Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Minister mentioned "by any yardstick". No one is taking away that there are more houses being built than in previous years, but let us look at other yardsticks. Homelessness, house prices and rents have increased every year since the Minister has been in government. Those are other yardsticks to measure whether the collective efforts of Government are actually working. This is man-made. The crisis we have is a result of policies that were enacted in previous years. The crisis that we will have in future years will be because of decisions that are made now.

The Minister says that all the levers are being pulled, but they are not. Exchequer capital is far too low. That is the core problem with this legislation. The Minister says that housing will benefit from this fund and while a countercyclical fund makes complete and utter sense, what is being done with this fund is a bit different. Early drawdowns from the fund are allowed for exclusively designated environmental and nature projects. We are saying that should include housing. The problem here is that not all levers are being pulled.

I know that it has to give the Minister and the Government some comfort, or a bit of a comfort blanket, to be able to continue to tell themselves that they are doing more than they did last year and all the rest and that they need to do more, but where does this stop? When do house prices or rents go to a certain level for us to say that this is not working? How many more children have to become homeless? These are the consequences. I always say in here when we consider these matters at budget time and at other times that the decisions that are usually taken in these rooms result in the homelessness of the future. That is the reality. While Deputy Durkan is a good friend of mine, we completely disagree in relation to this issue.

It is not just the volume of homes we need to increase. The private sector absolutely has a role in relation to that. We need to make sure that homes are affordable to purchase and to rent and for those who cannot purchase or rent, we need to make sure there is an increased stock of social housing.

The Minister has made his contribution and I stand with what I said after his contribution. I simply do not think the Minister, or his Government, gets it because they are making conscious decisions when other options are available. They could increase Exchequer capital expenditure. There are needs out there and we are being told, from the largest FDI in the country to the smallest chamber of commerce, that it these needs are impacting them. We see it every day in the number of people who are in emergency accommodation. It is absolutely heartbreaking. There is going to be massive damage done to these children.

A couple of years ago, I was staying in a hotel in Dublin which accommodated a large number of homeless families as well. It broke your heart to see the children every morning at around 7.30 a.m. in their school uniforms going to different parts of the city. We know, because the experts tell us, that raising families in those circumstances is not good. I am not going to go on any further. The Minister has made his mark and the legislation is very clear. I am sure he will vote against one of the biggest crises facing the State and that is not to take away from the environment because it is absolutely one of the biggest crises facing not only the State but indeed the world. That is why we actually argue that it should be both. This is about being able to draw down from 2026 onwards on the same basis that designated environmental projects can.

If the Minister really wanted to pull all the levers, he would support this amendment.