Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, an Teachta Ó Broin, for bringing forward this important motion. The motion nails the issue of the rental crisis, namely, the lack of solutions from successive governments, and outlines the only true solutions that can rectify it. We need to look past the statistics and figures to the fear, depression and hopelessness, particularly of our young people caught in this rental trap. They are distraught by the current circumstances, of course, but they are also exhausted by the failures of successive governments to address this crisis, which has been going on for more than a decade. When Fine Gael and the Labour Party were in government, we were told the crisis could not be fixed overnight. Five years later, Fine Gael, in a confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáil, told us the crisis could not be fixed overnight. Now, Fianna Fáil is implementing all the same policies that Fine Gael did, telling us the crisis cannot be fixed overnight. They have had almost 4,000 overnights to get this right. How many more will it take?

It is patently clear to me and the young people caught in the rental crisis that it is not a lack of time that is the problem but the Government's total opposition, for ideological reasons, to implementing solutions that are necessary to fix this crisis.

To be honest, it would be a little bit unfair to heap all of this on the shoulders of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. From his time as housing spokesperson during the confidence and supply agreement-supported Government, everyone knew he lacked any ambition or any real or well-thought-out ideas. He was always going to struggle. The few policies he had would, at best, be underwhelming and, at worst, be downright dangerous.

The conversation on housing this week has focused on the REITs that are purchasing properties in bulk to rent them out for excessive prices. That falls at the door of the Minister of State and his party, Fine Gael. It was they who laid out the red carpet for these vultures and scavengers that are going to keep young people trapped in the Minister of State's rental crisis. People have had enough. They are listening to the solutions being put forward by my party and others. They are sick of the Minister of State's rental crisis.

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