John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad I had the opportunity to listen to the contribution from the Minister of State. I know that he cannot fix this overnight or in six months. I know that he cannot flick a switch and solve the problem. However, this problem has been ongoing for five years. In 2014, the former Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, launched the plan that was going to solve the housing problem by 2021. It is now 2018 and we are only getting a trickle of houses coming onto the market. The Minister of State said that the Government's social housing plan is working, but there are 10,000 homeless people in the country as we speak. Is the Minister of State delusional about what is working? Does he think that we, as Opposition Deputies, are making this stuff up? Does he think we would be saying that there is an affordable housing crisis and trying to put forward solutions through our party spokesman, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, if there was no issue out there? It is time to realise that there is a problem. The Minister of State telling us that there is no problem and pretending that it is going to go away will not solve it.

I worked in construction for 15 years. I worked as an engineer and I know what it takes to get planning permission up and running, to get a site serviced and to get houses built. I know that 12 to 18 months would be long enough if one had the determination and the drive. There is an affordable housing issue out there. There are many couples on good salaries who simply cannot afford to enter the housing market. We are putting forward viable proposals and asking the Government to work with us to solve a problem. I ask the Minister of State not to stand up in the House and tell us that there is not a problem because there is and it is time we addressed it.

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