Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I rise to commend the Trojan work and bravery of the Dublin Fire Brigade who spent all last night and this morning extinguishing a fire at the Metro Hotel in Ballymun. Thanks to their swift action, nobody has been harmed and there are no reports of casualties thus far. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party and Fianna Fáil group, we are in awe and we are thankful to Dublin Fire Brigade for their professionalism, given that it was a 15 storey, 88 bed hotel and block of apartments. In light of this event it is important that a proper investigation is undertaken into the cause of this fire. It is also incumbent on the council to ensure that proper fire safety standards are met when it comes to commercial and public buildings. But for the luck and the swift work of our firefighters, this could have had a different ending.

I refer to a hard Brexit and the impact that will have on the annual spend of the average Irish household. According to the ESRI's most recent report, consumer prices for food, etc., could rise as much as 2% or 3%. This is particularly worrying when the research shows that the cost would rise the most for lower income households, as they spend a greater share of expenditure on food products which are, of course, imported from the UK. This shows that a hard Brexit will affect lower income families disproportionately. In a time when one in ten Irish people suffer from some degree of food poverty and when over €700 million worth of food is discarded each year, we can see that something is adrift. I call on the Minister to attend the House to discuss the challenge of Brexit and to discuss food security.

I refer to rent prices in the city and housing. It is an item that I raise nearly once a week. The latest Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, survey shows that the average rent nationwide is over €1,000 a month and the average rent in Dublin is at €1,500. These rates at any reading are simply far too high for the average working family and it is clear that the mechanism of the rent pressure zones does not seem to be working adequately. I call again on the Minister to come to the House to re-examine the feasibility of rent pressure zones and update the House regarding the elephant in the room, namely, the lack of social and affordable housing in this State.