David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I said last week that people outside this House are sick and tired of politicians debating the housing crisis. We have put forward many solutions to it. The rental crisis is a product of this Government not building the homes people need for the last eight years. Many families want to own their own homes but do not have that option, first, because the Government is not building any affordable homes and, second, because the high rents many young couples are paying deprive them of the opportunity to save money to do so. The Government is robbing many young families of their futures and their dreams of buying their own homes.

The Government has sat on its hands in respect of this issue for eight years, as has Fianna Fáil. When we pointed out to the Government that this would get worse unless direct action was taken by the State, it refused to do anything and told us that the market would sort itself out, because this was a market problem. It was nothing of the sort. It was a crisis created by the Government because it did not build social and affordable homes. Everybody, including those with social housing needs, was then forced into the private rented sector, which created the perfect storm of this crisis in rent. The Minister knows a rent freeze is needed. He knows it will give those young people a break.

Some families and couples no longer rent homes, especially in Dublin. I have said this to the Minister before. They are renting rooms in houses. Three, four, or five couples and families rent rooms in one home because that is the only opportunity they have. People are paying over €1,200 a month for a room in a house. In some cases they are renting beds and sharing rooms with other people because of the rental crisis.

The Government closes its eyes to this situation and rejects any proposals from the Opposition. Fianna Fáil has had a late conversion to this, as Deputy Ó Laoghaire noted. It previously ridiculed our past proposals regarding a rent freeze. It has now changed its spots and says it supports the proposal before the House, as it does with every issue, because of the by-election results and because we are getting closer to a general election. In reality, those in Fianna Fáil, like the Government, sat on their hands. This is an opportunity for the Minister to do something right, although I do not think he will. We have gone beyond talking about no confidence in him or the Government. What is the point? They have never listened. As long as the people of this State keep voting for this Minister, his party or even Fianna Fáil, there will be no solution to the housing and rental crises. Only with a Sinn Féin Government will there be any real change.

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