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THE ELECTION OF Donald Trump and the housing crisis were on the agenda this afternoon, as the Government fielded questions from the opposition.
Tánaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald was in the hotseat.
Fianna Fáil’s John Curran is first up today, to grill the Tánaiste on the housing crisis.
Curran raises the ordeal of a particular family he’s had contact from.
Frances Fitzgerald gives a wide-ranging answer taking in the various initiatives the government has launched to deal with the housing crisis.
Replying, Curran accuses her of not answering his question.
Fitzgerald, responding to further queries from the TD, says he should pass on the details of the family and question to her office, and that she will give them to Housing Minister Simon Coveney.
Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin is next up, with a high energy contribution. He implores the government to do everything it can to help “struggling renting families” and accuses ministers of making only “mealy mouthed” efforts to date.
Coming to his question, the Dublin TD asks if the government will back emergency rent certainty legislation for those in need.
Fitzgerald, again giving a more general answer, reiterates details of the various efforts being made to help renters and says the Government has plans to deal with the housing crisis in the “short, medium and longer term”.
O Broin accuses the coalition of being “out of touch” and takes issue with several of Fitzgerald’s figures, in response.
Labour leader Brendan Howlin makes the first mention of Donald Trump in his contribution.
Referring to his shock election in the US, the veteran TD brings up that old dictum: “You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.”
Securing relief for the undocumented Irish in the US remains a priority for the Government, Fitzgerald says.
“We will continue to pursue the values that we hold dear and the priority issues,” including immigration reform, with the incoming US administration, Fitzgerald says.
Howlin says TDs have been getting phonecalls to their offices about plans to help the undocumented Irish, in the wake of Trump’s shock win.
Clare Daly of Independents 4 Change is next up, with a question about protected disclosures and the gardaí.
Responding to Daly’s question, Fitzgerald says she looks forward with great interest to reading the report into the protected disclosures of Garda whistleblowers being carried out by former High Court judge Iarfhlaith O’Neill and that the Government will respond appropriately.
The probe was set up at the start of October. The judge is due to report back to the Minister with any recommendations later this month.
Daly and her fellow Independents 4 Change TD Mick Wallace aren’t too happy with the Justice Minister’s response…
That’s the end of Leaders’ Questions for today – TDs are back to the grind of daily business now, discussing plans for upcoming legislation.
We’ll bow out here so … Not many fireworks flying in today’s session – as always, have your say on the issues discussed in the comments section below.
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You mean illegal Irish immigrants. Liberal media can’t even get it’s racism in line
I hope Trump deports all these illegal Irish immigrants fed up with this issue every year why should Irish people get an amnesty they didn’t follow the rules , wasting the resources of our Dail and US embassy
@Mrs M:
Irish helped found, build fight for U.S we have right for certain number of our people to go there always. Ireland is a sovereign nation there is no right for our resources to be opened up to the whole world, our own people suffer as a result. And are suffering.
I hope Trump throws out the Irish illegals, just as we should close down all the Direct Provision centres and throw out all the illegals living here.
Exactly, Irish illegals in the USA should be kicked out.
@Eamon Mac Gowan: They don’t affect you in any way so why do you want them to be kicked out of the US?
@(((Jason))):
Exactly, get them rounded up and kicked out.
And when trump throws out all the irish illegals and theyre sent back to draw the dole in ireland due to no jobs , you will still be praising trumps hardline stance??? Remember there between 60k and 100k illegal irish in the usa. When they arrive back and have no jobs and no housing it will be a strain on the irish recovery and on the welfare system. Ireland would be better off if these people get some sort of an amnesty and hope that they do not all land on the doorstep at once
@Niamh Kenneally: I see old and sick Irish people having their services cut, while these scammers are treated like royalty.
@DH , as Europeans they also have 26 other European countries they can go to for work.
@D H: … no jobs for indigenous irish people but there is jobs for 850 thousand immigrants in the 26 county state. ..
Trumps win was only a “shock” to the supposed experts in the media and commetariat who occupy an echo chamber and don’t actually realise that there is an entire country in between San Francisco and Manhattan.
You expect ‘journalists ‘ like Una Mulally to actually take a trip out to the rust belt? Much easier to cry foul and scream sexist racist ect.
@Gordian Knot: Was it not racist to have actual policies that meant his buildings not renting to black people or to say Mexicans are sending their rapists to the US? Or that women are there for his sexual amusement? Or that their menstrual cycles impede their ability to do their jobs? Or that he wants to fu*k his own daughter because you always need a ‘piece of ass’?
I dunno, seemed a little bit racist and sexist to me. Maybe you have an entirely original defintion of racism and sexism.
So Hillary married to a rapist and serial adulterer andthe champion of such feminist luminaries as the House of Says is your antidote? You ‘liberals’ never learn.
@Niamh Kenneally: Trump talked a lot of locker room BS, but Bill Clinton was an actual serial rapist.
@Gordian Knot: Dont forget the mythical wage gap non existent rape culture.
not one new idea from them,,same old bull trotted out,same worthless answers
So the Government are looking to support the criminal behaviour of Irish citizens living illegal in the US. Hardly surprising I suppose when they treat similar behaviour of foreign nationals doing the same in Ireland with kid gloves.
Pure grandstanding is all this is, they should be getting on with the business of running our own country and never mind illegal immigrants who’ve left Ireland for America.
It’s quite funny and ironic to see these horrendously inadequate irish politicians talking about trump as if they are somehow better than him when the fg election strategy was such a disastrous flop and we currently have such a dysfunctional economy here at the moment.
Purely because they think it’s the reaction their paymasters in Europe want to see. “Europe is appalled, so to must Ireland be appalled”.
Good point. And our current gov came nowhere close to winning our election. FF and FG joined up to keep the status quo going, trying to portray themselves as arch enemies but in reality, they’re the same. They went against the majority voter call for change.
Agreed! I really feel like change is coming though and any corrupt g’ment should be smart about where they go from here I would think. A bit long but this guy is spot on. https://youtu.be/o1Ho8OrBzig
That’s very good, cheers.
The illegal Irish immigrants that are living in the USA do not expect Irish Government help, they are after-all breaking the law in another country. Why are our TDs even discussing this ? It is a non starter. They actually haven’t got the foggiest idea of how many are there.
@Patrick Ramseyer: Because they want them to stay in the US and never return.
@Patrick Ramseyer: What I found kind of funny (sad) that the person asking the question ( Howlin)
who when in govt his policies were the result of many of these Irish leaving in the first place. Howlin a total bullshitter.
This undocumented Irish thing really gets me mad. To think a person could spend years hopping for a green card then you get some chancer going over on a holiday visa and staying then complaining he gets no help from us. That could effect us all getting over for a holiday I future. They should be deported immediately.
Maybe we should reinvestigate hiring monkeys and paying them peanuts. How hard can it be to teach right from wrong to intelligent mammals. The good of the troop instead of self interest and greed. we should be making it easier to get visas to America wiping out undocumented Irish altogether. we can’t look for specials favours over all other nations just because we are Irish. people like trump have used the undocumented to build there tax free fortune does anyone think that is going to stop? America does not need more paddy’s with shovels working below minimum wage taking jobs out of the real economy. America now imports its hotel, restaurant and bar staff from Mexico not Europe. By following the rules we add value to being Irish in America instead of enhancing our current image. The fight for the undocumented like the war on drugs is only about positive press for politicians the results show no one really cares.
@leartius: It would be a simple problem to solve if the Irish Americans were to sponsor our illegals instead of claiming a right to Irish citizenship and passports because of their grandparents. It runs both ways…..
I don’t think he will be too bad on this issue, in fact he may insist on regularization of illegals.
He was never against immigration. I believe persecuted Christains from the middle east may be accommodated. Its lovely to see the media squirm. But I do fear he will back pedal on ending the climate change racket. This was hoax begun by Al Gore
Woah hold on there a moment! Climate change is a very real and scientifically proven fact! The evidence is there for all to see, if you choose to ignore the evidence that’s you’re call, but it doesn’t make it a scam as there is irrefutable evidence to prove it is very real!
Or are you one of those poor misguided souls who believe the earth was created 5000 years ago and that we’re all descended from the incestuous children of Adam and Eve?
@Garry Walsh:
1000s of scientists say global warming (they changed name bcz it is bs) is bs
God I hope trump election and brexit spells the end of open borders,social justice warriors and liberal echo chamber arrogance
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