Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

They represent a national scandal, not just a disappointment. This is not just about numbers. The Tánaiste said there was too much emotion involved in dealing with this issue, but perhaps there is not enough emotion in the debate. We are talking about real people in this so-called republic who are living in hotel rooms, bed and breakfast accommodation and family hubs. There are 4,000 children whose lives have been wrecked before they have even begun, many of whom have never known a place they could call home. At the national conference last weekend the Taoiseach had the audacity to say Fine Gael's housing plan was working and that the Government was on the right track. It might be working for landlords, the vulture funds and property speculators, but it is certainly not working for ordinary people whom the Government is supposed to protect.

The Minister went on radio this morning, but for whom did he bat? It was clear that it was not for the 10,000 homeless persons in the State, or those who were facing rent hikes or eviction. He batted, as he always does, for landlords because that is the side he and Fine Gael are on. He accused the interviewer, Bryan Dobson, of asking ideological questions when he was asked to defend the Government's abysmal record on social housing construction. Fine Gael has turned it into an ideological issue. Making sure people have a roof over their head should never be the subject of an ideological dispute in this House; it should be an automatic right. The Government is failing those who are homeless, those who are renting and those who aspire to own their own home because it simply does not get it. The housing system is broken. We need real homes, bricks and mortar from all sources - social, affordable and private. That requires adequate investment and means doubling the investment in social housing construction. It means real rent certainty and introducing a three-year rent freeze. We need to stem the number of people entering homelessness or who are at risk thereof. That means legislating. The single biggest cause of homelessness is landlords selling properties and evicting their tenants. The Government could do something about that in this House today.

There will be legislation before the Dáil this evening, brought forward by my colleague, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin. When he brought it forward previously, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil failed to support it. It is based on the Focus Ireland amendment. It would prevent buy-to-let landlords from booting tenants out of their homes and into homelessness. The Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil can take a stand if they are genuine about the comments they have made by supporting the legislation to stop landlords from evicting tenants because they want to sell their homes, which is the major cause of homelessness in the State. That needs to be done. Deputies need to support the legislation.

See this speech in context