I wish to convey my sympathies and those of the Fianna Fáil group to the families of the 400 killed and the thousands injured on the border between Iraq and Iran, especially in the western provinces. It was one of the largest earthquakes to hit the region in the recent years measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale. It is a major humanitarian crisis for the area and it will leave many sleeping out in the cold for another night. Their homes have been absolutely destroyed and many of their relatives have been killed or severely injured. Our thoughts are with the Iranians and Iraqis at this time.

The main issue I wish to raise today relates to rising rents and house prices. A report from daft.ie shows rents have risen by 11% so far this year. We know that up to 55% of people's monthly income goes on rent, a vast amount of money. We see house prices increasing by up to 20% and it is difficult to see how people can save fast enough or as fast as houses are going up in value. Ultimately, the big issue is the supply of housing and how we ensure supply is increased. We speak about this issue almost every day in the Seanad, yet we have not really seen a solution. We have seen homeless figures increase dramatically, yet the Government does not seem to be taking this seriously. We need to see a proper affordable housing scheme, like the scheme Dublin City Council has provided in Poppintree. However, that has not been forthcoming.

I know the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government is coming to the House later today and there will be a wider discussion on the matter but I wish to put on record that it is absolutely unacceptable that we have continued like this. Every meeting that I have attended, whether at Dublin City Council or in the Seanad, has related to housing, yet nothing has been done.

I wish Martin O'Neill and the Irish team the best of luck tonight. I hope that we make it to the World Cup and that we have a good time celebrating.

You are optimistic, Senator.

She is right though.

I wish to extend my sympathies to the wife and family of Kevin Dawson, the renowned journalist who died the other day at the age of 57 years. I will explain how I came in contact with him first. He was a brave young journalist who, 25 years ago, first broke the story in the Sunday Tribune relating to the drug trials on children in State institutions when no other newspaper would touch the article and no national broadcaster would touch the issue. At that stage, it was denounced and people thought it was all a fixation of his imagination and the imagination of others. We know there was a subsequent tribunal of inquiry and that everything he said was correct.

It is important that we mark the passing of this man. He had a 35-year career in print and broadcasting. He was a freelance journalist who worked initially for Magill and then the Sunday Press, The Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Sunday Tribune, The Sunday Business Post and RTÉ. I wish to convey my sympathies to his family, especially his wife, Brianóg, and his children, Colm and Anna.

We saw in him an outstanding, exceptionally brave and courageous journalist. He was an exceptional man who really epitomised everything that is exemplary in public life, broadcasting and commentary in terms of political and social affairs. I wish to remember him today. May he rest in peace.

I wish to thank all the people involved – I know this involved all Senators across the House – who campaigned for better pay and conditions for county councillors. This has been to and fro with various people. In particular, I wish to acknowledge the Minister and Minister of State in the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. I wish to acknowledge the work of the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, who advocated greatly for the PRSI improvements and the small improvement of an additional allowance in expenses. I wish to acknowledge this on behalf of all sides of the House. A committee of the House worked well on this matter. We will see a statutory instrument signed and I understand a circular is to be issued today to the chief executives in all 31 local authorities. Although this is a welcome step, it is only the beginning.

I hope all of us will continue to work together in this House for better pay and conditions for all the 900 or so councillors in this country who do exceptionally hard work and have a vast workload and major responsibilities. Their remuneration should reflect their workload and responsibilities.

Eligible students are being refused seats on school buses in rural areas. This applies particularly to students repeating their leaving certificate who do not know their exam results until after the deadline for the school transport application. I know people who have decided to repeat their leaving certificate, and well done to them, but who cannot get a seat on the bus. I do not know what the school transport system is in North Korea but the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, should consider this because cases are going from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to the Department of Education and Skills and back again. In the meantime young people who are trying to access education in rural areas cannot get the transport they are told they are eligible for. It is not because a bigger bus is not available because it is, but because it is too costly to use for the children who are eligible.

I ask that Deputy Halligan come to the House for another debate on school transport to examine these anomalies which deprive students of transport and access to schools. It not only affects the student but the whole family. In some cases the students' siblings are on the bus but they are not allowed on the bus. Mothers or fathers then have to give up their jobs in order to drive their children to school. This is a very serious issue in rural areas and I would like it to be addressed immediately. I ask that, as a matter of urgency, the Minister of State come in here and answer some of these questions to save parents being sent from Billy to Jack without getting any answers.

Will the Leader convey our concern that people who often live from payment to payment, week to week, have been told they cannot access their pensions without a public service card, despite an answer from the Minister this week in which she assured us that An Post did not require the public service card of people accessing pensions and other payments? The Data Protection Commissioner is conducting an investigation into the legality of how the public service card has been rolled out. Can we have a moratorium on requirements being increased for presentation of a public service card when we do not know whether the system being introduced is fit for purpose and properly designed?

I share the concerns of many on seeing the issue of housing in Ireland being diminished by suggestions that our figures are less than some, more than others, are average. There has been concern at the expressions used not simply by the Government but by a former head of the Housing Authority, which is very serious, like the poor are always with us.

There is another level to that concern. In the past week some Ministers have spoken of how we need to be very careful about our refugee issues and other areas, such as health and housing. The urgency of the housing issue is given as the reason that we cannot perform other good, necessary and moral actions needed in our society and at the same time we are told housing is not a problem. I am concerned, first, at the diminishing of this issue and, second, at the idea that it be maintained in some way at some level where it can be used against others. We have heard a lot of talk in recent months about this group versus that group.

Which do we want? We have to make these hard choices. It always seems to be vulnerable groups which are being set against others when these hard choices are being made. We do not tend to drag in, for example, the massive tax relief systems. If we are having a positive narrative, it is important that we be honest about problems and own them and that we ensure we never use a problem in one area of society to diminish progress in another. I say this having come from the World Forum for Democracy, at which I spoke last week. We can see the very dangerous consequences when groups which are marginalised within society are, in any sense, set against each other or encouraged to take the perspective that they are competing. I say this to the Leader knowing that he is very committed in dealing with all of these issues. Can we be very careful about our political narrative? We are at a dangerous time and what might seem like an easy way to dismiss a problem now will store up greater problems. We have seen the fascists on the streets of Poland this week. It is of major concern to everyone across Europe. We need to lead by providing a responsible political narrative. I appeal to the House and the Minister via the Leader in that regard.