Dáil debates

Thursday, 14 December 2017

12:30 pm

Photo of Catherine MartinCatherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is hard to believe the figures the Tánaiste is giving for next year when the figures the Government has given for this year show that, of a target of 2,284 houses, only 809 were delivered. There is a huge disconnect between the narrative and reality. The harsh reality is that 8,000 people are homeless. The tragic reality is that 3,000 of them are children and the stark objective reality is that Rebuilding Ireland simply is not working. There were only 809 builds in 2017, of which 303 were direct local authority builds in 18 different authorities, meaning 13 local authorities did not complete a single house in 2017. Of the 98 completions in Dublin, 76 were rapid builds for families on the increasing homeless list, which leaves a grand total of 22 units in the greater Dublin area for a waiting list of 40,000 people. How is the capital housing budget being adequately spent if the greater Dublin area only saw 22 units built in the first nine months of this year? It is time to think outside the box and for the Government to accept that Rebuilding Ireland is not working. This is an emergency and a crisis. Surely an objective analysis of the Government's response should be results-driven. The results speak for themselves and they are appalling. It is time for a new direction and a new plan.

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