Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The lack of housing supply is clearly the deepest scar left in our society from a dark and painful economic recession. It is real, difficult and upsetting and fixing it is a priority for the whole of the Government and the whole of this country. However, one thing is for sure, and that is that the Minister did not cause the housing crisis, despite personalised, nasty attacks from some on the Opposition benches who endeavour to imply just that. The truth is that the housing crisis stems from failed policies of greed and mismanagement throughout Celtic tiger Ireland. We must now rebuild our entire housing sector while not repeating the mistakes of the past and the devastation that those mistakes created for so many. I have watched the Minister over the last 16 months and his energy and determination to fix this situation are second to none but there is no silver bullet, magic wand or one measure to fix it. This is a hard slog and a real challenge that we all need to involve ourselves in.

Week in and week out the Minister is bringing forward proposals to rebuild our housing sector, to demand more action from all stakeholders locally and nationally, to increase supply and to reduce rough sleeping. He and the Government are more than willing to work with the Opposition on addressing this major challenge. In fact, there is an onus on all of us to work together on this and I acknowledge that some in opposition want to do that. Others prefer to call names and engage in procedural stunts such as this ridiculous motion, knowing that it will not build one home or house one family. It is a real case of the worst type of politics, that nasty divisive politics that saw the rise of Trump and Brexit, suggesting that there is only one valid ideology and that nobody else gives a damn.

The Minister cares about his responsibilities. He takes them seriously. It is a pity Sinn Féin does not take its responsibilities in the House seriously. As I said, the Minister did not cause this crisis but there is nobody better fixed to solve it. He will work day and night to ease and solve it and we will stand shoulder to shoulder supporting him and opposing Sinn Féin's ridiculous stunt.

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