Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

It may well say that it is only €100, but considering how hard some local authorities find it to sell affordable homes, one must ask what exactly is the point of that. That kind of money-grabbing does the State little, if any, good and only hurts people on low income.

There has been much focus on those with distressed mortgages. However, we must also be mindful that while there is a need to address the issue, the Government must ensure a complete overhaul of housing policy in general. There are still 5,000 homeless people in this State. Distressed mortgages are just one symptom of a fundamentally broken housing system in this country. Long-term homelessness could be ended through the adequate provision of social housing. There must be a dedicated revenue stream for supported accommodation for the homeless and provision of a reliable annual count of all people in homeless services using counted-in methodology. Further to that, rent controls, and a tenants' rights charter must be introduced. Existing tenancy laws must be strengthened and enforced. The Government must take a rights-based approach to housing policy. We said that in 2003 while we were talking about the banks being flaithiúlach with the money they lent. We are still saying it now and urging the Government to listen.

Tá ár ndaoine ag fulaingt. Caithfimid seasamh leis na daoine atá i dtrioblóid agus ar tí a dtithe féin a chailliúint.

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