I welcome Councillor Anna Grainger and her guests to the Public Gallery. I also welcome the guests of Deputy Noel Grealish from Castlegar in County Galway. I see a familiar face in the Gallery, Mike Connolly, who broke Cork hearts on Sunday.

He is very welcome to Leinster House. He is one of the finest hurlers to play for Galway and to grace the field of Croke Park. He is one of the great Connollys of Castlegar. Cuirim fíorfháilte roimh gach duine inniu.

I welcome and support the call by Senator Gavan to have a conversation about the future of Ireland and of a united Ireland in light of the positive developments that have taken place. Maybe we will get a chance on that occasion to discuss the split that is clearly taking place with Sinn Féin south of the Border where, on one hand, some of its representatives in this House have supported the nature restoration Bill and yet their apostle in Brussels has gone rogue on them this morning. We will see how that plays out. It does not spell great for the future that they are not able to remain united in the face of that.

Last night, I had an opportunity yet again to meet those who have self-catering facilities and small units beside their homes that they rent out at certain times of the year, mainly the summer, to tourists and people generally to, in the first instance, provide a support structure for the tourism industry but also to provide themselves with some small amount of income. These are often granny flats, converted garages and small units and they are coming under pressure based on proposed laws. The suggestion somehow is, and it has been perpetrated by politicians on all sides, that if we get rid of Airbnb and we require everybody to get planning permission for the utilisation of some structure for accommodation, we will solve the housing crisis. Some people go online and discover there are 20,000 or 30,000 listings, which could be anything from a room in a house to a yurt or caravan, and think that will somehow solve the issue of the 13,000 people who are homeless. It is cheap politics and it is undermining an industry.

We should have a debate in this House. I am particularly taken by the people I have met on a number of occasions and who I met again last night who are really fearful for their business. The reality is that even where there is maybe a house attached to their own farmhouse, they are not going to rent that out long term. They are not going to bring in families. For a couple of months of the year, however, that is suitable for tourism-related activities, something which we badly need because, rightly, we have taken the inflow of Ukrainian refugees and provided them with hotel accommodation. That has put pressure on our tourism sector. We need to address this issue and I would like a debate in this House as soon as possible.

I welcome the news today that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, will publish the opening of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme, which has approval by Cabinet. We now know that this scheme will go live on 20 March 2024. It has been a long time coming and many people have been waiting.

I have personally been involved in this issue for years. I have had personal experience of it. We debated this to a great extent and at great length in this House and, regrettably, we did not get a lot of support in this House. At the end of the day, that is democracy. We put our best foot forward and a Bill and scheme were drafted. The Minister was true to his word, although there were difficulties. There was much administration and a lot of complications with regard to this, but the day has now arrived. The Cabinet agreed this morning to issue a detailed statement.

Last night, the Minister himself contacted many people by email to flag - a very loose flag - what might potentially be happening. Today, however, it has been approved. It is happening and there is now a lead-in. However, it is going to take some time. I ask in my general appeal today - I will be writing to the Minister later - that we prioritise the older people. Since this legislation was passed, I know of many people who have passed away. They died after waiting all these years. These people were in their 70s and 80s. It is important now that the scheme is prioritised in terms of the more elderly people so they can get some sort of payment and, if necessary, the Minister could introduce an interim payment. I am confident the Minister is delivering and I welcome Government’s commitment on this. It has been difficult and has not been an easy issue for anybody. It is good and welcome news, and I thank the Government for seeing it through to the very end today.