Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The Ministers are not. There is a massive conflict of interest in this Dáil. One in four Deputies is a landlord, including one in three in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, which is an even higher concentration. Every day they are making, and voting on, policies that benefit themselves. It is an added problem that Members appear to be divorced from the reality. Some 4% of the population of this country are landlords. The proportion in this Chamber is 25%, yet that is not a problem.

The Government announced in Rebuilding Ireland that it would build more than 9,000 units. Yesterday, the Minister announced 10,000 units. Is that an increase of 400 social houses or not? Is it just a repackaging of Rebuilding Ireland? Some 16 houses were built in Dublin city recently. How will that suddenly be ramped up? Most of the money the Minister referred to, €121 million, is for HAP landlords. It is going directly into the pockets of the private sector again. The tax relief on building and renovations will definitely encourage more entities such as IRIS REIT and the investment funds to come into the country to do up properties, evict people and ratchet up rents again because that is a legitimate ground for increasing rent. It could result in a further increase in rents.

In the figures announced yesterday, the Minister referred to 70,000 social housing solutions. They are not social houses, of course. People do not get social houses very often anymore. Up to 50,000 of those solutions are to be provided through the HAP scheme. Last night, the Minister said on television that this would be an interim measure. However, this measure was being debated in the House just after I was elected to the House in a by-election in 2014. It is a four-year policy, not an interim measure. It was started by Deputy Jan O'Sullivan when she was Minister of State with responsibility for housing.

I also have a question about the rainy day fund. What does the Minister envisage it being used for? The EU's fiscal rules are clear that such funds can only be used to address external shocks and issues such as a bank bailout. Why would that money not be used for housing? Does the Minister not think it is wet and rainy enough for the tens of thousands who are in housing unaffordability?

What has he against young people? They are paying a huge price because of the housing crisis. Figures provided by the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, show this not only in terms of rents, but also in terms of the fees students are forced to pay in the student contribution. Under this Government and the previous Government, the student contribution rose by 263%. It was approximately €800 in 2007 when the crisis began and it is now €3,000. Students must fund that. Ireland has the fourth highest rate of suicide among young men in the world. Stress, housing problems and the like contribute to that.

It is estimated that the average age for buying a house is 36, and the mortgage can be for 35 years. One can see why young people are engaging in protests such as Take Back The City. There is a message for those who are engaging in those protests and getting politically active on the issue of housing, as many young people are. The people who took part in the repeal movement and who have been politicised and given confidence by that and the successful fight for marriage equality now see that they must turn their attention to the biggest problem they face, which is housing.

2 o’clock

The message they have to take from what was announced yesterday is that the protests have to continue and they have to up the ante. We need a massive protest, but on a Saturday rather than midweek, which, hopefully, will happen soon through the Raise the Roof campaign. We also need a continuation of peaceful civil disobedience and occupation of housing on a major scale because this Government is not listening.

On climate change, of all the issues that have been commented on in the 24 hours since the budget was announced, be it on social media or via emails to our offices, it is the lack of action in this area. It was reported over the last few days that we have 12 years potentially to resolve this problem otherwise we face a serious environmental doomsday scenario. The only sector referenced in this regard was forestry. As stated yesterday by Deputy Boyd Barrett, rather than a continuation of the current forestry policy which is causing many environmental problems, we need an indigenous and diverse range of trees.

The budget provides for a meagre measure on hybrid vehicles. Why did the Government not opt for massive investment in public transport because it is the second largest contributor in terms of CO2 emissions. Like other countries, it could have introduced free public transport to encourage people to move from their cars to public transport. Unfortunately, it did not avail of the opportunity to do either.

Over the last ten years the Government repeatedly told us there was no money available. The money is definitely available now in terms of the €1 billion additional yield in corporation tax announced last weekend. It is anticipated that as a result of the some of the tax changes made in this budget we will take in an additional €300 million or €400 million in corporation taxes next year and there is already a fund available in terms of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. This money should be used for housing. It should not be put away for a rainy day at a time when people really need it. We also have the money from Apple. There is massive wealth in this society that could have been used to resolve the issues. This budget is a landlords' budget from a landlords Dáil.

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