Dáil returns to business after speaking rights ruling
Business has resumed in the Dáil, the Republic of Ireland's Parliament.
Housing policy and Occupied Territories Bill are being raised as the parliament resumed on Wednesday afternoon.
It is also due to here on the Government's response to Storm Éowyn.
The Dáil had not sat for two weeks following a dispute over speaking rights for a group of Independent TDs (members of parliament).
On Tuesday, Ceann Comhairle (Speaker) Verona Murphy ruled that the bloc of independent politicians cannot form a technical group for the purposes of speaking rights.
The row resulted in chaotic scenes in the Dáil (Irish Parliament) before a new government was elected last month.
Opposition TDs (MPs) had disrupted the nomination of Michaeál Martin as taoiseach (Irish prime minister).
The new government is led by Fianna Fáil, and Fine Gael and these two major parties.
The support of the independent TDs could be critical to the survival of the government during its term of office and the two main government parties had sided with the independent TDs in the speaking rights row.
On Wednesday, the opposition leader, Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald, accused Martin and tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Simon Harris of repeating "pure fiction" during the General Election campaign that 40,000 new homes would be delivered in 2024.
In reply, the taoiseach said that the government was "extremely disappointed" that the actual number homes delivered in 2024 was lower than the official target of 33,000.
However, he rejected the accusation that talking about 40,000 house completions during the election campaign was a "ploy" aimed at convincing voters that the country had "turned the corner on housing".
Labour Leader Ivana Bacik said people have been forced to wake dead relatives by candle light due to the ongoing fallout from Storm Éowyn.
"It is unacceptable that 18,000 homes, farms and businesses are still without power and some won't have their electricity restored until the weekend," she said.
The Social Democrats said it was "completely unacceptable" that the government was "missing in action" following the destruction of Storm Éowyn last month.
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