Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Dr. Hearne and Dr. Murphy for their contributions. We have been speaking of the points they raised for a long time. I believe, and we have always said, there should be a rights-based approach to housing and we totally agree that people should have a right to a home. Dr. Hearne gave some statistics about 2015 during which 65 social houses were built, and it is quite clear where this crisis is coming from. It is the lack of social housing. Anyone who studies this issue can see this. We have no affordable housing scheme from the Government, which is crazy. The reality is that this is the nub. We have heard the argument numerous times that we cannot build social and affordable housing schemes in areas and that private housing must be built. I have literally had this up to the eyeballs. We need to get down and build large housing estates, social and affordable. We have to do it. If this means buying land outside the perimeters of the city, that is an issue we should consider.

I listened to the programme on housing last night and it was interesting to hear the developers say that the price of land was a major problem. Obviously, that is the case and we need to address that. We cannot allow people to set massive prices on lands. Some controls must be put in place and I would like to hear the witnesses' opinions on that.

On the cost of building, the prices continue to inflate. From what I can see, the prices on houses are higher now than was the case at the height of the Celtic tiger period. That was confirmed in the programme last night. What is happening is ludicrous.

People talk about the housing assistance payment, HAP. There is one aspect of HAP that really gets to me. We have to get people into homes but we get them in and we talk about subsidising them. It is the money landlords are getting that is driving many people out of their homes. Landlords see that they can get €1,300 or €1,400 a month in rent. The figure is creeping up all the time and whether we like it or not, there is a drive to put people out of homes. It is sickening to see that. Every day of the week people come into my office for the same reason, namely, the landlord is looking to get the house back to sell it. It is disgusting.

I would like to hear more about the proposal on semi-State companies building social and affordable housing. Regardless of whether it is done by the local authorities through a semi-State company that is set up, we have to go down that road as otherwise, this problem will plague us for the next number of years.

One of the greatest tragedies has been the remit NAMA was given to sell land and all the properties. It is scandalous. It is selling off land that speculators are buying and hoarding. That is outrageous. NAMA's remit should be changed. It could have been changed by any Government. Its social and affordable housing remit could have been given to local authorities instead of the nonsense we hear that housing units were offered to local authorities. They were offered to the local authorities, which had to pay NAMA for flipping properties. It baffles me that this was allowed. I will finish on that point.