Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am trying to indicate to the Leader that I am always flexible and willing to help in delivery but I seek a debate on the matter as soon as possible. If the Leader is not forthcoming, I expect he probably will be, we may have to propose an amendment to the Order of Business. It is proposed for now and I will await the Leader's response.

Brexit is getting closer and closer. It is now two years and three months since the referendum vote; we are six months away from the final deal. Theresa May still says she does not want to delay it. There is no more talk of transition. The issue becomes more critical by the hour. Yesterday, there was what has been termed an informal summit and there will be a lunch of the 27 without the UK today. With every day that passes, it seems there is another complication. A new commentary has come out from the airport authorities discussing the catastrophe that will befall the aviation sector among the 27 and the UK if a deal on aviation-related security and the treatment of passengers between the 27 and the UK is not arrived at. This is of particular interest to us as we often use the UK as a transit pointen routeto other cities. I did so myself this week. It is important that we have a deal on Brexit. The language from the Taoiseach and Tánaiste is far more pessimistic than it was, although to be fair, it is probably more pragmatic and realistic. I ask the Leader to bring in the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade as soon as possible to update the House on where we are going. We see it in the newspapers but it is important that we have a debate here where we can discuss it and tease out the issues. The Border seems to continue to be a very challenging issue in terms of whether it is a land border, sea border or there being no border or whether Northern Ireland is in or out of some sort of special regulatory arrangement. We need regulatory alignment in respect of our food sector, among other areas.

I will follow Senator Ardagh's example yesterday by raising the matter of BusConnects, which was debated in a Private Members' motion in the Lower House yesterday. It is a matter of great concern. Much of the plan is very good, such as the 90-minute transfer to connect between Luas, DART and Dublin Bus, which is excellent. There is also the investment in infrastructure and in more buses. I appreciate it is only a draft proposal and that we, as Members of the Oireachtas, will meet representatives of the National Transport Authority later today. Many bus routes serve a valid purpose. They are direct routes, sometimes from certain areas to colleges or hospitals, which will involve people connecting. For people, especially those who are elderly or not particularly agile, getting off one bus and having to connect to another, being obliged to queue or perhaps missing that connection and being obliged to wait, are matters of concern. The devil is in the detail. Transport-related matters will be discussed later. BusConnects is a matter that concerns many parties. Fine Gael as a party is concerned about it, Fianna Fáil has held many public meetings in Dublin on the matter and it is something we need to examine. We should have time to talk about that specifically, separate from the debate today. Each time the Minister, Deputy Ross, comes before this House, he tends to speak for a long time initially - he might not do so today - there are a certain number of contributions from Members and then the Minister has a very short time to respond, which is usually not sufficient.I ask the Leader to schedule the debate.

I want to support another transport matter. Cyclists.iehas called for 10% of the land transfer budget to be spent on cycling. In fact, a discussion is taking place at the moment in Buswells Hotel that will be followed by a presentation.

Finally, I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to the House to discuss affordable housing because the qualifying criteria differ depending on the local authority. We do not have an affordable housing scheme currently. Anybody who earns in excess of €42,000 will not qualify for affordable housing and, certainly in Dublin, that level of income is not sufficient to buy a home. We need to analyse the difference in house prices around the country. Perhaps we should allow for a greater threshold that would allow people to qualify for affordable housing in more expensive areas, particularly in the Dublin region.

I thank the Leader for his attention and I ask him to comment on the amendment.