Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Comhghairdeas leat, a Cheann Comhairle, faoin ról nua. Ar an gcéad dul síos, gabhaim buíochas le muintir Chorcaigh Lár Theas as an deis a thabhairt dom bheith mar ionadaí acu. Two and a half minutes is not much time by any measure, but particularly to try to do justice to many of the complaints, fears, concerns and frustrations on the issue of housing that my constituents sent me here to convey.

Rent is rising faster in Cork than in Dublin now agus feicimid go bhfuil lucht caipitil ag baint leasa as sin anois, mar shampla, in Eden sa Charraig Dubh agus in áiteanna eile go luath. There are inadequate protections for tenants, which requires urgent legislation to stop families being thrown out on our streets. The increasing numbers on our streets, sleeping rough and the utterly unacceptable number of people living in hostels, hotels and Travelodges by way of supposedly emergency accommodation is an ongoing scandal.

There are aspects of the housing crisis that are not being discussed, difficult though that may be to believe. The housing crisis does not stop at the front door. The lack of social housing is causing overcrowding on an outrageous level, with seven and eight-person households in two-bedroom flats. It is now so commonplace to have three generations under the one roof as to be unremarkable. We hear a lot about bad landlords, but the biggest landlord in Ireland is the State and it is failing. There are thousands of households living in conditions of the most brutal damp and cold. They have blackened, wet walls, rotting doors hanging from hinges, and roofs and eaves practically heaving with neglect, letting water into the house. There are houses and flats that have seen barely any significant maintenance for 30 or 40 years. Even among those who are housed, there is squalor. There is no question in my mind that this is affecting the health and well-being of thousands of families in social housing in a very serious way, particularly the elderly, the very young and those with respiratory diseases. This is a direct result of the massive cuts to funding to local government for over ten years now. Níl an Rialtas seo tar éis na ceachtanna a fhoghlaim ón stair. Tá an ghéarchéim tithíochta mar thoradh ar an easpa tithíochta sóisialta. The Government's housing policy has cut Part V to ribbons and it is over-reliant on the private rental sector to meet social housing need.

Only a substantial housing building programme will deliver a solution to our crisis and the Government's programme is a triumph of spin over substance.

See this speech in context