Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The credit union consumer sentiment index for April has been published and it lays bare the severity of the cost-of-living pressure on people, especially when it comes to soaring energy costs. It reveals that a third of consumers expect to cut energy use just to get by, while nine out of ten consumers fear that high energy costs will force them to cut back on household spending. The reality is that working people and families are struggling to stay afloat. A record number of households cannot pay their electricity bills, one in four cannot pay their gas bills and now they brace themselves for further electricity price hikes in the coming weeks. Workers and families are really, really worried about the time ahead, yet they see the Government refusing to listen and seemingly incapable of understanding the pressure they are under.

Last October, the Government wanted people to believe that this was all over, and it could not have been more wrong. Since then, the Government's response has been all over the place. It has scrambled around taking a scattered approach, doing a bit here and a bit there but never showing the leadership required to truly grasp this crisis. What was needed from the Government was quick, decisive action to provide people with real relief and to give working households certainty for the time ahead. However, it is only when public anger grows that the Government moves. Twice, the Government has come to the table and twice the Government has got it badly wrong, with half measures each time and never being prepared to go far enough. It has left people to struggle on and to make do. Even when anger boiled into protest, it still failed to understand people's lives.

Workers and families cannot take this any more. They cannot wait for any longer. We need an emergency budget. We have set out clearly what needs to be done, solutions that cut to the heart of the pressure people are under. We need energy credits for households, a €500 payment for people with disabilities and a suite of measures to protect the most vulnerable, and there must be relief for workers. Remember, the budget last October left them worse off. The Taoiseach will remember introducing the USC. It was brought in by Fianna Fáil when it crashed the Irish economy. It is a constant drag on people's wages and even more so during this cost-of-living crisis, so we propose a permanent USC cut that will put €500 back into workers' pockets. These are practical steps that can be taken right now to make a real difference and to lift some of the pressure people are under to make ends meet.

Caithfidh Fianna Fáil agus Fine Gael dúiseacht agus, i ndáiríre, géarchéim an costas maireachtála a thuiscint. Ní leor leath-iarracht.

Tá cáinaisnéis éigeandála ag teastáil láithreach chun faoiseamh ceart a thabhairt d'oibrithe agus do theaghlaigh. Expecting households to cling on until next year's budget is not only unfair it is downright insulting. This cost-of-living crisis is happening now. The stress is at kitchen tables now and at this time. The Taoiseach needs to do his job and he needs to act to make life more affordable. The Government has a surplus of billions. A fraction of that would make a real difference. Bring forward an emergency budget and finally listen. Give workers and families the proper relief they deserve.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge that the war in the Middle East, which the Deputy somehow managed not to mention, is a war that has created shocking constraints in oil supply and has led to an increase in fuel prices across the world. Globally people are very concerned about what they see as the biggest shock to the energy sector in many a time. They are saying it is bigger than 1973 and 1979 combined, and even 1973, 1979 and 2022 combined. It is a very serious shock to the energy system that has been brought about, which has dramatically increased prices and will result in a global contraction of fossil fuel supplies with consequential impacts on other products like fertiliser, helium and so on, which in turn could have impacts on jobs and on food production across the world. These are very serious issues we are all facing.

We acknowledge fully that this is creating pressures on families and on households. There is no question about that. There is an uncertainty about it as well because we do not quite know when this is going to end and when the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is going to end, which is key to getting prices down and getting supply reactivated again to a significant degree. The Deputy has not referenced any of that. It is as if it does not exist in the Deputy's world but those are the realities facing every government across the world right now.

Yes, from our perspective, in the budget we majored very heavily on housing, on infrastructure, on disability, with a 20% increase, and on child poverty, with the support payments for children going up substantially by record levels. For children over the age of 12, it is by €16 and for children under the age of 12, it is less than that but still by record levels both ways. We also extended the fuel allowance to bring in those on the working family payment, which brought in an extra 50,000 people. About 26% of people are on the fuel allowance. That measure does help people deal with this, not comprehensively but at least it is a contribution to people to take pressure off them in respect of rising fuel prices.

We announced a package of over €750 million that has brought down the excise duty by about 32 cent on diesel and by about 27 cent on petrol. Those measures affect and help everybody. Today the Government approved two very specific packages for the transport haulier sector, which is much more expanded than was the case during the Ukrainian energy crisis. These very substantial schemes will also help farmers, fishers and contractors. We must remember that about 240,000 workers are involved in the haulage and logistics industry. I know the Deputy described them last week as a sectional thing and that we were only looking after particular sectors but it is key to everybody and all workers that we can get goods to port and get them exported at an affordable price, and that we can get goods on our supermarket shelves at an affordable price. When we alleviate the pressure on hauliers, logistics and supply, we are alleviating pressures on everybody, and likewise in terms of food production. We are not scattered all over the place, this was strategic to deal with food production. This is a critical period in terms of food. We are a big food-producing country and it is right that we should alleviate the pressures on farmers in particular around food production areas and alleviate the pressures on contractors given the role they play in food production.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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There was a cost-of-living crisis before the war in Iran. More than 300,000 households were already in energy arrears. This crisis has very deep roots. The Taoiseach failed to acknowledge that. The budget last October left workers worse off and left people with disabilities worse off. The Taoiseach failed to acknowledge that. Families and workers are really struggling and the Taoiseach has no response for them except to talk down to them and dismiss them. I have asked the Taoiseach to introduce an emergency budget. I have told him the very specific measures that we in Sinn Féin believe need to be taken, namely, energy credits, supports, including a disability payment, and, critically, a permanent cut in the USC. These are the things that need to happen if the Government is to be serious about assisting people in a time of crisis. Is it serious? Is it listening?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Tá an Rialtas dáiríre faoin gceist seo agus tá an-chuid déanta againn ó thaobh costas maireachtála. Níl aon amhras faoi sin sa mhéid atá déanta againn sa gheilleagar agus leis an gcáinaisnéis a bhí againn an bhliain seo caite agus an bhliain roimhe sin. What Deputy McDonald has outlined is something for everybody. It could be €4 billion or €5 billion in terms of what she announced. Sinn Féin did not cost it.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is €3 billion.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I think it is approximately €3.5 billion-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is costed.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy says that but what is the cost? I would say it is around €5 billion.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is not.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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No interruptions.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The bottom line is that we have allocated €750 million already-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach cannot count, a Cheann Comhairle. It is very-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and there is a budget in October. We need to also bear in mind how best we target the resources we have. We do not have money in the bottom of a drawer like Deputy McDonald is suggesting. Much of that surplus is in the Future Ireland Fund and the infrastructure and nature-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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It is not.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Unless Deputy McDonald is advocating we take it out of the funds, she needs to clarify this.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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It is additional money.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The money has been put aside-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach does not have a clue.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and a lot of it is being invested in the economy, in jobs and in housing right now.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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He did not even think the Government had it last week.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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This time last year, households were already labouring under the pressure of grocery price inflation, the housing crisis and Trump's threatened tariffs. Since the outset of Trump's illegal war on Iran and in the Middle East, and with no end in sight to Russia's bombardment of Ukraine, things have got worse. The Taoiseach has rightly just described the situation we are in as a massive global energy shock, but in this shock, struggling households are left wondering when they will get some real reprieve from the Government. PAYE workers are not seeing the benefit of a multimillion euro sectoral support package.

In response to a question from my Labour colleague, Deputy Ged Nash, last week, the Tánaiste ruled out a mini-budget for our communities. Today, we are told that officials are scrambling to design one-off supports, such as retrofit grants and energy tweaks, with all signs pointing to a sort-of mini-budget. As the saying goes, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might just be a duck. In this case, it is a very lame duck because what we are seeing is not a coherent plan. The Taoiseach talks about a strategic response but where is the strategy in the series of ad hoc measures he is formulating? They appear to be cobbled together in response to political pressure. To borrow another animal metaphor, the Government is playing whack-a-mole. It has no clear vision for how to support working families through this deepening cost-of-living and energy crisis. Would it not be more honest to call the response what it is, which is a mini-budget but released in segments? Call it what it is and let people then judge it on its merits.

Families are already stretched to breaking point. The Taoiseach knows that more than 320,000 households are in electricity arrears and 180,000 are behind on gas bills. These are the highest levels on record. Homeless figures are the highest on record. Grocery prices are rising week on week. Insurance, housing and education costs are all up. What has the Government done? It has withdrawn energy credits without putting any cushion in place for households, it has failed to index tax bands, as Labour had sought, and it has left PAYE workers footing the bill for sectoral pay-offs. With regard to VAT cuts, there is no evidence that they will achieve anything other than costing the Exchequer. Now, as inflation threatens to surge again, the Minister for Finance is kite flying.

People see through this. They see a Government that can find €750 million for sectoral supports while telling households to tighten their belts. They hear the Government's talk of tax breaks on wealth while they struggle to find the money to cover food and heating costs at the end of the month. That is why the Government's approach is so frustrating. If it is doing a mini-budget in all but name, why not bring forward a coherent package?

Why not take the options that we have proposed, such as a windfall tax on excess energy profits of big companies; a renewables revolution to end reliance on fossil fuels; targeted energy credits for working households; and indexation of tax bands? This would be systemic change, not just token measures. Why will the Taoiseach not just introduce a mini-budget and a coherent package that gives supports to struggling households?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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First of all, we will not be introducing a mini-budget. I will say at the outset that we have taken a strategic approach to this. The most fundamental approach we should take is an understanding of the impacts of this - not just the immediate impacts of this, but the medium-term impacts on our overall economic life in terms of the impact on jobs potentially, the impact on prices and so on. We have announced €750 million. There is general relief in terms of the reductions in excise duty on diesel and petrol, which benefits PAYE workers, all other workers and all workers and everybody who uses their car and so forth. There is a targeted approach in terms of families on low incomes and the extension, as we provided, of the fuel allowance, in terms of everything to do with food production, and also in terms of the broader haulage logistics supply industry, which is critical for all of us. That is being strategic. We are a small exporting island. We export 90% of what we produce, so it is essential that logistics regarding the supply chain and haulage are enabled and assisted for it to do its business in terms of the measures we are bringing in and that were approved by Government today but were announced, as the Deputy knows, as part of the €750 million package. They will mean a lot for hauliers. They will mean a lot for people who transport goods and services. It will also mean a lot for fishers, for example, who need support and help, farmers, contractors and the general public through the reduction in excise duties.

The Deputy must realise that, before the war, way back in February, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, announced a significant overhaul of the retrofitting schemes and an expansion of them, increased grants for attic and cavity wall insulation, an additional attic insulation top-up grant for first-time buyers, attic and cavity wall insulation, a second wall measure, a new grant for energy-efficient windows and doors, an expanded heat pump systems grant now totalling €12,500, and so on. The results of all that is that about 29,000 people have applied in the first quarter alone, which is a substantial increase on last year. There is very good feedback from the Minister's strategic approach to energy saving, insulation and so on, which has been quite significant over the last number of years in terms of the impact it has had on thousands of households across the country. I agree with the Deputy that this is one of the more effective ways to cushion people and help them to bear the brunt of what are very serious increases in energy costs arising out of the war and other events.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I absolutely acknowledge that the energy shock and the particular energy crisis we are now in are, of course, caused by international events, in particular Trump and Netanyahu's illegal war on Iran. We are all conscious of that. The question is how we respond. There are two things. First, the Taoiseach acknowledges that systemic change is needed; I think he did in his response to me. Absolutely, I agree. We need to change the way we work. We need to change the way we do business. We need to change our reliance on fossil fuels. Therefore, we need that renewables revolution. The Taoiseach did not respond on that. Yes, it is welcome to see measures on retrofitting, but the upfront costs of fitting solar panels, for example, or installing heat pumps are massive for households, and there is far too little available. The roll-out of renewables and our capacity to generate energy through onshore and offshore wind is far too slow. We in opposition have supported efforts by the Government to speed up the pace, but we are seeing so little being done on what should be a huge thing for us, that is, the roll-out of offshore and onshore wind generating capacity.

The second thing to say is that there are consequences-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Time is up, Deputy.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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-----to rolling out a continuous series of support measures.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy. The Taoiseach will respond.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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People are not sure what is going on. They lack certainty,-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Bacik. Her time is up. The Taoiseach will respond.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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-----they lack clarity and they are really concerned about how to pay for basics-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, your time is up.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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-----in this cost-of-living crisis.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Hear, hear.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I would not agree with the Deputy that it is too slow. Look at the response to the measures that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, announced in February.

There have been over 1,730 applications for attic insulation, up 81% year on year; over 1,000 applications for cavity wall insulation, up 62%; 350 applications for heat-pump installations, up 95%; 7,000 applications for window and door upgrades - that is a new grant; over 10,000 applications for solar PV, up 65% year on year; and over 1,500 homes at risk of energy poverty upgraded under the warmer homes scheme to the end of March at an average cost per home of €31,000, up 18%; 900 heat pumps installed to the end of March; a new grant for first-time buyers, 225 active applications; and new energy-poor grants for attic and cavity wall, also significant numbers. Essentially, the revamp or overhaul of the scheme has resulted in a very significant increase in the numbers applying, which means it is responding to the needs out there.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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At the outset, I want to acknowledge the passing of Councillor Joe Carroll on Friday. He was exceptionally helpful and supportive towards me when I first entered into politics. That is the kind of person he was, and the kind of person who will be missed, in Skibbereen and beyond. My thoughts are with Sheila, and Linda and Kieran, and Anna.

Eight years ago, Ireland voted to repeal the eighth amendment, to take abortion access out of the Constitution and into the hands of the legislators in this House. It was the culmination of decades of campaigning by committed activists all across the country. Many people across this House, including the Taoiseach, were part of that referendum campaign.

From my experience canvassing in west Cork, I know the stories from women late-on in pregnancy who were forced to travel abroad to have terminations for medical reasons were the stories that stuck in people's minds and hearts the most - women who, in the midst of grief and trauma, chose to speak publicly to share deeply personal experiences. They spoke about receiving devastating diagnoses. They spoke about being told they could not receive care in their country. They spoke about the loneliness of travelling, leaving behind their families, their support networks and their homes at one of the most painful moments in their life, and they spoke about stigma and shame where there should have been compassion and care. They told their stories for a simple reason: so that what happened to them would not happen again. Eight years ago, Ireland listened to those women and voted to repeal the eighth.

Three years ago, the Marie O'Shea report was published - a report which was baked into the initial legislation and commissioned by the Government. This report found that the law is not working as it should. It recommended clear, practical changes, including removing the mandatory three-day waiting period, ending the criminalisation of doctors and providing clarity so that women facing fatal foetal diagnoses can access care here at home, but since then little has changed.

Every year, approximately 240 women are still forced to travel to the UK to access abortion care. Many of those women are travelling because they have received a devastating diagnosis, often after their 20-week scan, such as Denise Whitmore, whose story I raised with the Taoiseach a few weeks ago. We cannot ask women to share their stories over and over again and not take action. We cannot stand over a system that continues to send women abroad at their most vulnerable moment.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Taoiseach will respond.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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Eight years ago, the public voted for a compassionate approach to abortion care.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The time is up, Deputy.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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Three years ago, the report was published.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Taoiseach will respond, Deputy Cairns. Prepare in time.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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Today, I am introducing a Bill to enact the recommendations of the report on this legislation.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Taoiseach will respond.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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First of all, I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Government is committed to ensuring that there is safe and equitable access to termination of pregnancy services. Significant steps have been taken in this regard, including the expansion of hospital services, the introduction of safe access zones and the continuation of the revised model of care for termination in early pregnancy. These measures have substantially reduced barriers and they have increased accessed to services for those who need them. Given that there is a broad spectrum of sincerely held opinion on the issue of legislative change, proposals in this regard require careful consideration.

There was a referendum, as the Deputy said, on the eighth amendment and termination of pregnancy services came into operation on 1 January 2019. As the Deputy says, a review of the Act was completed in 2023.

Significant progress has been made on implementing the operational recommendations arising from the review. Termination services in early pregnancy, up to 12 weeks, are now provided in all 19 maternity hospitals. That was not the position some years ago. There has also been a sustained increase in community providers, which currently stands at 491. Furthermore, the revised model of care introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been approved as the enduring model of care. It is also now possible for one of the two consultations required for termination in early pregnancy to take place remotely. The Deputy will be aware of the safe access zones legislation coming into effect.

Overall, the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 is consistent with commitments given to the Irish people prior to the repeal of the eighth amendment. That said, there is a broad range of sincerely held opinion on the issue of legislative changes to that Act. It is important that all voices are heard, that we have a respectful debate and discussion on this and that we listen to one another with a view to achieving the maximum consensus possible before proceeding with change. The Social Democrats' legislation will give an opportunity for that to happen in the House. I have spoken to the Minister about this and she will engage constructively with the legislation the Social Democrats will bring to the House. Ultimately, the legislation calls for ministerial guidelines to arbitrate - that is the wrong word - to guide clinicians in respect of fatal foetal abnormality, which is an issue for some of those who are travelling out of the country to have terminations. It is not all cases. The three-day wait and other issues in the legislation also need to be discussed. If we learned anything from the referendum, it was that-----

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

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----there was sustained discussion in the House and at committee level which facilitated the subsequent outcome.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Taoiseach, your time is up.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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I appreciate the Taoiseach's engagement on the issue and that of the Minister for Health and that he has spoken to her about this. It sounds like the Government is willing to constructively engage and that is important, given the trauma that many people are still going through.

I appeal to people on all sides of the House to allow the legislation to reach Second Stage, to allow it to at least be debated. An argument is often made in this House and beyond that, because the public voted on particular legislation, it simply cannot be changed. That argument does not stand up to scrutiny. The voting public knows legislation changes and can be improved and it is our job to do that. A review was also baked into the legislation and the public voted on that.

I thank the Taoiseach for his co-operation and ask again whether he will be supporting the passing of the Bill.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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On this side of the House, as the Deputy will be aware, it is a vote of conscience on matters of this nature. Life or death matters are votes of conscience. We will examine the legislation. There will be debate around the area of fatal foetal abnormality. There was significant debate around it on Committee Stage in advance of the referendum and during the referendum campaign. There is a desire in many people to maintain faith with the amendment and the debate around the changes that occurred, which were debated during the referendum campaign. I think everyone facilitates debate in the House, or at least they should, from First Stage into Second Stage. We should allow people to examine the Bill in detail and come to their positions on it.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I want straight answers today on the delay and the disorder surrounding the short-term letting and tourism Bill. The general scheme was approved by the Government last April, yet we are here again with no Bill published, no final planning guidance and no clarity for the people whose livelihoods are directly affected. At the same time, tens of thousands of small family-run accommodation providers across the country, many of whom are in the rural and coastal communities we represent, are still being told they must be ready to comply with new rules by 20 May 2026. They are being asked to plan their futures, their homes and their businesses without seeing a single line of the law they are supposed to comply with. That is not good governance. Will the Taoiseach explain to the House why the Bill has still not been published?

I raised this issue numerous times with the Taoiseach and others but the Government still went ahead and rammed through the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025. I have highlighted over and over again since then that this Bill will destroy smaller rural family businesses across the whole western seaboard. The Government is trying to make criminals of ordinary decent taxpayers. The tourism committee carried out pre-legislative scrutiny in January. I attended and spoke at the meeting and pleaded with the Government to use common sense. The report is still not published. I have asked for a full debate on the issue every week since then at the Business Committee and on the floor of the Dáil but to no avail. Last Tuesday I put down a Topical Issue on the matter but neither the senior Minister nor any of his two sidekicks could come into the House to debate the issue. Instead, I got a well-worn, stock answer delivered by a random junior Minister who appeared to lack a good grasp of the issue.

Today's newspapers are reporting that the whole scheme is being kicked back to the summer or beyond and yet I cannot get a straight answer here in the House. There are rumblings of backbench division on this issue. If recent history has taught the Taoiseach anything, my advice would be that he sits up and listens on this one, if not to me then to those sitting behind him. The Government must not force families out of business for a foolish notion that it will free up thousands of properties for the rental market. Is it the idea to fleece them for the thousands in compliance fees while flushing a good going element of the rural economy down the toilet?

Will the Taoiseach confirm for the House that the registration deadline of 20 May is dead in the water? Will he also confirm when the legislation will be published and commit to not ramming it through the House without proper debate and consideration of Opposition amendments? Finally, will he consider making the accommodation I have repeatedly asked for, that the established operators are treated with respect and granted a planning exemption in order to comply with Fáilte Ireland registration?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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First of all, no one is wiping anybody out in rural Ireland. It suits the Deputy to create a storm and to spread rumours saying the Government is going to do this and that. Let us get the background to this. Everyone in this House was agreed that housing was the number one priority, or at least I thought it was the number one priority, facing this Dáil at its commencement. The objective in terms of the short-term lets legislation is actually to get more houses back into the rental market. The policy decision we have taken, of which the Deputy is well aware, is that it relates to towns over 20,000, so that excludes straight away all of the western seaboard and the north western seaboard, all the way along. We are looking at towns and cities above 20,000 people.

Planning law is planning law and the seven-year rule is there. Basically if someone is operating an Airbnb for seven years he or she does not need planning permission. That is my understanding, my lay-person's articulation of it. Essentially, there would be great difficulty in enforcing anything at that stage. I am sure the Deputy would accept that. He is wily enough in terms of planning issues as they affect people so I am sure he will agree that is the position.

There is an EU directive governing this as well and that is governing all of Europe. In the cities we want less of the short-term lets and we want more housing because we need more housing for younger people. People are arguing about the rents being high and we need more supply. There is an issue there and the Deputy should acknowledge that. It is not a foolish idea. There is a logic behind it and there is a rationale behind it. The fundamental objective is to continue to support tourism in those areas where tourism is a key industry and that is all along the western seaboard, the south west, the west, the north west, along the east coast, the south east coast and so on. They are all well below the 20,000 threshold and the idea is to balance the need for long-term housing supply and greater housing availability while also protecting rural and regional tourism and jobs. The national register is to be compiled by Fáilte Éireann for short-term let providers. It is to be established by Fáilte Ireland. The issue is still being examined by Government in terms of the planning statement and so on and how to enable people to adjust to the situation and the policy position we have identified and announced.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. He said that I create a storm but this has been talked about for two years and the Government cannot-----

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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Sorry. They are ringing me from west Cork.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Here is the storm.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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He has been sitting here for a half and hour and his phone did not ring.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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The Taoiseach is talking about creating a storm. This is a serious storm for the people who are facing a crisis at this moment. They are talking about signing up to something on 20 May. It is like signing a blank cheque. Are people going to have to sign up to something on 20 May, like signing a blank cheque? That is what we are asking. All we are asking for are clear guidelines as to what is going ahead. Are people going to have to sign up to something that they do not know what they are signing up to? There is no point in the Taoiseach saying here what way it might be and that this is the way he sees it. I am not in the business but other people see it totally and utterly differently. What they want is clarity. That clarity should have been there months and months prior to this. We should be debating this in the Dáil, agreeing or disagreeing to it and going forward on that basis.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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When the Government has a final position, there will be plenty of opportunity for debate in the Dáil. We are not rushing anything in and we are not going to ram anything through. The Deputy needs to be clear as well. Long before any of this happened, change of use always required planning. The Deputy knows that. He is pretending the Government has suddenly invented that. We have not. He has been around meetings and is on Facebook every second night at a meeting here and a meeting there-----

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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That is what I am entitled to do. That is what social media is all about Micheál-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, you have had your contribution.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Every second night - it is more like twice a night.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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He is saying the Government is going to bring in this draconian law about change of use. Change of use has always been there.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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Sure, you cannot bring it in. The Taoiseach does not-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, you have had your contribution. There is nothing different about you to every other Member. Allow the Taoiseach to make his contribution because you are running down the clock, not him.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Hear, hear.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are very conscious, and have been, of the need to protect regional tourism, rural Ireland and the jobs that go there. That is why we took the population threshold of 20,000. We will be back to the Deputy.