Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, am disappointed. The previous Government had a massive majority and bulldozed everything through, including the land and conveyancing legislation. We are now supposed to have new politics and a new Government. In drafting the amendments, Deputies made a genuine effort to have empathy and to understand the trauma and stress. They are trying to deal with what the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, is calling an emergency. Reams of paper and all the announcements in the world will not deal with it if the Government does not do so.

Deputy Healy stated that over 400 families - four per day - lost their homes in the past three months. That is not to mention at all the many self-employed people with small enterprises who took out business loans in good faith. Many secured loans using their own homes, which they had paid for through hard work and toil. Now they are in trouble and facing the problem also. There is silence on this. The figure of four per day is not accurate at all. There are many more affected and they are suffering from the associated trauma.

I would have believed Fine Gael would have been chastened somewhat by the result it got in the election. Now I see Fianna Fáil is lining up with it to ensure that these amendments are not accepted or given a hearing. We await the outcome. The public is watching, however. It is downright unbelievable that a housing emergency cannot be declared. The Government knows what is happening. Most of the Deputies know in any event. My colleague, Deputy O'Callaghan, might not because he is on the other side in his other job. He is entitled to that job but he is an elected Member of this House now. What goes on in the courts is lucrative business.

There is a service called Abhaile. It is the case that many people will be saying, "Cá bhfuil mo bhaile? Tá mo bhaile imithe." The service is appropriately named. It is a scheme to put money in lawyers' and solicitors' pockets; it is not to support families. Affected people must pay the costs in court when facing the high road. They face no other road but the high road. In court, they could not be heard or have advocates. Now they are told they can have legal eagles who will come to support them. The latter will get paid, yet those affected will be losing their homes, thus adding to a growing housing list. Despite this, we cannot see the correlation between the two. We are very slow. Junior infants would see what is going on. Anybody who is blindfolded would see what is going on, but this Government cannot see it and neither could that which preceded it. The contagion is now spreading to this side of the House.

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