Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The first thing I would like to do is to support Senator van Turnhout with respect to Childline. Last week I said here that because of the teachers' strike there was €4.81 million sitting in the Department of Education which would not now be paid to teachers. I asked that it be diverted to the homeless. That has not happened. We talk about cherishing our children. Our record is abysmal when we talk about looking after our children. We have cut guidance counselling services in schools. Children in a state of crisis in schools now have nobody to turn to. Principals' offices are dominated by children self-harming and children with all sorts of psychological problems. I ask that we look seriously at that zero-sum option of moving €4.81 million over to Childline. If we cannot give it to anyone else, let us do that.

I rise today in support of Senator Hayden's criticism of the private rental accommodation system in this country. Rent in Dublin is increasing at a rate of 10% per year. Rent throughout the remainder of the country is increasing at a rate of 5.6%. In Ireland, the animal instincts of capitalism are alive and well and they are sucking the life and soul out of this country. There are screams every day of the week for the cap in the rent supplement to be increased. Why would we increase that to make fat cats fatter?