Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I welcome all of our visitors to the Gallery. I call Deputy McDonald.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Government keeps telling people that affordable home ownership is just around the corner, but that is not true. The latest report, published this morning, confirms this. That report from myhome.ie and Bank of Ireland makes for very grim reading for everybody, but especially for young people trying to get their first home. The report shows that house prices are continuing to rise and selling prices are well above even those, at 7.5% above asking. This is pricing more people, especially young people, out of buying their own home. The median asking price for a home State-wide is now €400,000, and here in Dublin, it is close to €500,000. These are startling headline figures, but they do not tell the full story of the runaway house prices. Some counties have experienced double-digit increases in the last year. Kilkenny, Roscommon and Mayo have seen €25,000 added to house prices.

At the heart of this crisis is broken Government policy - policy built on empty promises rather than delivery. For example, the Government promised to deliver 2,100 affordable homes to buy last year, but how many did it actually deliver? The answer is 935. By the way, most of these homes were not affordable to the vast majority of working people. Homes that the Government describes as affordable often have price tags of €400,000 or more. That is not affordable, not for a nurse, a retail worker, a van driver or a childcare worker, and not for the vast majority of young people trying to raise a family.

This cannot go on. We need to do so much better. We need so much more ambition. We need to make homes affordable. We need to make it easier for people to get their first home. We need to deliver the largest council housing building programme in the history of the State. We need to tackle the rip-off rents that make it so hard, impossible even, for young people to save for a deposit. I believe that we can restore hope, that we can get back to a place where ordinary people who work hard and save hard can have and buy a home of their own. That is the promise we have to make real for our young people - that they will have their opportunity to build the life they deserve here at home in Ireland. That means we need vision, energy and a break from serving the interests of corporate landlords, speculators and property funds, to focus on workers, families and our young people.

Léiríonn an tuairisc is déanaí ó myhome.ie go bhfuil praghsanna na dtithe ag méadú de shíor. Tá teipthe glan ar pholasaithe tithíochta an Rialtais. Tá géarghá le hathrú mór treo chun na tithe atá de dhíth ag ár bpobal a chur ar fáil ar phraghsanna réasúnta.

Does the Minister accept that house prices are continuing to rise? Does he accept that prices of €400,000 are not affordable for ordinary people? Does he accept that the Government delivering only 935 affordable homes last year is absolutely pitiful? Does he now recognise that we need a major change of direction to end this crisis and deliver those homes that our people need?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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This Government wants to give hope to young people and people who want to get an affordable home. It is the single biggest focus of the Government in everything we do. It is about building hope around delivering more home ownership, delivering an increased supply of social homes and ensuring that we bring affordability to all of our interventions. That is why all of the reforms that we have introduced are about trying to increase supply, something that Deputy McDonald does not acknowledge in all of her contributions.

She attacks, criticises and objects but does not support policy which works in enabling greater supply.

In 2025, we had record delivery and strong growth. Some 17,500 starter homes supports were delivered in 2025, the highest annual total recorded and a 21% increase compared to 2024. That demonstrates the sustained Government investment in accelerating progress in housing delivery. We have seen that increased supply will help moderate overall price growth and help to ease affordability challenges over the next number of years, as we ramp up supply across the board. That is why that level of investment in capital infrastructure and housing has been prioritised by Government in our national development plan.

The CSO data showed that prices fell month on month for the first time in almost three years, at minus 0.2% in February, following a period of moderation, and 1% for consecutive months. Prices have remained stable between March and April, respectively. The policy of Government is working. The reforms introduced by the Minister, Deputy Browne, are working.

Why does Deputy McDonald continue to oppose Government policy that supports affordability? There are tens of thousands of people who have benefited from the help to buy scheme that has bridged the gap for young people who are working hard and want a Government that supports them to bridge the gap in terms of affordability supports. Sinn Féin opposed that. Many Sinn Féin councillors across different local authorities, and even Deputy McDonald in her own constituency, Dublin Central, continuously oppose homes and supply opportunities-----

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Glass houses.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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-----again promoting local objectives and NIMBYism over the greater good. That is Sinn Féin's policy, namely, opposition on the ground and attacking Government at a national level. It is just not good enough. It is not serious politics.

We need supply-side interventions which drive tens of thousands more homes and completions across the board and matching the record level of support in terms of social housing delivery with affordability support which bridge the gap for young people. That is what is working. That is what will ensure we have increased supply in 2026, with the reforms we are introducing around increased zoning and the measures being taken by the Minister, Deputy Browne, on the housing infrastructure investment fund. It will provide enabling infrastructure locally to deliver more homes in the villages and towns across the country that have had constraints around water systems, being able to connect energy and other local infrastructure constraints, which have harmed housing supply.

This Government will continue to invest in infrastructure and provide affordability supports for young people, which Sinn Féin continues to oppose. It needs to front up young people about why it continues to oppose affordability supports for them. We want to match that with continued increase in supply in terms of social homes across the country. That is why we have put significant capital investment aside to support our approved housing bodies in terms of cost rental and drive an increased supply of social homes through local authorities while we improve the overall supply situation. We are seeing the moderation happen in CSO data. Increased supply will help overall with the affordability supports Sinn Féin continues to shamefully oppose.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I am sure I am not the only person struck by the profound irony of the Minister telling me that supply is the thing when, in fact, his Government only managed to deliver 935 affordable homes last year.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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If supply is the thing, and it is the thing, the Government is failing abjectly on that measure.

On the measure of affordability, €400,000 is simply not affordable for ordinary working people, especially younger ones. House prices of half a million here in Dublin are absolutely out of the question. Does the Minister accept that today, as per this report, house prices and asking prices are continuing to rise? People are priced out of getting their first home. Does the Minister accept that we need to change tack to ensure that people can get a home and people who work and save hard can afford to own their own home? Does the Minister accept that there needs to be a change of direction or will he continue with the rinse-and-repeat policy of failure?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Sinn Féin policy is a complete and utter failure. It is a dishonest policy position when it comes to improving housing supply. It is populist waffle. In Dublin Central, Sinn Féin opposes housing project after housing project, day in, day out, which young people could be living in.

That is the issue.

Máire Devine (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Give us the evidence.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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We must have an honest conversation about how we improve supply across the housing system. For the Deputy to oppose housing every day and every week in her own constituency and then to lecture the Government on not doing enough shows a complete contradiction in Sinn Féin policy.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister cannot stand up and tell the truth.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy Gould, you are out of order. Stop interrupting.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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We see populism and NIMBYism on the ground and then waffle and rhetoric in here. You need to get real, Deputy McDonald, in terms of honesty around housing policy. We need to provide supply-side alternatives.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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You have now answered my question.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Do not interrupt the Minister, Deputy.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Supply, by way of the affordability interventions the Government is making, will improve affordability, which is something you continually oppose.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister has now answered my question.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy McDonald, please stop interrupting.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy's party has a complete contradiction in housing policy and it gives no hope for young people.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Your time is up, Minister. I call Deputy Cairns.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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We will have fewer homes being built if we follow its model.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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It is another week of chaos in the criminal courts as hundreds of solicitors have withdrawn their services for legal aid. Thanks to the actions of the Minister for justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, thousands of cases have already been adjourned, not just in the District Court but in the Circuit Court and the Central Criminal Court, where the most serious crimes are prosecuted. Yesterday, at the Central Criminal Court, 12 rape cases were listed. Of that number, just two trials were able to start and that is only because the defendants in those two cases were minors and solicitors have not withdrawn their services in cases involving children. All the other cases were adjourned. This is an absolute disaster.

It was also reported today that a man has been charged with murder without having access to legal advice during Garda questioning. I do not want to comment on this or any other case before the courts but we should all be aware that being unable to access legal advice in Garda stations could pose very serious problems in subsequent criminal trials.

The question for the Government is how long it will allow this chaos to continue. This is a crisis of the justice Minister's own making. I have serious concerns about the way he has gone about this. At every stage, he has failed to meaningfully engage with solicitors, preferring instead to just portray them as abusing the system and being unethical. Clearly, the Minister and the Government seem to believe criminal legal aid solicitors are gaming the system and trying to line their pockets by prolonging criminal cases. The problem for the Minister is he does not have a shred of evidence to back this up. For a start, his own internal review is clear that it does not know the reason adjournments are requested. Also, it is just a matter of fact that, ordinarily, adjournments are requested by the State because there is some delay on the prosecution side. Finally, it is judges who grant adjournments. Does the Minister seriously think judges are conspiring with solicitors to delay cases in order that solicitors can make more money? That seems to be the implication.

This chaos simply cannot continue. These changes to the legal aid system must be reversed. Then there needs to be a real consultation about reforms that would genuinely improve the system. Does the Minister, Deputy Chambers, share our concerns about the chaos we are witnessing in the courts and will the Government admit that the justice Minister's attempt to ram through these changes has been a disaster?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for justice has introduced an 8% increase in criminal legal aid fees payable to solicitors in the Circuit Court and higher courts from 1 July 2026. This represents total restoration of the criminal legal aid fees under the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI. As the Deputy described, the Minister has also introduced a fee of €520 for District Court criminal cases under the criminal legal aid scheme. This figure represents the current fee paid for five appearances in the District Court, plus an 8% increase. The weighted average of appearances by a solicitor in criminal cases that are legally aided is five. Many cases require fewer appearances to be concluded.

The objective of these reforms by the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is to make the system more effective and efficient. He has set out very clearly why he was trying to do this. They will also ensure that those accused of crimes are provided with the legal representation to which they are constitutionally entitled.

In considering the need for reform, it is important to note that while the volume of criminal cases in the District Court has actually decreased, expenditure on criminal legal aid in the District Court has increased, from €19 million in 2015 to over €41 million in 2025. Every Minister across Government must examine reform and no area of expenditure should be immune from reform or from changing the system to make it work better for people.

In the context of reform, it is important that the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has assessed this area. The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration reviewed more than 350,000 District Court cases which took place during 2022 and 2023 and, again, developed reform proposals in that regard. The system being reformed is designed to improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary adjournments, simplify the administration of criminal legal aid, speed up case resolution and enable faster payments to practitioners. Under the new system for cases in the District Court, regardless of the number of appearances, a set fee will be payable to solicitors, replacing the previous appearance-based sliding scale.

The review that was undertaken showed that cases with criminal legal aid take an average of 313 calendar days to complete, compared with 133 days for cases without. The weighted average number of appearances for cases with criminal legal aid is five, while the weighted average without criminal legal aid is just over three. While cases with criminal legal aid take significantly longer than those without, the outcomes are similar. The reforms the Minister is progressing are to address the structural issues identified during this review. These include unnecessary adjournments resulting from the payment-per-appearance model, and to deliver a reformed criminal legal aid system that works for everybody, is efficient and effective and provides value for money for the taxpayer. It is in that context which he has advanced the reforms and also in which he increased the fee, set a few weeks ago to €520, which provides for the FEMPI restoration.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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I think everybody agrees that reform is needed. The point is that the Minister for justice's approach has been an absolute disaster. His review looked into 350,000 cases. He is repeatedly citing three cases. Three in 350,000 does not really stand up to scrutiny. In addition to that, his main argument for pointing the finger at solicitors is the number of adjournments, but there is no mechanism for recording the reason for adjournments. We all know that the majority of them come from the State's side. Why is he not introducing a mechanism to record the reason for adjournments and taking it from there? It simply does not make sense.

The final point I would make is that it has resulted in cases not being heard in their thousands. There are people who cannot access free legal aid, crucially. There are cases not being heard and there are victims who ultimately will not get justice. Where is this going to end? Is there anything other than a climb-down for the Minister at this point? What is the Government going to do now that it is in this situation? Will it accept that its approach has not worked and tell us what the next step will be?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy set out the need for reform but did not say anything about how she would reform it.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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I did; I said we would check why the adjournments are happening.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of justice advanced a review. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has been informed by it and has taken the respective reforms and progressed them. There is a distinction between how the criminal legal aid system has been working with comparative cases and those who are not on criminal legal aid of five days to three. He is providing for a weighted payment of five and providing the FEMPI restoration accordingly. We all want to see a system that works and is victim focused - that is absolutely the case - but we also need a system that has sustainability of expenditure. When we see the growth of expenditure on the criminal legal aid scheme over the last number of years despite reduced case volume in the District Court, that has to raise legitimate questions from a Government that wants to drive reform. That is why the Minister has evaluated this and taken an informed view on progressing it. He has also said that he will keep the operation of the new scheme under review.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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Destroying the courts.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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Last week, Ireland took on the Presidency of the Council of the European Union but we acquired another title, too. Ours is now the most expensive country in the EU for housing, healthcare and electricity. Housing costs are double those of the EU average and rising fast, as today's MyHome.ie report confirms.

The cost of healthcare is a staggering 85% higher than EU averages.

In that context, it is astonishing to see this Government’s inaction on pay talks for hardworking public servants. The last public sector pay agreement expired at the end of June. SIPTU tells us that exploratory talks on a replacement have provided zero basis for meaningful negotiations and so the unions representing public sector workers are consulting their members. Their next step will be to ballot for strike action. This is a move that nobody wants to take but public servants need to be able to make ends meet. This is DEFCON 1.

The Minister needs to respond and to do so substantively. The Minister has already described the unions' course of action as a "surprise". Most people will be surprised by the Minister's surprise because thanks to the political choices made by the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the past decade, Ireland was already expensive before now and lacking in quality public services. However, now inflation is skyrocketing. The cost of living is crushing households and the Minister and his officials have known this was coming and knew the current agreement was expiring. As SIPTU general secretary John King has said: "Public sector workers have carried this country through crisis after crisis. They deserve fair pay, respect and meaningful engagement ..."

Did the Minister forget about public sector workers or is this in keeping with this Government's attitude to PAYE workers, in general? We know the Minister is dealing with finite public resources but by creating uncertainty around agreeing a new public sector pay deal, he is risking public finances. He is projecting prudence but finding the money to spend where it suits in a profligate fashion.

As the existing public sector agreement expired, the Minister's wrong-headed VAT cut for hospitality came into effect. At an annual cost of €681 million, the Government directly took money from the pockets of PAYE workers and put it in the hands of Supermac's and Burger King. Earlier in the year, the Minister announced measures to support sectors vulnerable to fuel hikes but nothing for the 500,000 households now in arrears on their electricity bills.

The Minister must now reckon with the political choices he has made and he has new political choices ahead. If he makes the wrong choices, the people with least to give will pay the highest price again and will pay the price for the Minister's unsustainable management of the public finances. Will the Minister stop scapegoating the unions and, as Minister for public expenditure and reform, will he engage in good faith and use the public sector pay talks to back and support PAYE workers and to spend in a sustainable manner, to invest in quality public services, to invest in the delivery of social and affordable homes, and to build an active State that communities need?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Bacik. I reject the Deputy's characterisation, which I think is unfair. If she thinks of the scale of public service growth in this country in the past five-to-six years, which this Government took positive action on, we have an additional 70,000 public servants working across health, education, disability services and many other areas of public service, which matter to all of us across our constituencies and we want to continue to build a public service that works and provides better inputs for the people we represent right across the country.

That is why the last two pay agreements have delivered fair, equitable and sustainable pay agreements for both the Exchequer and for public servants. That is why we rightly put an emphasis on lower paid workers. From 2019 pay has increased for the lowest paid in the public service by 30.7%. I can go through many different areas of the public service where we rightly protected and enhanced the pay of public servants.

The Government has been clear that we want to have a new pay agreement. We want to accommodate that in the context of budget 2027. It is important we have industrial peace and are able to plan for a new pay agreement with public service representatives. We have been concluding local bargaining, with which the Deputy is familiar, with many of the trade unions across different sectors over the past number of weeks and we want to have engagement without preconditions. That is what has happened over the last number of agreements. We have had engagement and exploratory discussions. That has built consensus around what is possible and that has formed the basis for an agreement.

I say to every public servant listening today: we want to ensure they are paid fairly, equitably and are given a fair deal in the context of a new pay agreement. That has absolutely been the case over the past number of years and nothing has changed in that regard. We want to see the public service unions engage. I think potentially balloting for strike action is unnecessary when we are a Government willing to engage with them. On the general question on the cost of living, we have been clear there will be an income tax package to reward work and support workers across the economy.

We want to ensure budget 2027 delivers on housing and infrastructure and that we protect the capital investment we have progressed in the last number of years, but also that we make a real impact in improved public service delivery and reduce the cost of living, with a priority around childcare, disability services and other areas as part of budget 2027. We must ensure that everything we decide to do is sustainable, affordable and within the fiscal parameters we have set out in the medium-term fiscal and structural plan. That creates trade-offs where we have to be realistic about what is possible in any budgetary cycle.

We want to see an agreement and engagement and I expect that will happen over the next number of weeks so that we can accommodate a new pay agreement in advance of budget 2027.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I am glad to hear the Minister say that he wants a new national pay agreement but it certainly does not sound as if his rhetoric is matching the reality. It sounds as if he has something against nurses, teachers and gardaí because we are not seeing-----

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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That is terrible.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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-----the sort of meaningful engagement that people need. The reality is that far too many of the lowest paid public servants in this country are now being priced out of living in this country. They simply cannot afford to make ends meet. They cannot afford to buy their own homes. I am sure the Minister, like me, is meeting people in his own constituency who are telling him they cannot afford to buy or rent a home. Indeed, many people, particularly in a younger generation, cannot even see a way in their immediate future to aspire to own or even rent their own home. Far too many public servants are still living at home with their parents, well into their 20s and 30s. That is not sustainable and they are seeing that wrong-headed VAT cut the Minister announced. That is the choice the Minister made. We are asking him to make a different choice. Will he guarantee that vacant posts in the public sector will be filled, that public sector jobs will be saved from outsourcing and that pay increases will at least-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy's time is up. The Minister to respond.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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-----rise in line with inflation in the new deal?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am not going to negotiate a pay agreement with the Deputy in here. That is not going to work for anybody. What I would say is that our record stands clear. Since 2019, a teacher and a nurse starting their careers in the public service will have seen an increase of 26.9% and 31%, respectively. A clerical officer in the Civil Service will have seen an increase of 32.8%. That reflects a Government that cares about public servants and public services, and it stands through to today and to a new agreement, which we want to reach with public servants across our country. I am absolutely clear about that when I look at how we are prioritising public pay and recruitment in the overall budgetary context, and rightly so. I want to see services work better for people and that happens through improved recruitment in health, education and disability services and ensuring we deliver for people across our country.

It is similar in regard to affordability in housing. That is why we are continuing to protect capital investment in housing and infrastructure so we build more homes and ensure we reduce congestion through our improved transport systems. That will be a key part of budget 2027 as well, how we better deliver infrastructure across our economy and do it a lot quicker.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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The public service pay agreement expired on 30 June with no successor in place. SIPTU has now announced that it may ballot over 80,000 members for strike action across the health, local authority and education sectors. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, public service committee has said that it has no basis for any formal talks to begin. Unions have pointed out, and rightly so, the inflation at 3.6% in May, which has already wiped out the 1% increase from February and the 1% increase since June.

As the Minister is aware, grocery bills are up by on average about 40%. Our energy bills are hitting the point where they are up by about 60%. We have approaching 500,000 people in arrears when it comes to ESB and gas bills. We have rent at record heights, unthinkable almost a decade ago, with 80% increases in some areas across the State. This directly affects the nurse, the garda, the hospital porter, the educator and those on low salaries in local authorities. They are the people who get up early in the morning, the people the Minister's Government claims to represent with great gusto.

The Minister and his Government say they want an agreement but not at any cost, as I understand from reading reports today. They have said that there can be no preconditions. However, it is seven days after the deal expired and there is still no date for substantive talks. We are looking at a country in the middle of an EU Presidency with a real possibility of industrial action across the health, education and local government sectors throughout the summer.

Will the Minister tell the House what the Government’s action and timeline is for opening formal negotiations with the unions and looking after public sector pay? Does his Department intend to bring a concrete pay offer to the table? When will those table negotiations start? Will he continue his approach, which we have already worked out has no basis for talks whatsoever?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I will repeat what I have said. We have been clear and consistent in our position. We are willing and ready to engage with staff representatives with a view to reaching a new public service agreement. We want to engage now. We want to see a fair, equitable and sustainable agreement to ensure we reward workers across the public service, many of whom have been recruited over the last five years. The Government considers that reaching an agreement as soon as possible is the best way to provide stability and certainty for public servants and ensure we can accommodate a new pay agreement within budget 2027.

In the first instance, like other pay agreements, we have sought to have exploratory discussions without preconditions. They are intended to provide a forum for both sides to raise concerns and explore respective solutions around the next phase of an agreement, rather than predetermining outcomes before meaningful engagement has taken place. The Deputy asked me what pay offer are we tabling. That is never how pay discussions are concluded or advanced. There has to be wider engagement around what is possible and what the respective asks are on all sides to try to put a structure around a process of engagement, which can take a period of time.

I am clear that we want to accommodate a new pay agreement within the budget. We have done that over the last series of budgets and correctly so, given the increased recruitment across the public service. The public pay bill of €31.2 billion in 2026 is a reflection of that. It reflects a Government that is advancing and expanding public services across the State and ensuring that we are remunerating our public services in accordance with the pay agreements. That is reflected in €12 billion of expenditure around public pay in the health sector, as well as nearly €8.5 billion in education and more than €2.5 billion for the justice Vote group. Those figures reflect the strength of Exchequer support for public services and the public servants who work to deliver across the front line.

We are seeking to have those exploratory discussions. Local bargaining has been concluding over the last number of weeks. Again, we want to use the period over the next number of weeks to provide that stability going into 2027 and conclude a new pay agreement.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. I have had relative success in business throughout my years. I can confidently say that if I ran my business the way the Government is approaching these negotiations, I would probably be out of business today. That is the reality. As I said, we are now seven days after the expired deal. We should have been at negotiation tables about six months ago to ensure a smooth transition, particularly when this country - with great gusto as the Government has said - is supporting the Presidency of the EU, and to ensure there would not be strikes or anything.

We are now putting the horse before the cart yet again. The Minister is playing catch-up continuously. This is affecting nurses, doctors and staff in hospitals. It is affecting gardaí, front-line workers and those lower paid people on whom we depend in local authorities. As one of the Members already said, these are the people who are not coming back. They are leaving in their droves because there is no future or stability. Without a plan in place for them, where they know what the plan is and the funds available to them, they cannot plan for the future. They are not going to come back.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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We are seeing strong levels of recruitment right across the public service this year, which is a very different story from what the Deputy has described.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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We had the conclusion of the pay agreement with a 1% increase over the last number of weeks. Usually, when there is a conclusion, we engage in exploratory discussions. Typically, in the past, that happened in the December-January period. Obviously, the pay agreement that concluded finished at the end of June. We want to engage in good faith and in a constructive way to ensure we have an agreement we can afford in budget 2027 that supports workers right across the public service.

The Government has a strong track record in the expansion and improvement of public services, be it in health, education or disability services. That will continue as part of budget 2027. It is just a matter of getting this engagement going over the next number of weeks and ensuring we get an agreement that is fair and supports many of the workers the Deputy referenced, such as nurses, teachers and gardaí. We need to ensure they have a fair deal in the context of a new pay agreement.

That is something this Government is committed to delivering.