Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am the proposer of three amendments which you will probably reject when I push them to a vote. These policies and the decisions which are taken here in the bowels of Leinster House have real and long-term consequences for people. Over a series of years I have sat in this committee and policy after policy has resulted in this. It has pushed house prices beyond the reach of ordinary people. It has led to a situation where houses are not available for ordinary people. It has led us to a point where we have the highest rents in all of Europe in this city of Dublin. That is the reality. The people who have the luxury or the benefit of being able to get a house are then saddled, because of the prices, with having to take out a mortgage, which doubles the amount one must pay back in the long term, at the highest rates. This is where it happens. When we are talking to our constituents next year and prices continue to go up, this is where it happened. This is where the decision is made and this is who made the decision. That is the problem. I will leave it at that. I will be pressing these amendments.