Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Cathaoirleach was very balanced. I welcome former Deputy, and current councillor, Gerard Murphy, and Councillors Mary Hegarty, Joe Carroll and Patrick Murphy to the Chamber. I will address the issues of councillors' pay and conditions as part of my reply.

Senators Ardagh, Conway and Humphreys raised the issue of housing and the daft.ie report. For any politician to come in here and say that he or she has no confidence in Rebuilding Ireland beggars belief. It is a cross-departmental multiannual approach providing Government funding of €6 billion. It is extraordinary that people would come in here and criticise Government investment in housing. Fianna Fáil was the party which collapsed the construction sector.I know Senator Gallagher does not want to hear a history lesson again, but that is the reality. Let me reassure Senator Humphreys that the party I belong to and represent wants to see all working families housed and in their own homes, or in houses provided by local authorities under the social housing building scheme. The daft.ie report from today is, as Government has said, a reminder that we have challenges to face in the housing sector. We must have an honest debate around housing as well. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy English, and the Taoiseach are committed to the Rebuilding Ireland programme. In the city and county of Cork, where I live, we can see the hoardings of Rebuilding Ireland and the bricks and mortar being used at key sites. We have to increase supply, and we have to get the balance between landlords and social housing correct.

I accept there are challenges to be met, but the Government has prioritised Rebuilding Ireland and the funding and construction of social housing and has provided incentives to keep landlords as part of the construction and housing model. There are some people in this House who do not want any landlords involved in social housing and some who do not want any private developer building, but would prefer all housing to be under State control. We need an amalgam of all of these options, and that is why the Government has committed to Rebuilding Ireland. It has prioritised a range of measures under that programme, including the rent pressure zones. The daft.iereport does not cover the whole year. Rents in some places have not exponentially increased. In some parts of the country, where we have colleges and universities, we have seen an increase in the building of student accommodation. When Fianna Fáil was in Government, it did not make it obligatory for colleges to provide student accommodation; it was left to the individual or the private landlord sector to do that. Let us have a real, honest debate about housing. Senators should not come in here every day and politicise the issue. I accept that meeting the housing need is challenging, but let us work on it in a collective manner, rather than criticising the Government for doing nothing at all. The Government is doing something about this problem. That is a fact. The guidelines the Residential Tenancies Board has put forward and the changes that have been made show that there are pressures, but the pressures will be met by increasing supply.

I agree with Senator Ardagh and Senator Colm Burke regarding the versatis drug. I heard the remarks of the chief executive of the HSE at the Joint Committee on Health where he said at one level that there was no change, but then we saw the change happening. It affects a very small number of people. The important point is that there are other equivalent medications available that can be taken, but Senator Ardagh and Senator Colm Burke rightly say that it is important to ensure that the cohort of people who require this important drug are able to get it. It is important, and it is incumbent on the HSE and the Minister to come together to ensure this drug is available. I also believe that if the company which manufactures the drug was to consider reducing the cost, it might become more readily available. That is an argument we must have in terms of how the prices in our drugs basket are continually monitored. The Minister should come to the House for that debate.

Senator Boyhan raised the issue of the electoral commission. It is part of the programme for Government. He also raised the issue of Rebuilding Ireland. It is important to recognise that as part of the programme for Government there is a commitment to include a new commission to examine the whole operation of our electoral system. Many of us who have spoken on this issue in the past would welcome the appointment of an independent electoral commission to oversee the operations of our elections. It is not just about political parties being registered, or about funding, but the role of politics and how it operates in our country. We should all welcome that. I would be happy to invite the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Phelan, to the House to discuss the matter raised by Senator Boyhan.I will let him speak tomorrow on the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016.

Senator Ó Donnghaile has raised the matter of Ms Emma de Souza. As the Senator rightly said, she is an Irish citizen, and under the Good Friday Agreement she has certain rights. As a matter of urgency, perhaps a Commencement matter might be a more expeditious way of getting an answer, but I think the matter raised by the Senator is one that will raise its head further-----