Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is a housing crisis not only in Dublin but throughout the entire country. We see it every day in my constituency of Sligo-Leitrim and across the entire western region. Here in Dublin, we meet it at its most extreme.

Earlier today, I heard the Minister say houses are being built, cranes are up, people are working and building is happening. Building of a certain type of housing is happening, namely, housing for the very wealthy. There is no housing for the people who cannot afford that. There are blocks of accommodation for students with rents of €1,000 a month, which they cannot afford. That is the kind of housing that is being built. It is not the type of housing that we need to provide homes and shelter for ordinary working people who go out every day and try to get on in life.

A motions of no confidence in a Minister is a long-established process used in this House and every parliament in the world. It is a means of highlighting an issue and holding a Minister to account, not a stunt. It has been used by the Minister's party and every other party in this Chamber for years. To call it a stunt is a disgrace.

The private market, the way the Minister wants to go, will only provide for social need in the most extreme circumstances. It does not normally provide for social need, as I have seen in my area recently. This problem affects rural and urban areas. The Minister has failed to such an extent that it is time for him to face up to reality and step aside.

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