Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I regret that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is no longer in auditorium because I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his appointment. He is a constituency colleague and I know him well. He is, of course, a Fianna Fáil Minister. When many people heard that a Fianna Fáil Minister was taking over the housing portfolio there was a sharp intake of breath and worry because Fianna Fáil has always associated itself with housing. Some of that tradition is proud, in particular the large public housing provision in the mid 20th century. However, some of that tradition is not so proud, including more recently the deregulation of the housing market and the privatisation of public housing. Houses were built too quickly and they were unsafe. Pyrite and fire safety issues happened under Fianna Fáil's watch. It is with trepidation that we welcome a new Fianna Fáil Minister into this role. The Minister is aware of the aforementioned legacy. It is on his shoulders to shape where Fianna Fáil goes next. If, as stated by the Minister, he does propose to return local authorities to the provision of public housing then he will have the support of many groups within this Dáil.

The Government amendment to the Labour Party motion is not a great start. It is very weak. As Opposition spokesperson on housing six months ago the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, would have laughed it out of the Dáil Chamber. The only saving grace was that the amendment did not match with what the Minister had to say in his opening statement. I took a little more comfort from that than I did from the weak and watery amendment on what is the most serious crisis in this country.

I am a little concerned about the Minister's reference to the need to seek advice from NPHET on the continuance of the protections for renters and mortgage holders. We need to be careful about how NPHET is used as we move out of the pandemic. NPHET has played a substantial role in keeping many people alive in this country but it is not the job of NPHET to advise Ministers in any portfolio, in particular housing, on whether protections for renters and mortgage holders should be continued. We have a new Government and a new Cabinet. They have to make decisions and they have to stand over them. NPHET should be nearing the end of its job. Its job is to keep people alive, not to keep people in homes or build homes. That is the job of the new Government and the new Minister with responsibility for housing.

I would like to pick up on a point made by Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. The Deputy said that he is in the job of providing accommodation and has been since he was 19 years old and that we should not be hunting people like himself who are landlords out of their business. The Deputy and landlords should not be in the business of providing housing solutions for the most vulnerable people in our society. That is the responsibility of the State. The State should be providing sufficient public housing such that we do not have to rely on HAP and rent supplement payments or on private landlords to fill the massive gap that was created when the State privatised the provision of public housing. This was done under Fianna Fáil. It is part of its legacy. It is a massive legacy to undo.

We were told many things recently, including that it was not possible to freeze rents. It turned out that was possible and it was done. We were told that the banks, which are heavily owned by the State, could not be influenced in regard to relief on mortgages. That was done. Many things have been possible in the last couple of months that remain possible if there is a will in this country, publicly and cross this Chamber, to do it. We can stop evictions and ensure that people do not find themselves with massive mortgage or rental debt such that they can look forward to the future with some degree of comfort that their Government has their back.

I hope the Government will not push its amendment to a vote tomorrow. I hope it will not move it and that it will instead support our motion. It is a sound and good motion that has the support of the majority of Deputies. It also had the support of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, a few weeks ago when he was the Opposition housing spokesperson. I commend the motion to the House and thank our housing spokesperson, Senator Moynihan, on her work on it and Deputy Ó Ríordáin for leading on it.

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