Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Two reports published this morning confirm what people have known for quite some time, that is, that the Government's housing policy is a catastrophic failure. The overriding message in the reports from Daft.ieand the ESRI is that accommodation has become unaffordable and supply is at an all-time low. As things stand, renting or buying a home is now beyond the reach of an entire generation. Rather than delivering opportunity, the Government's housing crisis has instead delivered extreme stress, depression and hopelessness for thousands of citizens, who work hard and who aspire to a better life but for whom there is very little reward.

Ten years ago, a couple would make sacrifices in their daily lives to save for a deposit for a home but today they make exactly the same sacrifices simply to meet the extortionate rent that is due at the end of each month, if they are lucky. Life goals that were once considered modest and common have all been made impossible and people have told me their relationships are cracking under the strain of the housing emergency.

For many people in their late 20s to mid 30s even the idea of starting a family now falls into the bracket of unaffordability. These are the very real human consequences for those struggling to get on the property ladder or struggling to pay their rent. This is the reality and we hear it every day. The damage that is being done to people, including to their mental and physical health, is devastating. They spend 40 hours a week at work, and some spend more, but they have precious little to show for it. They cannot build a future and they find themselves in an exhausting economic and psychological dead end. So much for a republic of opportunity. It is nothing but a dupe.

I suggest the Taoiseach needs to change track. Instead of trying to normalise homelessness in this State with crude statistical exercises he needs to implement policies that actually work. The Government must increase the supply of affordable housing and introduce measures to reduce the cost of purchasing or renting a home. Just so as the Taoiseach knows, affordable housing means properties at a sale price of between €160,000 to €260,000 in Dublin. This would meet the needs of households earning above the threshold for social housing but below the €75,000 a year mark. It would mean affordable rental tenancies with fair rent. We have repeatedly suggested some solutions that meet these problems. Will the Taoiseach today commit to introducing a new affordable housing scheme that delivers homes on a level that matches the scale of the crisis we face? Rather than throwing renters to the wolf of market forces, will the Taoiseach introduce legislation that delivers real rent certainty by linking increases to the cost of living?

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