Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for bringing forward this motion, which proposes to build 100,000 houses in five years. The motion on its own will not solve the housing crisis we are facing but it will allow us to start solving it. Cork City Council has 5,381 families and individuals on its housing waiting list and a further 2,737 families and individuals on the housing assistance payment or rent supplement schemes. This means that in Cork city alone, there are 8,000 families and individuals who are looking for social housing. That number does not include the thousands of people who earn too much to qualify for social housing but not enough to get a mortgage.

Deputy Ó Broin is putting forward a solution for tens of thousands of individuals and families nationally. We are seeing three generations living in the one household because people cannot afford the ridiculous rents landlords are demanding. People have a choice either to stay at home with their parents to try to put a deposit together. The Minister referred to the Boherboy Road housing scheme in Cork. I was the councillor in Cork City Council who proposed that motion. I thank the council's housing department, which, with no Government plan or strategy, went away and developed its own affordable housing scheme. Local authorities are having to step in where the Government is not stepping up. In 2019, only 68 Rebuilding Ireland housing loans were approved in Cork. I was in touch with a young woman who was approved last week and I take the opportunity to thank the council officials who helped her. It took a year and a half to get that home loan over the line. The reason it took so long is the bureaucracy and red tape that Fine Gael has put into the system, backed by Fianna Fáil.

People are looking for hope and for the Government to listen to them. This motion lets people know we are listening to them, we care about their needs and their problems and we are trying to do something about them. It is time to stop making promises and start building houses. We need to offer people hope. What is proposed in this motion will not fix everything but, for tens of thousands of people, it will be a start towards giving them an opportunity to own their own home. We can leave here tonight saying that we have delivered affordable housing for people. Would that not be a great thing?

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