Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We showed how it could have delivered 10,000 social houses and 5,000 affordable houses. We bring to the Government the legislation which states it should legislate to ensure that no family is evicted into homelessness. What does the Government do? It votes against it. The Government prioritises investors and vulture funds and it throws Irish citizens to the wolves. The reason for the crisis is not an act of God.

It is not some sort of accident. In excess of 10,000 people are in emergency accommodation as a direct result of the policies introduced by the Government. More than ten years ago I stood on the floor of the Seanad and said to the Minister of State of the day, Michael Finneran, that his policies - followed by the Government - would mean that house prices would reach a peak again. I said that when that happened landlords would turf tenants out onto the street. What we needed then and what we have needed every year since then was for the Government to build and purchase social houses. However, the Government has decided not to do that. We have repeatedly said that this area is an ideological blind spot for Fine Gael. It has prioritised investors, vultures, cuckoos-----

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