Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are five speakers, inclusive of Deputy Danny Healy-Rae. I do not want to stand up here and be critical of what the Minister is trying to achieve with regard to housing. I want to support him if what he is doing is right and if it will mean people will be able to purchase a home and attain home ownership, which is something we all want. I am sure it is something the Minister wants as well. However, I do not want mistakes to be made. I do not want us to base our business on the English model because, to my mind, it has been proven to be a failure. Across the water, people are paying 100% of the cost of a house in which they have only a small proportion of ownership. I ask the Minister to look at the mistakes made across the water with a view to ensuring they are not repeated here.

I also want us to look at other sources of housing in a positive and proactive way. In every town and village in this country there are many vacant houses. It is a scandal. Can we put in place incentives to encourage purchase of these houses? We are all aware of the cost of purchasing a new property. We need to encourage the purchase of second-hand houses in our towns and villages, which might be beautiful places and a safe environment for young couples to live and rear their families. With remote working and the availability of high-speed broadband we should be encouraging people to live in rural Ireland. Rural Ireland is a beautiful place for people to live in but we must put in place the services and incentives to support them.

We need to look at why the cost of building has increased. The cost of timber, steel, blocks, cement and mortar has gone through the roof and is being passed on to young couples who are trying to get on the property ladder. We need to look at the whole problem. Unlike other people, I am not going to stand up here and knock the Minister and say things like "to hell with you, you're only for the developers", because that is not true and it is not fair to do that.

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