Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Martin Ferris for sharing time and Sinn Féin for bringing this important Private Members' motion before the House. According to my own records, today alone I had 11 housing queries, between social housing and mortgage difficulties. It is a crisis. Sinn Féin is to be highly commended and thanked for bringing in this Private Members' motion to give the issue an airing because it is bringing severe hardship on families.

There are families who are locked into a position of owing a massive burden of debt to the banks. There has been a write-down for all of the big players but the young couples with families occupying very modest houses which cost a fortune are paying huge mortgages. These couples are failing to put proper heat into those houses. They are going without proper food and proper clothing because they are married to paying the banks. The sooner the banks realise that there must be a write-down for these couples and they must be taken care of, the better. No ordinary person can afford to pay €200,000, €300,000 or €400,000 of a mortgage on a house that today might not be worth €80,000 or €90,000. These couples have young families. They will only live once. The Government will have to act and try to assist and be of help to those couples.

When it comes to social housing we all will be aware that the social housing building programme is gone.

Thousands of people are on housing waiting lists. These are young people with their lives on hold in rented accommodation where they do not want to be. They want the opportunity to be placed in local authority housing and in a number of years' time when they get their legs under them they might be able to purchase that house. I do not mind anybody having to rent a house for a few years when starting out - that is perfectly normal and par for the course. However, I hate to think of a young couple having to stay in rented accommodation all the days of their lives. That is not right or proper.

I again thank Sinn Féin and in particular Deputy Martin Ferris for sharing time.

See this speech in context