Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I warmly support the motion before the House and thank my Sinn Féin colleagues for giving me a chance to speak briefly on it. I would like to pay my respects to Alan Murphy, his family and friends. Last Friday, Alan died not very far from where we sit tonight. It is another tragic loss of life which can be put down completely to the failures of this Government and the Fianna Fáil Governments in their total abandonment of social housing programmes.

There are approximately 90,000 individuals on social housing waiting lists around the country. In July 2015, the figure on the Dublin City Council housing list stood at over 42,000 people, including almost 16,500 children, which equates to 21,592 applicants. In my constituency of Dublin Bay North, there is an astonishing 5,733 individuals and families urgently seeking houses in areas such as Artane, Coolock, Killester, Raheny, Darndale, Beaumont, Marino, Clontarf and Kilbarrack. Last week in this Chamber, I pleaded with my constituency colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, to start some sort of emergency housing programme but once again it seems that plea fell on deaf ears. The other council I represent, Fingal County Council has 8,400 applicants urgently seeking housing in its catchment area. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has trumpeted the fact that he gave almost €20 million to Fingal County Council to build houses in the first phase of a programme to build 1,376 housing units. This is just a tiny drop in the ocean compared to the many families I represent who are waiting eight, nine, ten or, indeed, 11 years for housing.

There are over 150 individuals sleeping rough this very night while the Minister sits there talking to the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coffey. In August of this year, the number of persons in emergency accommodation continued to rise. There are now 3,732 adults, including 1,496 children. I met the Ombudsman for Children a few months ago, in the late summer, to raise the concerns I have week in, week out when I meet homeless children, for whose rehousing the Minister is totally responsible.

The Minister spoke a few weeks ago about this crisis being a perfect storm. How did it happen? It is almost like an act of God. Somehow, in 2015 all of these factors came together to create this incredible situation that Deputy Ellis and my colleagues here have so eloquently outlined. A key element in this perfect storm is the Minister, who 15 months ago outlined to me steps he would take to try to address the situation.

The Minister has not implemented one of those steps.

Colleagues referred to modular housing. I went to look at the exhibition of modular housing, as did Deputy Ellis. Some people would say it can provide a very tiny response to the crisis we are facing. However, I do not think so. That is not the way forward. Why would we spend €80,000 to €90,000 on building a modular house with materials that are not fit for our climate, with the forthcoming cold and damp winter, when we could build a house? The Minister could build a house and start direct action. He could declare a housing emergency. Why will he not declare a housing emergency and have a Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, FEMPI, Act on housing? Fine Gael will not permit him to do so. He is a prisoner and he will continue to be a prisoner for the next two or three months.

The only solution to this situation is a general election. Let us have a general election, in which this will be a key issue, and change this rotten Government. Let us get rid of it and have a new Government with Members from this side of the House, which will declare a housing emergency, immediately introduce rent controls and deal with the other issues. It can be done. There is no use in the Minister waving his hands. It is not a perfect storm. The Minister is the key actor and he has not done his stuff.

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