Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We need to decide what we want.

The cost-rental model is good. The Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance model in particular has been very positive. I urge the Minister to move as quickly as possible. I know Ó Cualann has gone to some other local authorities to speak about its model. It is very positive and provides affordable homes.

We want to try to make constructive contributions on what is a really serious problem for people who are faced with unaffordability and see themselves stuck in the rental market although they want to buy a home, they have a job and they see rent going up. They are in competition with others who may be happy enough to be in the rental market, but people who want to buy cannot buy, and the social housing lists are getting longer. We need to see things happening, as opposed to potential actions. I urge the Minister to give the local authorities the tools to use their lands to provide social and affordable housing at scale and not just as a small percentage of the various sites. To judge by what councillors around the country tell us, they may well want all the houses in a particular area to be affordable whether for those on the housing waiting list or for purchase or affordable rent but because of the way the system is organised they have to agree to market rents for many of those houses. I hope we will have further constructive debates. This is a disappointing motion and I hope we will see more specific motions from Fianna Fáil soon.

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