asked for a multidisciplinary report on the chronology from CHI regarding its involvement in Harvey's care and the key milestones as recorded on the CHI's hospital records. The HSE CEO received this draft report in August and has shared that report with Harvey's parents as well as with the Minister for Health. My understanding is that the Minister for Health and the Tánaiste are due to meet Harvey's parents in the near future.

I understand fully the anger and the absolute frustration felt by the parents and by other families who do not receive surgical intervention at the right time for their child. I have spoken to Antoinette Burke since I met her earlier this week. We have arranged to meet. I do not want to get into discussing individual cases here in public, but clearly the issue there is one of clinical decision-making and the judgment made by clinicians. Clinicians, it seems, have taken a decision not to do surgery over many years in that case on a clinical basis. Obviously, any parent wants to do the very best for their child. It seems to me that the interaction or engagement between the clinical decision-making and the position of parents is one that has to be improved. Certainly, however, the question was put to me about the use of the word "emblematic", and I made that point in the context that if we look at, and I have read, the case in relation to Katie and Antoinette, there is a very clear disagreement in respect of the clinical judgment that consultants have made in that case. That said, I am going to pursue this. We have spoken to the CEO of the HSE in relation to this case also.

On the broader issue of scoliosis, very significant resources have been allocated by Government to CHI. There is no point is saying there have not been; there have. The issue is that the translation of those resources to outcomes and outputs is a key issue for us.

There have been a number of reports into CHI. All Deputies are aware of that. We are not happy with everything that has happened in CHI. We have an issue in that one consultant has been referred in respect of the utilisation of devices that did not meet the quality mark. We are awaiting a report on governance in CHI. The Health Service Executive has strengthened its service level agreement with CHI and is giving stronger supports to it. That process will continue in terms of underpinning, supporting and creating additional capacity in CHI in the immediate future and the time ahead. That is the direction of travel in respect of services, in particular spinal services, at CHI.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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As Harvey waited for the surgery that he required, the curvature of his spine deteriorated from 75° to 130°. I do not know if the Taoiseach saw him. The poor wee child was literally doubled over. He struggled to breathe. He waited and waited, and he is not unique. He is unique now in as much as he is emblematic of the wholesale manner in which many other children have been failed.

TJ Coughlan from Tullamore in County Offaly is a great young man. He is 20 and was told at the age of nine that he needed surgery. He was left waiting until he was 13 and when he turned 13, it was too late. He is now inoperable and is wheelchair bound. That was catastrophic for that young man's life.

The Taoiseach said this is unacceptable. I agree with him. He is reluctant to discuss individual cases in public. I understand that, but we must remember that these families have no option but to present their pain in very public forums. The Taoiseach pointed to clinical judgment. It seemed to me he offered every excuse under the sun, but he has not answered my question. What is he going to do about it now? This is not about treading water. What decision will be made now? Can the Taoiseach explain to us how it is that the waiting list is now growing and only seven children have availed of treatment abroad, for all of the fine words and promises from this and successive Governments?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am not applying my reply to the two cases the Deputy mentioned, for example. There is a fundamental question we have all faced if we are honest, whereby people come to us and say that as a parent they believe their child should get a particular intervention or surgery. If a doctor or clinician does not believe that is appropriate at that time or believes that the outcomes may not be optimal at that time for the child concerned, what is Deputy McDonald suggesting? This is a reality on an ongoing basis. It seems to me that we have to examine that relationship further, as well as the level of advocacy for the parents in these situations.

That is why I think there is a weakness. Politicians cannot and should not arbitrarily intervene and say something should happen irrespective of what a clinical expert has said. We need some degree of consensus on that point. How it transpires and the advocacy for parents in that situation is something we should examine, in terms of stronger advocacy for parents in respect of clinical decision-making.

In terms of what we are doing regarding the treatment abroad scheme, we have provided resources and there is an instruction to CHI and clinicians to refer, and I believe they should be referring patients on a continuous basis.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I want to welcome everyone back to the House, in particular Deputy Holly Cairns on her return from maternity leave. I congratulate Deputy Emer Currie.

Deputies:

Higgins.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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Sorry, I am rusty after the summer recess. It is good to be back in the Chamber and we have serious work to do here over the course of this Dáil term. For the Government, its long to-do list has lengthened over the summer months. There is so much for the Government to do. It must build homes. It must address the suffering of all of those locked out of secure housing. It must provide basic and effective healthcare, in particular to end the agony of children waiting for vital spinal surgeries.

We have seen a shameful increase of nearly 10% since the start of the year, with 135 children now waiting. I want to join in expressing my deepest sympathies to the parents of young Harvey Morrison Sherratt. I spoke with Gillian, Harvey's mother, over recent weeks, and I want to note the dreadful trauma they went through.

I could go on naming Government failures, but today I want to focus on one such failure touching every household in the country, creating new inequalities and deepening the plight of families fighting every day to keep afloat. I am talking about the cost-of-living crisis. Ireland is a rich country, but for far too many people it feels poor. Despite high GDP, child poverty rates now match those experienced by families after Fianna Fáil crashed the economy in 2007. This crisis is really hurting children more than anyone. We are seeing prices rising faster than wages, price gouging, which has taken root, and greedflation, with soaring food prices in particular. Energy and housing bills are among the highest in Europe.

The impact on children is immense. One fifth of children now live in poverty. That is 225,000 children. There are long-term impacts on those children and on their parents, who are suffering heartbreak as they watch this. There has been no indication from the Government that it will use its €9.4 billion to bring struggling families any meaningful respite in October. If, indeed, the Government is going to prioritise ineffective tax cuts in this budget, then it must be honest with the public and admit it will be at the expense of families struggling to stay afloat and families worrying how to keep lights on, how to keep the house warm, how to pay for Christmas and how to afford housing.

That is the Government's choice in this budget. It is a political choice it will make. The media say the Government is not going to do a cost-of-living emergency package. The Taoiseach's task, however, is to create a sustainable future, so we need to see the reinstatement of targeted energy credits, the extension of the ban on disconnections for families, and, crucially, a second targeted rate of child benefit now and not some time in the future. We need to see permanent abolition of the means test for the carer’s allowance and a cost-of-disability payment that is meaningful. Will the Taoiseach make the necessary choices in this budget to prioritise ending child poverty and providing supports for struggling households?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the sincerity of the issues the Deputy has raised in respect of the challenges facing the country. Fundamentally, I make the point to the Deputy that since 2019 employment has grown in this country by 506,000 people. That is 506,000 people over five years. We have a strong and resilient economy and the most effective intervention in terms of poverty or living standards is work and jobs. I argue that the policies we have advocated here are advantageous to the enterprise economy and its continuation as compared to the policies the Deputy and those on the far left now allied with her have advocated.

I make the point that there has been significant inflation since Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It peaked at close to 10% but since then the rates have considerably eased and living standards have improved significantly, with real wages and income increasing by between 3% and 3.5% this year alone. The nominal wage increase is about 5.5% and inflation is at 2%. I acknowledge, however, that prices are elevated. Food inflation is higher, at about 5%.

I appreciate the Deputy's focus on targeting because we do intend to target in the budget. We do intend to prioritise the issue of child poverty and those most in need and under considerable pressure but equally we have to sustainably work our way through this. We now have the third lowest rate of inflation among the 27 European Union countries. This is something that cannot be ignored as we drive forward in terms of wage increases and so on, and also in terms of targeting child support payments. There are mechanisms we can do, which we did in the past, to try to protect those who need protection most, on energy costs and on food pricing costs. The key is that we want to do this in a mainstream way. It is not economically sustainable as we come out of this high inflation period over the last two to three years after Covid that we would continue doing large stand-alone cost-of-living packages.

We have to mainstream provision in terms of the various mechanisms we have. For example, last year we eliminated the cost of school books in primary and second level schools. That is a permanent reduction in costs for families, parents and children. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul said that in the 2023-24 school year, it had a 20%-odd reduction in calls because of that measure alone. Hot school meals is another targeted mainstream provision that we have brought about. In other areas, we have done the same. That is the approach that I want to take. I welcome the Deputy's agreement that we need a targeted approach to these issues.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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With respect, I do not need lectures on work and on jobs. We are the party of work. Labour is the party of workers' rights. We have a proud record on job creation. We absolutely agree with the Taoiseach that, of course, job creation and work is crucial, but I meet people all the time - the Taoiseach must meet them too - who tell me they are working hard, getting up early in the morning every day, to use an expression pioneered by one of his Government colleagues, and yet they cannot afford to meet basic household costs because of rising prices, rising costs, and the cost of childcare and the cost of housing, which are too high. Even though they are working, they simply cannot meet all of the costs they have to meet. This phenomenon of the working poor is something that the Government has failed to take effective measures to address and we are not seeing any indication, just a few weeks out from the budget, that there are going to be any measures adopted in this budget that will help families who are struggling in this way, who simply cannot find a way to meet their household costs.

People are looking for reassurance from the Taoiseach. We are looking for some indication that the Government will build that sustainable safety net for families and households that are struggling and that it will offer them some hope in this budget that they will be able to meet their rising costs.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have indicated that we are going to do that. I said to the Deputy, prior to the summer recess, that we would target our resources as opposed to universal allocations.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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How?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Through our social protection frameworks, we have mechanisms that will enable us to do that in terms of the various payments and so on that we can increase, but we will prioritise in respect of the child poverty question. We will prioritise in terms of disability and in terms of the additional costs that families with people who are disabled have to incur, and we will seek to alleviate that. We are conscious of the programme for Government commitments we have made in respect of the carer's allowance also.

The budget, fundamentally, is an investment in the future of the country. We are prioritising capital investment. We need to catch up on infrastructure. Last year alone, there was an increase of close to 100,000 in our population. There has been a very significant increase in the population in this country over the past two to three decades and that is creating pressure, undoubtedly, on services and on infrastructure.

We are investing in the future - in water, energy, grid, housing - and that will be a key part of the budget.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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From the Social Democrats, I call on Deputy Holly Cairns.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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As this is my first time addressing the Dáil since my maternity leave, I hope the Ceann Comhairle will indulge me in saying a few "Thank yous". First, I thank my colleagues in the Social Democrats for their ongoing support. I would like to say a special "Thank you" to our deputy leader, Cian O'Callaghan, for stepping in during my maternity leave. I would also like to say a heartfelt "Thank you" to the people of Cork South-West for re-electing me.

I would also like to acknowledge the loss last weekend of Councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy in my area and to convey my condolences to his family. He was an outstanding disability advocate and he worked tirelessly for the Bantry area. He will be sorely missed.

Today, I want to speak to the Taoiseach about disability. Despite all of the promises that we heard during the election, disabled people and their families are still being let down. During the election, the Taoiseach said that disability would be a top priority for his Government. He also said his Government would lead a step change in the level and scale of support for people with disabilities. Let us take a look at what that looks like. Nearly 16,000 children are now overdue on assessment of need, essential therapies and supports are still almost non-existent and hundreds of children are still left in agony waiting for spinal surgeries. The harsh truth is, and I take no pleasure in saying this, that the only things the disabled people are guaranteed by the Government are broken promises and a waiting list.

Despite the 2017 promise that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis treatment, children like Harvey Morrison Sherratt have suffered years of delays, trauma and pain. Harvey waited years for the care that he needed, only receiving surgery last November when the curve in his spine had reached 130°, causing his rib cage to twist around his lungs and heart, restricting his breathing. After Harvey tragically passed away, his mother said that all he wanted was his iPad, Hunky Dorys, the odd lollipop and timely access to healthcare.

Harvey's parents, Gillian and Stephen, and thousands of parents like them around this country, have had to watch their children go for years without the intervention they need, feeling helpless and hopeless in the face of an uncaring system, knowing that every day means their children are further at risk of never reaching their full potential. Children are denied services and prevented from reaching their full potential at every step of the way. We are talking about the difference between a child being able to learn to speak or not - about being able to communicate - and the difference between somebody being able to live an independent life or not.

When disabled people become adults, any meagre supports they had vanish. We have the lowest employment rates for disabled people in the EU and one in five disabled people in Ireland lives in poverty. It is nothing short of shameful. Will the Taoiseach ensure that children waiting for spinal surgeries will finally get the treatment they need? Can the Taoiseach at least acknowledge that the Government is not living up to the commitments that it made?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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First, I take the opportunity to welcome you back, Deputy, and I am looking forward to our continued engagements. I think we both share a love of west Cork and the people of west Cork, as well as their representatives in terms of quality, calibre and so forth. I am going to miss Deputy Cian O’Callaghan. I thank him for his forensic engagement over the last while.

I also thank Deputy Cairns for her tributes to Councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy, a colleague of ours. We are in deep sadness because Patrick Gerard was a wonderful individual and the definition of what public representation at local level means. He was a man of great and deep insight, commitment, care and compassion, and great courage and bravery as well in terms of his own personal life and as a public representative.

When we said that disability is the top priority of this Government, it is. I accept fully that there are shortcomings, to say the least, in some areas, particularly spinal surgery, assessment of need and the availability of therapies. On the other hand, it is important to create the other side of the narrative as well, that of unrelenting investment in additional needs, particularly, for example, in education in recent years, and exponential growth in services. If we take education alone, the State investment is about €2.9 billion in 2025. That is a 48% increase since 2020 and is a quarter of the entire Department of education budget. We now have 23,000 special needs assistants working in our schools, up 43% in the last five years. We added 1,600 SNAs this year alone. There are 21,000 special education teachers. The number of special classes has doubled to 3,700-plus. We have had 16 new special schools established in the last number of years and 407 new special classes sanctioned for 2025-26.

That represents and reflects investment. It still is not enough. As I said earlier, our population is growing very significantly. If we look at the last two censuses, the most recent one showed a marked increase in the number identifying with a disability, both children and adults.

That means we have to not just increase resources but systemically change as well. To be fair to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, they are already working to change the system for children with additional needs and their families applying for places in schools in terms of a centralised application system being piloted and the time to apply being brought forward by four months so that we have a better lead in time to the subsequent September. I will come back in on the other points later.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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The Taoiseach tells us about increased investment and that disability is a priority, but even when it comes to something relatively simple, if we use the example of recognising the cost of disability and addressing it, his Government manages to somehow spectacularly miss the mark. A 2021 report calculated the additional cost of disability to be at €236 per week. What was the Government's response to that? It was a one-off payment of €400, as if having a disability is some kind of a one-off, minor inconvenience. According to the ESRI and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, the cost of disability is now up to €875 per week. One-off payments are not only grossly insufficient; they are insulting.

Tens of thousands of disabled people live in poverty with nearly 76% of disabled people in Ireland at risk of poverty. The Taoiseach says disability is a priority but he published a national disability strategy that lacks any ambition, a budget and any timelines. We have more than enough reports; what we need is action. I have one question. Can the Taoiseach tell us if he will introduce a cost of disability payment in the budget?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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First of all, Deputy Cairns's critique of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled Persons is wrong. There was significant participation of people with disabilities in the formulation, delivery and announcement of that strategy. They enthusiastically participated in that. Structures have been created to follow through on it. That is a kind of a cynical, poor response by the Deputy to what was a genuine-----

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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This is the view of the disabled people with whom I have met.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am just saying to the Deputy-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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It is not a back and forth.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I met with the people at the launch of the strategy. I have created a disability unit in my Department to drive change. We will do it over the lifetime of this Government.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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Will the Taoiseach answer the question?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is right across the board. In terms of cost of living, it is not that simple and the Deputy knows that. However, there will be measures in the budget to help families with disabilities in terms of income supports. There will be measures in the budget in that respect.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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I join in welcoming Deputy Holly Cairns back to the Dáil and congratulating her. I also congratulate Deputy Emer Higgins. Life will never be the same again. I wish many years of happiness and joy to them and their partners in the years to come.

I raise the situation regarding renters with the Taoiseach and the out of control so-called "rental market" we have. In a lot of areas now, average rents are more than €2,000. Recent reports have shown how they are skyrocketing. The recent Residential Tenancies Board rent index showed an average annual rent increase of 5.5%. In County Laois, it is more than 10%. In eight successive quarters, there have been significant increases in the county. Families and workers are under significant pressure. Notices to quit are on the increase. There are increasing numbers of them from rack-renting landlords who are seeking vacant possession because they are getting ready for next March when there will be effectively no rent controls on new tenancies and new builds. Some landlords are telling tenants that regardless of whether there is a new tenancy or not, rents will go up. It is a free-for-all.

As an example of that, I raise the case of Alan and Denise. They are just over the limit for social housing and they have children. He is a retained firefighter. They have been in private rented accommodation for nine years. Four months ago, the landlord told them the rent was increasing by 50% - a 50% increase in south Laois. He did that in the first week of June. Of course, he knew what he was doing because on 20 June, the 2% cap came in, so a lot of landlords got in early. Their income is less than €40,000 a year. They have no way forward. Alan is 49 years of age. They have no access to social housing because they are over the limit for social housing. They have no access to cost rentals because they do not yet exist in Laois.

There are no affordables, and in any case he will not get an affordable housing loan.

In the case of Darren, a single man with one child, he has moved from one rent pressure zone to another. He is on €460 a week. He needs a car for work. He pays maintenance. He has a child. He is paying €77 in HAP rent and he is paying €120 a week rent to a landlord. Some workers are paying more than half their income in rent. I do not know if the Taoiseach knows that or not.

Vacant possession and evictions are easy because the grounds in the legislation allow for that - if the landlord is facing hardship, if they require a property for a family member or, God forbid, if they are going to renovate the place. A coat of magnolia paint would even ensure vacant possession. Does the Taoiseach recognise that workers and families who rent are under enormous pressure? We are coming up to budget time and I want the Taoiseach to address this. It is way beyond what people can afford. Will the Taoiseach halt his plans for the introduction of a complete free-for-all in March for new tenancies?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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Will the Government ramp up the supply of cost rental and affordable housing to purchase?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Stanley.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are not creating a free-for-all in terms of the rental market more generally. We are creating a national rent pressure zone, ultimately including the entire country. The bottom line is that we need more supply of houses. We need a significant and substantial increase in the supply of housing. That is the key. Without additional supply we will have a very challenging rental market. The Deputy indicated a case of 50%, which sounds illegal to me. I do not know whether or not the landlord is registered with the RTB. I do not have the specifics of the case but Deputy Stanley can forward them to us afterwards.

As the Deputy is aware, the bottom line is that we have reformed the RPZs. The objective there is to create the opportunity for greater private sector investment in the private rental market to get more apartments built. That is important in terms of choice and greater access for people to apartments. We have done it in a way that continues to protect tenants. Very substantial protections have been introduced for tenants in the past five years, compared to what was there before. That must be acknowledged. I fully accept that costs are high. That is why we brought in the rent tax credit to be of assistance to renters in meeting the increased cost of renting. The reforms we announced on 10 June will strengthen the rights of new and existing tenants in Irish society. It is not a return to a free for all.

The reforms were informed by a review by the Housing Agency, which did an analysis of the rental market for us, in particular of the rent pressure zones. The agency made recommendations on which we followed through on. All of the House wanted us to follow through on the Housing Commission's recommendations. It is in that context that the Housing Agency review followed through on them. There is a national cap now of 2% on existing rents. I do not know how one can go up by 50% but Deputy Stanley can forward me the details of that case. The rent tax credit has been continued. We will deal with that in the forthcoming budget also. We have provided a range of measures to ensure security for renters. I will not go through the full list of those.

This year alone, on top of the Estimate for 2025, we have allocated a further €1 billion to the housing budget. Approximately €7.5 billion will have been spent on housing by the end of 2025. That is a very significant State intervention. We need more private sector investment in the rental market, in particular to build new apartments. We have taken measures, not just in the RPZs but also with apartment standards and other issues to attract further investment in on the private side to balance the State investment.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Taoiseach.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are going to continue with that agenda.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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The concern I have is what is going to happen in towns like Mountmellick, Abbeyleix, Mountrath and Portlaoise.

In terms of increasing supply, the Taoiseach was in government in 2004, 2005 and 2006 when supply increased. In fact, 96,000 housing units were built in 2006. He will recall in those years that rents skyrocketed. There is not necessarily a correlation with increasing the supply of housing.

The evidence is there to show that. The Taoiseach will remember that, as do I. In relation to vacant possessions and evictions, there will not be a need for evictions and no-fault evictions as they are banned. However, there will be fault evictions because people will not be able to pay the rent. That is what I am being told. The Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, report shows that. Regarding supply, there was an increase of 45,000 tenancies in the six years leading up to 2023 but the Taoiseach will have noted from the report yesterday that, despite the Government's strategy, the number of planning permissions granted have fallen. Does he recognise that workers and families are under enormous pressure?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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Will he halt his plans and do something to save tenants from March? People leave tenancies for different reasons and-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy Stanley, you have made your point, thank you.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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-----when properties become vacant, they are faced with a free-for-all. The Government's 2% rent increase cap is irrelevant. It is on paper. Landlords will completely ignore. They can because the legislation says they can ignore it.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thank you, Deputy. Taoiseach.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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No, I disagree with that.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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That is what the Government's legislation says.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy mentioned the correlation between supply and price. Is he suggesting-----

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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The Government left us with a free-for-all.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy Stanley, you were not interrupted. Allow the Taoiseach to speak.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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In terms of supply and its relationship with pricing, I will tell the Deputy one thing for certain: if we do not substantially increase supply, rents will go through the roof.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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They are already going through the roof.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The scarcity involved will increase the cost of any new tenancies that come along.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I take it we are all agreed with more supply. That is a fundamental.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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It is more than supply.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is not Deputy Hearne's turn. His party had its turn. Are we agreed that we need more supply?

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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Yes, but we-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Second, we have very comprehensive and significant protections in place for tenants. Yes, the RTB has a function, obligation and role to enforce and ensure the protection of tenants in these scenarios and that fairness applies on all sides in respect of tenancies. Deputy Stanley referenced that we have brought in those kind of protections around evictions and so on. With the measures we have so far taken, and hopefully with some further measures, we will be in a position to get greater traction in building apartments, which we need to get done.