Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has told the House that he has no ideological position on housing. That is the best capitalist ideology of all. It is an ideology that presents itself as simply being common sense, pragmatic and what is natural and implies that we are the ones with an ideology, which is not true. The Government has an ideological bias against public and social housing. That is clear from what the Minister and the Taoiseach say, but, above all, it is clear from the facts. Last year the Minister built, on the most positive estimate, fewer than 800 local authority homes, less than 10% of the number that would have been built in the late 1980s. There is an ideological bias which flows from the Minister's general capitalist ideology that sees housing as a commodity which is to be delivered by the free market. That ideology which the Minister does not acknowledge coincides happily with the interests of those he represents. It coincides with the interests of landlords who are now experiencing the highest profits in the entire European Union, as well as with the interests of developers. That is how ideology works, even if one chooses not to acknowledge it.

It is because of that ideology that the Minister says we have no alternative because we do not put forward an alternative that sticks to the rules of that ideology. We have alternatives, with the minority report on housing we produced, numerous local plans, for example, a plan for Kilcarbery which could be supported on Monday in South Dublin County Council and which could, instead of 70% of public land being privatised, see it being used for a 60% social and 40% affordable housing scheme. The Minister does not recognise that alternative because it starts from an entirely different logic. It starts from the need of people to have a decent quality of life, which means a right to quality and affordable homes for all people. Addressing these needs means breaking from the Minister's ideology and the rules of the capitalist market. It means socialist policies whereby people's needs and their right to a home would come before the right to make a profit of landlords, developers and the banks. It means that the motion is only the starting point in terms of what is needed. It means a ban on economic evictions to stop the tidal wave of people being forced out of their homes. It means effective rent controls, backdated to 2011 and linked with the consumer price index. Crucially, it means massive investment by the State to build public and social affordable homes, at a rate of 20,000 a year over five years, to reach a figure of 100,000, which would include Traveller and student accommodation. The Minister will not do it.

The Minister has said we are not protestors but lawmakers. He can speak for himself. I was protesting today, like all other Solidarity-People Before Profit Deputies and many others. They were right to do so. We are arguing in favour of the motion inside the Dáil, but we were right to join the protest. Anybody who wants to see an end to the crisis and the nightmare for so many in this country should be out protesting. If people did not protest, the Government would do nothing. Frederick Douglass said, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." If people had not protested and distributed abortion pills, would we still have the eighth amendment in the Constitution? Would there be access at 12 weeks? If people had not protested and refused to pay water charges, would we still have them? I think we would. We have to protest to force change because it goes against the economic interests reflected in the ideology the Minister put forward, that of landlords and developers. Today's demonstration was very significant. It was the biggest mid-week protest on any issue for many years. It has to be the starting point of a mass movement to force change. It means that the occupation of vacant homes should spread and that a date should be set for a national demonstration on a Saturday which would the force the trade union movement to put its full weight behind it, combined with different housing campaigns, campaigners and others across the country, to ensure we bring tens of thousands onto the streets on the next occasion and put the Government and its policies in peril.

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