Dáil debates

Tuesday, 28 September 2021

6:15 pm

Photo of Sorca ClarkeSorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is a plethora of actions from this Government that I find truly jaw-dropping, but none more than the Government representatives' consistent appearances in this House and in the media promoting a delayed and postponed policy that so many experts have said simply will not work. This plan is good for big developers and investment funds but it is bad for working people looking to buy, for renters, or for those in need of social housing. It will push up house pries and rents while failing to deliver affordable housing that is badly needed in areas such as mine in Longford-Westmeath. The number of people whose lives, families, futures, hopes and dreams are being crushed by policies that this Government is wedded to inflicting on them is simply sickening. People arrive to my office doors with the dreaded notice to quit in their hands. That notice to quit might as well read "nine minutes" instead of "nine months" for all the hope these people have of finding an alternative home to live in. Those people experience anxiety and stress as that clock ticks down. They could not care less what is happening internationally as they pack their belongings into plastic bags.

Affordable housing needs to be exactly that: affordable. The question that begs to be asked when we see price caps of €225,000 in Longford and €300,000 in Westmeath relates to what planet the Minister is living on. That is completely unaffordable to somebody who is working in Dunnes Stores and married to a member of the Defence Forces. It is not going to happen. Where is the all in that arithmetic? A housing policy that focuses exclusively on supply must ensure supply in the right location and at the right price. We all know that it needs to be the right policy delivered by the right Minister and the right Government because otherwise it is simply going to fail. That is not what the people voted for in the most recent election. They did not vote for more failure and a lack of change.

It has been reported that at a recent meeting of Longford municipal district, the director of services expressed his fears as written correspondence received by his department returned not very encouraging insights as to where Longford fits into the Government's plan. His department of housing officials had devised seven criteria for the counties, one of which Longford will fail on immediately. If that does not raise alarm bells, I am not too sure what else would. That official believed that only 14 counties nationwide would meet the terms set down in the plan.

This housing plan will not fix the housing crisis. It will push up prices and rents. The social housing delivery will completely fail. We will have an increase in homelessness. When the Minister has a chance, I encourage him to look up the Longford Leaderon Google. I point him in the direction of an article that is headlined "Government bosses told to wake the hell up". I strongly suggest this Government takes that advice on board.

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