Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The landlord was fined and rightly so. There are good landlords, as the Taoiseach has said, but there are bad landlords who are behaving like this. They are brazen because they know the deck is stacked in their favour. They know the whole system is stacked in their favour and the tenant is powerless. In every debate, the Taoiseach keeps begging for time. He says that the Government needs more time. Fine Gael has been in government since 2011. The Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has been in office since 2016. The Government has had plenty of time. The Taoiseach was disappointed at the weekend. Does he understand why people are angry and frustrated? People know that there is a lot of wealth in this country, some of which is concentrated in a small number of pockets. People know what might be possible with the right approach. They can see that the Government, and the State, is failing to meet two of the most basic and fundamental human needs imaginable: the right to be cared for and healthy and the right to a secure and safe house. The mere right to have a home, to have shelter - the Government is unable to deliver on that. How can the Taoiseach expect people to be anything other than angry? The Government hangs by a thread.

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