Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the ambassadors to the Gallery.

I second the proposal by my colleague, Senator Ó Donnghaile, to amend the Order of Business. I spoke on the same topic in the Chamber yesterday evening, assuming the Government amendment would be forthcoming. I expect everyone in this House would find it unacceptable for the Bill to be left as it currently is, which would mean a woman availing of domestic violence leave will face a pay deduction for that leave. It is entirely unacceptable. This Chamber has a tradition of coming together on important issues. This is a crucial issue and the provision is entirely unacceptable as it stands. We need to come together to support Senator Ó Donnghaile's amendment.

This morning, I heard an absolutely devastating condemnation of the Government's housing policy. It struck me as particularly powerful that it came from Chambers Ireland as part of its presentation to the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I refer in particular to the following statement:

The greatest challenge that our members face is the lack of available talent which is driven by affordable and appropriate housing being unavailable across most of the country. With a small number of exceptions, all our chambers have housing as the main cause of their businesses' challenges.

We need a debate on housing, with particular reference to the upcoming crucial issue of whether the eviction ban will be further extended. Sinn Féin's position is clear in stating that an extension is required. I want to hear where Fine Gael and its sister party Fianna Fáil stand on this crucial issue. The homelessness figures get worse month after month, with the latest showing that 11,754 people are homeless. This includes significant numbers of young people who are entirely squeezed out of our social life and our communities because of the lack of housing. We must have an urgent debate on this issue.