Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the sentiments expressed by my colleagues on Ukraine and that we would stand in solidarity with it. It is unbelievable to think that after what has happened over the past 100 years, this is happening now at this stage, and in a world that is much smaller, from a communications point of view, and much better educated. It is unbelievable to think that people are leaving and fleeing their homes in Kyiv, Ukraine, at this stage. Imagine if we had to up and leave our houses here in this country at this stage. Can one imagine the impact that has on those people? This war, while we have had many wars in the past 40 or 50 years, is on a different scale and at a different level.

I would like to raise an issue that Senator McDowell and I raised last week on house construction and retrofitting houses and which one will take precedence, because there will be a lack of employees and employers to carry out those works. We called for a debate last week on this whole area and I am calling again for some sort of a rolling debate to be arranged on that issue. It covers the whole area of much-needed construction of houses at this time. It also covers the area of energy, the retrofitting of houses, the saving on fuel and so forth. We could have a very good and worthwhile debate here in the House. I would welcome if that was put in place.