Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to remind the House of what is happening in Türkiye and Syria. More than 17 million people in that area have been affected. There is talk about more than 38,000 people having died already. The costs will run to in excess of €100 billion. When we go about our daily business we need to keep that in mind. I acknowledge the Government's donation of €10 million towards the emergency response. I commend all the NGOs and all the people who are working on the ground. I want to ask that all of us be kind to refugees and those who are suffering. If we can, we should donate to the Irish Red Cross and the Irish Emergency Alliance.

More locally, in Dublin Central I want to celebrate today the really bad news for drug dealers and anybody engaged in antisocial behaviour around O'Devaney Gardens, including people who opposed the building of homes there. I want to really shout the great news for anybody, be they young or old, who wants to get a home in Dublin Central. After decades construction has commenced on more than 1,000 homes in O'Devaney Gardens. These will be 1,000 social, affordable, private homes and will be built to the highest standard. They will be A-rated for energy. They will not be homes built on their own in isolation. They will come with a crèche, community facilities, shops and quality public spaces. There will be a local apprenticeship and employment clause. This deal has taken far too long to get to this point, but construction has commenced and now people in Dublin Central will have a real opportunity to have a home in Dublin Central. They will have a choice. It can be a social home, an affordable home, an affordable cost-rental home - something that others have objected to strenuously - or even a private home. I congratulate Dublin City Council on getting this construction commenced and let us push on with that project.

I pay tribute to Nicola Sturgeon, a woman in her prime, a capable and strong female politician, who this morning announced her resignation from office. She has said she will not be retiring from politics entirely. She cites the brutality of political life. I often describe it as an extreme sport. It is like hurling without a helmet, without rules and without a referee.