Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

A number of voluntary and community organisations and trade unions have made statements or published reports recently which stated that poverty and homelessness are worse than ever and that urgent action is needed. The Government has been very quick to engage with banks and developers.

The Government is even encouraging property speculation again with these real estate investment trusts, presumably to benefit some of the big corporate speculators. This is beginning to produce worrying signs of a new property bubble in Dublin and spiralling rents which are worsening the homelessness problem.

Will the Minister respond to the pleas of voluntary and community organisations and trade unionists for urgent action to deal with homelessness and poverty, two very closely related phenomena? I have raised this issue with the Taoiseach numerous times over the last two and a half years. Two years ago when the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, started to reduce the rent caps she said it would lead to downward pressure on rents. She and other Government spokespersons told us it would bring down rents. I said it would not, but that it would lead to homelessness. Deputy Burton said nobody would be made homeless and that rents would fall. Now we know who was right. Homelessness has got worse: that is a fact. Rents are increasing: that is a fact.

Will the Government admit it got it wrong and do something about it, as voluntary and community organisations dealing with the homeless and those in poverty are begging it to do? They all say the Government needs to build council houses. It is simple. The Taoiseach said he wants good ideas. Like others in this House, I have repeatedly offered him a good idea. If he builds council houses in large numbers he will put builders back to work, generate extra revenue for the State and save money on social welfare and rent allowance payments that are going into the pockets of private landlords. It is a win, win, win situation. Surely now is the time to take up that suggestion against a background where the Government's policy in this matter has failed.

It is not just me saying this. All the organisations, such as Focus Ireland and Threshold, have told the Taoiseach he must build council houses, the policy is not working and the situation is getting worse. The Taoiseach will not listen to me, but will he listen to them? Will he recognise that he could do immense social good, remove a social evil, put large numbers of people back to work and save money for the State in the long run if he starts to build council houses again instead of leaving the property sector to corporate speculators who are moving in on a crashed market, buying up the empty properties and jacking up the rents? The evidence is clear and unbelievably, after the country was beggared by a property crash, a property bubble is beginning to emerge in Dublin again. Could anyone believe that history could repeat itself?

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