Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The fiscal rules prevent us from pro-cyclical economic policies. That is what they were designed for. What I am saying is under those rules, the prudent thing to do is to use the €1.4 billion available to the Government to build the houses that should have been built under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael but were not. It left us with a massive social crisis where there are 10,000 people in emergency accommodation, 4,000 of whom are children. There are nearly 100,000 on the housing waiting list. There are pressures on businesses because their workers cannot afford to live in the capital city and its environs. All of that poses serious risk to the stability of our economy in the future.

The Minister mentioned trends in planning permission, which are welcome, but there is a response needed from the State also. The State built fewer than 5,000 social houses last year, and zero affordable houses or cost-rental houses, yet the Minister plans in this year's budget to do very little about it while acknowledging all the risks. What we need is a doubling of capital investment to meet the challenge that is out there. That is what is required in this budget. That is the prudent thing to do recognising all the risks, not just the social consequences of the Government's policies but also the macroeconomic risks, which everybody says are housing supply and housing price inflation at this time.

It is not just about supply. Rents are 22% above peak at this time. The Commission tells us clearly the rent pressure zones have failed. A response is needed which is not a head-in-the-sand approach as has happened from Government until now.

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