Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It would be useful if people compared and contrasted the Sinn Féin performance in government on housing to that of the current Government here in terms of protecting tenants. Under a Sinn Féin Minister with responsibility for housing, for example, the recent private tenancies legislation in the North simply extended the termination period to 12 weeks, with the courts starting to hear eviction proceedings from 31 August. The protections Sinn Féin brought in where it is in government are far less than what we have been doing here in the Republic, where there have been more comprehensive measures to protect tenants from eviction, particularly in the context of Covid-19. That is never acknowledged and the contrast is quite stark in terms of how people are treated under Sinn Féin where it is in government and the parties in government in the Republic.

We acknowledge that there is much work to be done here. The Deputy is correct in saying we have only been in government for a number of months. Budget 2021 puts its stamp on it, however, and states unequivocally that, with multi-annual funding, we want to engage in the largest social housing building programme over the next five years. That is our agenda and that is what we will do. There is also affordable housing, of course, and we have a suite of other measures to enable us to do that.

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