Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The housing crisis has reached an alarming level with significant implications for individuals and the economy as a whole. The underspend in the Department's capital budget between 2020 and 2022 and the missed targets for affordable housing delivery have only exacerbated this crisis. The Minister for Finance acknowledged, as did the Minister for Housing, Heritage and Local Government, that housing is one of the biggest domestic challenges facing Ireland. However, despite this recognition, the Government has failed to prioritise or effectively address the issue, as reflected in its budget priorities. This failure to make housing a top priority raises questions about the Government's commitment to tackling housing head on.

Never in my life have I seen more people sleeping rough, camped out or begging outside local shops. If that is not the sign of a crisis, which the Minister is in denial of, then what is? How in God's name, can the Minister say that he is tackling the housing crisis when we have thousands of people - men, women, and children - who are homeless? That is the evidence. That is what people see and what they are feeling. I do not get it and cannot understand how the Minister has not copped on to this. There is something seriously wrong given the number of people on the housing list and the number of people coming to constituency clinics. It is just non-stop at the moment. The Minister must listen to what the people are saying and change tactics because what he is doing now is not working.

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