Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Ministers for their astute management of the economy at a time when there are some challenges visible, some not so visible and it requires a steady hand. One of the most important things is that there would be correlation between the totality of Government debts and the windfalls or otherwise of taxation that may be, and is, in excess of expectation. I am glad to see the Ministers have made this provision. It would be very unwise to ignore the totality of debt while at the same time having the resources. I am aware there are competing demands which affect a large sector of our population, including those who are less well-off and those who are in precarious circumstances, sometimes not of their own making. In general, I welcome the statement. It is well-constructed and well put together. Insofar as can be done, the Ministers have provided the necessary supports where and when required. One area still remains. I am not so sure if this is authentic or not but I noticed somebody from the European Union, or somewhere in Europe, in the past couple of days mentioned that Europe could help us with solving or resolving our housing crisis. Housing inflation, in terms of rent for mortgage, is massive at the moment and it is impacting very negatively on a whole plethora of people. The fact of this matter is that it does not show up every day but when people come to see us in our various clinics and tell us about the €2,500 and the €3,000 rent that is expected of them, while still not owning a house, we realise there are problems. If there is a possibility of availing of any provisions that might come from Europe, while avoiding interference with the market and so on and so forth, I ask the Ministers that it would be done.

The last point I want to make is on a really serious matter. I compliment the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, who has done huge work to date, and I agree the scene is set. The problem is that the houses are not coming quick enough. While inflation and everything else takes its toll, and there may be other threats coming down the road, whatever the situation is, without a shadow of doubt, there is an urgent need for Government to identify how best a positive intervention can be made on housing to give the younger generations some hope. It is not just the younger generations. There were many people who were misled into believing over the years that renting was the way to go. There were advertisements on television and radio telling people to rent as it was the best value for money. Well now they know. The situation is that unfortunately a lot of people fell for that. It could never have been a solution to the housing problem because it did not involve providing extra houses. As long as we have that shortfall, there will be problems. If there was one single thing I would ask to be done in the forthcoming budget, insofar as it can be done, I would definitely home in on housing.