Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, will speak on this motion which proposes delivering homes at prices that are within the reach of working class people. The proposals suggest that new homes could be sold to eligible buyers for less than €300,000, with the exact price varying based on the size and location of the home. However, the motion does not elaborate on how Sinn Féin plans to deliver a fully constructed home for under €300,000. It is a fantasy.

The motion mentions Sinn Féin's affordable leasehold purchase scheme under which the State would cover all land and servicing costs, retain ownership and make additional contributions to ensure affordable prices for developments. However, it does not specify who would build these houses. It is unlikely that the Sinn Féin TDs would be involved in the construction process, which suggests that the private sector, including builders and contractors across the country, would be responsible. However, if a project is not viable for them, they will not build. That is a simple fact, as Deputy Shanahan just said. The obstacles and blockages in place include planning permission, planning regulations, new energy regulations that drive up costs, high VAT rates and other State-imposed costs associated with building a home. The Irish Home Builders Association stated that the Government takes up to 41% of the total costs of houses in Dublin and 39% of total costs in the country by way of taxes. We can round that figure off at 40%.

Where is the Government going here? It says it has an emergency in housing, as we all know it has, but why does it not deal with it and cut 20% off that cost straightaway? Instead, it has added costs by deciding to put up the minimum wage, have more bank holidays and extra sick days and provide for leave if there is distress in the home. Where is it going to stop? No one in the Government or Opposition knows what it is like to run a small business, to be an employer or to be self-employed. It is a sad situation. The Government is adding costs all of the time. These are lovely things to roll out.

Last week, Deputy Bacik said she wanted the five days' paid sick leave extended to 15 days. How is a small employer, whether a plumber, plasterer, blocklayer, roofer, carpenter - you name it - who is employing three or four men, going to manage these costs? How in God's name will that happen? Pinch yourselves please and think of the employer for once. Small employers employing five to ten people are trying to carry all these costs and are living with all of this downright blackguarding of stupid legislation.

It looks lovely and very sexy for selling to the public and for trade unions and of course the NGOs, but there will not be any people in business because they will not be able to do it because they will not be able to pay and will not make ends meet. What happens the employer or the small business then if they have a problem getting paid, which many do? They get no mercy from the taxman, unlike RTÉ that can get preferential and special treatment with €50 million put away in a contingency fund and may be able to settle with Revenue but no employer is going to get that. Will the Government cop itself on, get rid of all the advisers and just go out to meet the small businesses and get to understand the problems?

There is also the problem with mica and pyrite. What happens? A major conglomerate's quarries caused 95% of that and it runs off scot-free but a 5% levy is put onto concrete, which again drives up the cost of houses. Everything done by this Government and the previous Government has added costs and more costs.

I will now turn to the local authorities and Uisce Éireann. The villages of Caisleán Nua, Goldenbridge, Lisvernane, Kilsheelan, Bansha and others all over the place cannot add a single house because they have no capacity in the sewerage plants. One might as well be writing to Santa Claus at Mount Everest as be writing to Irish Water because it is useless. We have a huge problem with water supplies. Clonmel is the biggest inland town in the country and all we get at the weekends is outages and more outages. Irish Water does not even know where the pipes are. When it does know, it will not maintain or service them. It is now talking about cutting off a wonderful supply that we have had for generations from Poulnagunoge in Contae Phort Láirge, near Cluain Meala, up in the mountain. It is a lovely source of supply and it never stops. Now they want to disconnect that and pump the water from Glenary and back into the town and up the hill again. Kindergarten children would not carry on like it. There is a lovely reservoir up there as well that was built by the British Army. It was built to perfection and yet they will not use that. It is short-sighted. The Government has just set up agencies such as the Land Development Authority and a planning authority, all of which makes it more bureaucratic and more cumbersome, and then it hands the whole thing over to Irish Water, which was a major disaster.

The Government is not going to build these houses. They will not be delivered and people will not have the homes.

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