Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)

The most important thing the Government could do in response to this motion is to accept that a housing crisis exists. The housing crisis is a damning indictment of the abject failure of the Government to deal with the housing situation. It is a crisis when 70,000 families are on local authority housing waiting lists. It is a crisis when one has, as is the case in south Tipperary, a 40% increase in the number of families on local authority waiting lists since the Government came to power in 1997. It is a crisis when the average house price has risen from €75,000 in 1997 to €255,000 this year. It is about time the Government and the Minister dealt with it as such. I call on the Government and the Minister to grasp the nettle, accept we have a housing crisis and do something about it as a matter of urgency.

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