Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State's party has been in government for seven years and we are in the midst of a housing emergency. After seven years, it still refuses point blank to roll out a properly-funded State-wide social and affordable housing building programme, despite the fact it is aware of the chronic shortage of rental properties which, in itself, is a crisis. It is also aware of the rocketing rental prices people are being charged for the few properties that are available. All of this is compounded by the fact that there is no evidence of any real effort to put forward an affordable housing programme. When I say affordable, I mean affordable for people on low and average wages.

In my constituency, Louth, the average asking price of a house has increased by 11.5%, the highest increase outside of Dublin. Rents in Louth have also increased by a staggering 16.7%, well in excess of increases in Dublin during the same period. There are no genuinely designated affordable houses for people to buy. The Minister of State knows that. We all accept that Fianna Fáil wrecked the economy and its policies forced tens of thousands of families into negative equity. We all accept that its policies forced misery on thousands of people and forced them into homelessness but Fine Gael has been in government for seven years. For those seven years, it has turned a blind eye to the situation and has allowed a crisis to develop into an emergency.

The few measures it recently introduced are merely tinkering around the edges. They will only be effective for a tiny minority of people. I simply cannot accept that the Government is so incompetent. A clear and deliberate policy has been ongoing for seven years and is compounding the misery for people year in and year out. A whole generation of people of moderate or no means are being denied the opportunity to have a permanent home.

Without the provision of affordable housing, along with social housing, we will return to the Celtic tiger era and we know how that ended thanks to Fianna Fáil. House prices are rocketing. This time around, ordinary people cannot afford to buy a home. They cannot even afford to rent a home. This is all happening on the Government's watch. It is as clear as day. If the Government cannot see what is happening, then God help us. At some stage, it will have to put an end to prolonging people's misery.

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