Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to express full confidence in the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. Sinn Féin, with characteristic hypocrisy, seeks to personalise a highly complex problem, the causes of which are well known to everybody. The goal this evening is to inflict maximum political damage and feed a myth that one person alone can either solve or create a crisis. As always with Sinn Féin, the rhetoric of their spokespersons at national level is contradicted by the actions of their foot soldiers at local level where they have a history of opposing housing proposals.

Given the personalised attack on the Minister, I want to state on the record that I know Deputy Eoghan Murphy very well. I can attest to his incredible work ethic and his 24/7 commitment to resolving the housing crisis. In his actions to seek a resolution, the Minister takes a multifaceted, strategic approach that is already steadily yielding dividends. I strongly support his responsible approach to long-term planning.

I represent County Laois and can speak with some authority about the consequences of poorly thought out housing policies. During the Celtic tiger years, thousands of houses were built all over Laois, including on flood plains and at the edges of villages. Fields of houses appeared everywhere and the county did not have the infrastructure to cope. Deputy Stanley knows this better than anyone.

When the economy went over the cliff, thanks to Fianna Fáil, my county was littered with ghost estates. We are still playing catch-up with school places, hospital beds and other vital services. I applaud the Minister for visiting my county on numerous occasions. He is well aware of the terrible mistakes of the past. I was a Member of this House during the years of the Celtic tiger and I remember the crazy policies that Fianna Fáil introduced. I remember the high price we paid for populism and chaos. We owe it to the people of Ireland to learn from the mistakes of the past and the Minister absorbs the lessons well.

The housing problem demands a constructive approach and engagement from everybody in this House, from all sides. It does not need cynical political opportunism of the type we are seeing from Sinn Féin. I reject the cynical motion.

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