Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

No, it would not be becoming. I do not think it was. I am of the view that it was simply the time or the Christmas period about which they were thinking.

I know the Minister has put a great deal of effort into this, as have Deputy Bailey and the officials. I thank all the officials and the staff of the House for being so patient with us for the late nights. I got a message from the Ceann Comhairle to the effect that we are finishing at 6 p.m. for health and safety reasons, and rightly so. If my business was operating those hours, there would be trouble. If a lorry driver was pulled over, he would be arrested because of the tachograph.

It is ridiculous to be rushing this legislation. The Minister should withdraw it. This is too rushed and panicked and there are too many possible flaws in it. I emphasise that they are possible flaw. We simply do not know. As Deputy Thomas Byrne said, there are too many uncertainties and imponderables. It is rushed and any rushed legislation is bad legislation. The Minister should withdraw it. There should be two separate Bills, with one for rent certainty alone. It should be separate from planning issues. Planning is a different matter. To use the words of Deputy McGuinness, it is the best worst example of new politics. That is a new phrase and it is apt. We have seen it in recent days. We have seen how some of my learned friends are not happy with the way the Minister has treated them.

In the case of water policy, I said that the pipe was ruptured and there was a split coming from the pipe in the relationship involving confidence and supply. I think bigger ruptures have appeared in the pipe. The pipe is swelling and expanding and is about to explode. It has not burst yet but we are not far off it. We have seen it in recent days. I think the days of this Government are numbered.

We will all be criticised, and why not? We are all in here in a bubble talking about things. Homelessness is increasing. We have been talking about it for nine years. The previous Government failed completely. The Minister responsible at the time, Deputy Kelly, tried to do something, but the Fine Gael people did not allow him. He lost the battle. He went to the bar on the night in question and I gave him a lollipop because he got nothing that day. I felt sorry for him. He was there with his Fine Gael colleagues and I handed the barman a lollipop to give to him. I did not want to give it to him myself in case he gave it back to me in no uncertain terms.

That is the way the games have gone on. Political games are being played while people suffer. Meanwhile, we are oblivious to what is going on with the banks. We can deal with all the issues we are trying to deal with in the Bill, but the Minister is looking in the wrong place. We should be looking at what is going on in the banks and what is happening with evictions in the courts. Instead, we passed the Courts Bill in recent days to allow the courts to evict more people. We can bring in whatever legislation we like. We can want, dream, fight, cajole and talk about who got this and who got that. They are like children waiting for sweets from Santa Claus in the sense of arguing who got the best part out of it. There is nothing good in it for anyone. The Minister is looking in the wrong place. Let us consider what the banks are doing.

I came to the House as a Fianna Fáil Member on that fatal night and voted for the bank guarantee. What thanks did I get? What thanks did the people get? We were lied to up to the hilt and we are still being lied to. The banks and the courts are evicting people. The Circuit Court was stopped in its tracks. The Government passed legislation last week to let the courts do it again.

I heard Deputy O’Callaghan referring to free legal aid and support for families who have been evicted. What good is free legal aid? It only makes the fat cats fatter, while other people face losing their homes.

There is no mention of the voluntary sector in the Bill. That sector has played and can continue to play a major role. It must do so because the local authorities and the system have failed.

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