Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There has been a housing crisis in this State for decades. It has many facets and it has been presided over by this Government and previous Governments. That is a fact that cannot be denied by the Government or its predecessors. They have presided over the chaos that is housing policy in this State. They have facilitated developers continuously, year in and year out, decade after decade. Even when developers went bang, Governments have stepped in and bailed them out.

There have been many facets to this crisis, as I said, but the latest one was predicted and the Government was warned about it, yet it took no action. In fact, the Government facilitated and encouraged international REITs and Irish real estate funds, IREFs, to come in and invest in housing in Ireland. The Government encouraged them to compete with ordinary workers in this State who are trying their best to get money together for a deposit and obtain the permissions they need to draw down a mortgage for what might be a starter home or, in some cases, a dream home or "forever home", as they are known. What happens when these people have everything in place? The funds the Government has encouraged overbid them because they offer sometimes €50,000, €60,000 or even €80,000 more per home than the poor Irish taxpayers trying to buy these homes can afford. That is the Government's policy; it is what the Minister has stood over. These people have been let down by the Government, yet we have heard the Minister's spokespeople say over the years that there is not a problem.

In my area, ordinary workers are now being asked for huge sums. The price on the market for a council house in Ballyfermot, for instance, is €300,000. Down the road in Crumlin, prices of €400,000 are being sought. This is for an ordinary corporation house. There is nothing wrong with the area. What is wrong is the price and the people who have presided over that are this Government and its predecessors. They have encouraged multinationals to invest through the REITs and IREFs to ensure normal working people cannot afford homes.

The Minister should think back to when he may only have had a few bob and was trying to get a home for himself. Even if he was trying to rent one of the houses I mentioned, it would cost him €2,400 per month to rent a council house in Ballyfermot or Crumlin. That is crazy. No ordinary worker can afford that. The Minister is saddling people with huge debts. Not only that, he is now encouraging these firms to come in and invest in Irish property so they can make huge profits without paying tax and without benefiting the State or society. It is time for this to end.

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