Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom i dtús báire fáilte a chur roimh an mbeart a shocraigh foireann idirbheartaíochta Shinn Féin maidir le hAcht na Gaeilge agus an amlíne a leagadh síos chun é seo a chur i gcrích. Tá cainteoirí Gaeilge ag fanacht le cúig bliana déag ar a gcearta bunúsacha agus ar aitheantas agus beidh sé acu i mbliana. Guím gach rath ar mo chomhghleacaí, Michelle O’Neill, agus í ag glacadh an phoist mar chomhcheannaire arís tráthnóna.

I begin this morning by welcoming the deal that was struck last night by the Sinn Féin negotiating team in securing a timetable for the delivery of Acht na Gaeilge for citizens in the North. Irish speakers have been waiting for more than 15 years for basic rights and recognition to be delivered. I note that the leader of the DUP, Edwin Poots, has agreed to nominate Mr. Givan for the position of First Minister this morning. I hope that that commitment is delivered upon. I wish my colleague, Michelle O’Neill, the very best as she takes up the position of joint head of Government in the North again this afternoon.

Two significant reports published by the Central Bank and the Central Statistics Office, CSO, yesterday show that house prices are continuing to rise and show no sign of slowing. We have seen time and time again in the context of the CSO’s property price index - this was shown again yesterday - that prices have increased by 4.5% State-wide in the past 12 months. The Central Bank has stated that there is a massive imbalance between supply and demand. The Tánaiste knows that this is as a result of the Government's and Fine Gael’s refusal and failure to adequately invest in housing over the past decade. The Central Bank states that this is likely to fuel significant house price growth in the medium term. This, of course, will have knock-on effects on rents. Homes are increasingly out of reach for ordinary workers and families. This includes many people on decent incomes. I genuinely think that the Government simply does not get it or does not understand the scale of the problem and the level of the anger that is out there.

As house prices continue to rise, it is becoming even more difficult for renters and others to save when so much of what they get in their pay packets is eaten up by rent and other living costs. Many see home ownership as an impossible dream. Regrettably, that is an outlook that Fine Gael and the Government have imposed on so many people. We need to reverse this trend and we need to do it now. We need to start providing people with hope. We must support those who cannot afford to move out of their family homes, those who are paying exorbitant rents and those who are struggling to access affordable accommodation or own their own homes.

Action must be taken now. That means supply-led solutions. The Tánaiste knows that it is not just Sinn Féin that is saying this. Yesterday’s reports from the Central Bank and the CSO follow on from the recent assessment by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, to the effect that the State must and can double capital investment in housing. This is a policy that Sinn Féin has been calling on those in power to adopt for years, only for our pleas to be arrogantly dismissed by Fine Gael and the Government. It is time to implement our proposals. The Government has an opportunity, in budget 2022, to truly make a difference for these ordinary workers and those struggling to buy homes. In the interim, we need to see real action to help those who have been caught in the rental trap.

Will the Government take on board what Sinn Féin and the ESRI are advocating, namely, the doubling of capital investment in the October budget in respect of homes that people can afford? That is the bar that we expect the Government to reach in the budget. Will it even try to do so? We also ask the Government to move to ensure that renters are protected by a three-year ban on rent increases?

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