Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The approved housing bodies, AHBs, are buying their housing from private developers. That is the reality. The bulk of social housing is actually private developers. The Government is still depending on the private developers and paying them extortionate prices. They are charging for the stuff they are doing with extortionate rents that nobody can afford. That is the actual reality.

I will tell the House how bad it has got even for affordable housing. I got a call this week from a teacher who said he is over the threshold for social housing but he is not eligible for the cost rental that is now being advertised in Delgany because he does not earn enough. Even the cost rental scheme is not actually addressing the needs of the people to whom it is supposed to apply.

The Government's housing policy is in rag order. It is absolutely in rag order. The Government must reinstate the eviction ban until it gets its act together and delivers the social and affordable housing that we need to address this housing crisis.

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