Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Rents have gone crazy for those who are trying to rent, as if the Minister of State does not know already. It traps people who are renting. They will not be able to afford to buy a home for themselves. The national average rent is €1,352. If a family or couple is trying to rent a property at €1,352, they will never be able to own their own home. They are tied into and trapped into this terrible system. People have lost their homes due to unscrupulous banks, which have been unwilling to work with them. Vulture funds are the clever way out for these banks and these vulture funds have ruined many people's lives. These people wanted to pay when they could afford to but could not do so in a difficult time in their lives, so they were squeezed out of their homes, which is shocking. This has forced more and more people into social housing or HAP, leaving tens of thousands either being fleeced or simply on the edge of being homeless. The Rural Independent Group has put forward ways out of this mess for people who sought a home or some place to live. We have looked for grants and tax relief in our budget submissions for people living over shops in lovely towns and villages throughout the country and rebuilding some of these rural communities. Instead, the Government is heaping more misery on the ordinary woman or man who works tirelessly day in, day out.

I see first-hand in my constituency clinics every weekend and on my phone during the week that people are tired and angered by the inaction of successive Governments. For those who are willing to try to turn things around and not be a burden on the State, the Government is creating more pressure by making sure that policies are written to prevent people from getting simple planning permission for their homes. I know people who want to live in small timber houses, maybe two beds with a back garden. What about those who want to turn a shipping container into a home but are prevented from doing so? What about a home on wheels, which is another idea that the local authority should co-operate with? It would be for people who want to develop small, temporary homes, and the local authority should make sure that they are tucked away on private property. Instead the answer is always "No". The Government has absolutely no solutions. It leaves the ordinary, hard-working people not knowing where to turn. Serviced sites in towns and villages should be addressed too.

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