Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government is once again bringing through EU legislation that will have no impact on ordinary people. We were quick to utilise the EU when it looked like the Government's pals in the banking industry were in trouble, to borrow money to save them, but for ordinary people trapped in the housing crisis, the Government refuses to listen to leading experts who say we should use the EU and the advantages that it brings to borrow money to fund housebuilding.

In response to a parliamentary question that I tabled about the ESRI report suggesting we use EU funds to build more houses, the Department is quoted as saying, "Jaysus, that is not helpful." Who is it not helping? Building more homes would help the families I deal with every day, who are losing hope of ever having a secure home. It would also help the elderly people who feel trapped in homes that are too big for them because there is nowhere to downsize to. It would help the children who are the future of our State and give them stable homes in which to grow up. Outside of the Department, the only people who think it is unhelpful are developers and speculators who are profiting from the current housing crisis.

We are once again here talking about legislation to bail out banks. Where is the fund for local authorities to be bailed out? Local authorities, including Cork City Council and Cork County Council, are still feeling the consequences of the austerity measures that were forced on the Irish Government and people in 2010, 2011 and 2012. As a result, Cork City Council is running a budget deficit this year of €1.5 million. It needs to cover housing maintenance, playgrounds, cycle lanes and traffic calming, which will all be hard hit or even completely eliminated in some places. If, due to dodgy deals and downright corruption, banks go bust, we are expected to bail them out again. People in my constituency do not want to bail out any more banks. They want to be able to have their boiler serviced, go to local playgrounds that are maintained and have roads that are safe to walk and cycle on. We know the EU offers an ability to borrow money at extraordinarily low rates. We should be using that to build houses and fund local authorities.

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