Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

At present, nearly 100,000 people are on public housing waiting lists across the State. This is a crisis and it is on our doorsteps. There is a lack of adequate public housing across the State and there has been a dramatic rise in this number since 2009.

Many Deputies first became involved in politics through the housing action committees that sprang up during the 1960s. At that time, as we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Rising, many people, especially young people, realised there was a significant lack of proper accommodation for Irish people.

At that time, as we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Rising, many people, especially young people, realised there was a significant lack of proper accommodation for Irish people. After the Rising, which promised radical change and the development of a new Irish state, those who took power failed to deliver on the aspirations of the instigators of the rebellion.

If we look at where we are today, can we say we are in a better position? The greed and corruption that surrounded the Fianna Fáil property bubble left this country in dire straits. The needs of the people were cast to one side and the interests of property developers were put to the fore. Social housing was significantly damaged by the weakening of Part 5 of the Planning Act by Fianna Fáil, which allowed developers to buy their way out of their social responsibility to provide 20% social and affordable housing as part of any project.

Since Fine Gael and the Labour Party took office, there have been further attacks on social housing. Since coming into power they have cut funding to social housing by 19%, and overall spending has fallen 66.23% from the 2008 figure of €1.7 billion. The Dublin Traveller accommodation fund has been cut from €1.5 million to €50,000, an example of what has happened.

The Government also plans to take out leases on NAMA properties to plug the hole in the social housing gap. These leases will be on a long-term basis and will cost the State €40 million per year for 2,000 units, with the properties reverting back to the NAMA developers at the end of the lease. This is nothing more than a scandalous double bail-out for developers. It is not a scheme, it is a scam.

A special purpose vehicle was set up in NAMA to identify homes but in the year since the plan was announced, only 179 have been delivered. At present, 94,000 people are in receipt of rent supplement, costing the State almost €500,000 a year and subsidising private landlords at public expense. Sinn Féin has highlighted a solution to the social housing crisis. In our jobs strategy, we outlined that a €1 billion fund could be put in place for the construction of social housing. This could fund the commencement of 9,000 homes in the next two years. It would also be coupled with the proper utilisation of NAMA properties, providing an effective solution to our social housing problems.

The only mistake that Irish people made was to believe senior politicians and bankers who encouraged them to do the right thing and provide a roof over the heads of their families. How can those who cannot currently afford to pay their mortgages, whose incomes are being cut as we speak and who face new and higher Government charges, continue to live? What will happen to their mortgages as we take more from their pockets? What will happen to the housing market when these people can no longer find the money to pay their mortgages?

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