Deputy McDonald is making political charges and trying to enter into an ideological debate, but the charge does not stand. If it was the case that the Government believed only the market could produce solutions, we would not have funded the construction and purchase of 9,000 new social houses last year.

The Government is not building houses.

We would not have brought forward rent controls and a vacant site levy. All of these things are interventionist, including the building of thousands of units of social housing every year-----

Most of them are leased.

-----expanding the social housing stock, introducing rent caps and a derelict site levy. They all accept that the market does not provide all of the solutions. We would not do these things if we thought the market could provide all of the solutions.

We do not agree with the rent tax credit which Sinn Féin proposes. We wanted to reduce income taxes for all workers, which is what we did. Sinn Féin was against that. We did it because other people are struggling too, to put together a deposit or a mortgage and we do not agree with the Sinn Féin approach, which is to give tax cuts to people who are paying the rent but nothing to anyone else. We think that is wrong and that is why we did not follow its policy in that regard. We will bring forward additional proposals to enhance tenants' rights. The Minister for Housing Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, will do that in the next couple of weeks.

Finally, we cannot support Deputy Ó Broin's Bill because while it might make for a good press release and maybe some good interviews-----

And prevent homelessness.

-----it is not workable and it is also unconstitutional. It is not workable because the advice from the Attorney General is that it cannot apply retrospectively so it will not apply to any existing tenancies.

It works in other countries.

It is no good to anyone who is already renting, therefore it is absolutely useless to anyone who is renting but it might discourage landlords from letting their houses in the future so it may even be counterproductive.

Ah, look after the landlords.

Second, it is unconstitutional in that it could or probably would result in infringements on property rights.

Nonsense.

Here we go, this is where the mask really slips.

The Sinn Féin Deputies should give up their own homes.

Property rights do not belong to properties; they belong to people.

Toss them out to homelessness.

If we remove from somebody the right to sell a house they own-----

Hand up your own homes, lads.

They are conditional on the common good and social justice.

Hand up your own homes for the cause, then lads.

They are conditional on-----

There is not much point asking the Taoiseach a question if the Deputies will not allow him to answer.

The facts drive them crazy, always.

They will not get an answer anyway.

Give up your homes for the cause, lads.

He did not even answer the original question.

It is classic Sinn Féin, populist solutions that help nobody.