David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is no consensus on housing. We are certainly not as one on this issue. How could we be when one considers the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael way? Ever since I became involved in politics, I have seen Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael bail this State out of its responsibilities in terms of building social and unaffordable housing. This Government and that which preceded it have left ordinary working people who work hard and want to own their own homes to the mercy of the market. The Minister has made sure that the private housing market is what comes first.

The victims in this are the people who get up early in the morning and work until late in the evening. They have no chance to buy homes of their own because of the Government's failures. Its affordable housing plan lies in tatters because it did not offer the necessary solutions. The Minister can shake his head but the people out there in the real world who are victims of the Government's housing policy and failures know it to be the case. We do not have to convince them. They are telling us every day of the week.

People who do not have access to social or affordable homes are seeing house prices and rents go up every week. Those struggling families who we represent and give a voice to are paying huge amounts of their income on rent. They cannot afford to save. For these hardworking people, home ownership is now beyond him because of the Government's failure. In the Ireland built by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, we have a situation where landlords come before tenants. We see this with rising rents year on year, month on month, and week on week. We saw in the past and we are seeing it again where banks are being put first above people who own their own home and are in mortgage distress. Now we see vulture funds and institutional investors swooping in to buy properties that should be available for people who want to own their own homes.

As a consequence, house prices are being pushed up. The Minister has no idea what it is like for the people struggling out there, who want to own their own home and need affordable homes. If he did, he would act. If he really wanted to take on these investor funds, he would.

As I have said time and again, people will only get some relief and see substantial change in the delivery of social and affordable homes when we do not have a Government made up of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, parties which put speculators, banks and vulture funds first, and when Deputy Doherty is Minister for Finance and Deputy Ó Broin is Minister with responsibility for housing. That is when we will see the substantial changes people need and the homes that need to be built for hard-working families.

See this speech in context