Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, am surprised, although I am not sure why, that ten of the 11 amendments have been ruled out of order. We are trying to reinvigorate our tourism industry. There are many good holiday home operators. While we will always have some cowboys, the vast majority of them are good. I am talking about a fear uasal i nDún Garbhán. People need to get out into the sun and the water, and get their space. They are so hard-pressed and at the pin of their collars. Some recognition should be allowed for that. This is why I support the amendment.

Let us face it; people are subletting houses. I remember older people, some of whom may have gone on to their eternal reward, telling me that when they got married they lived in a room in their parents' house or rented a room in someone's house. We are back to those days again because people cannot get onto the property ladder because they cannot afford it. One of the reasons for that is that direct Government actions in the past year have prohibited it. While I do not mean anything personal, the Minister's actions have directly contributed to the huge costs facing people trying to build a house. It is just impossible for a young couple, or any kind of a couple, to build a house now. A builder will not even give a quotation and builders suppliers will not give a quotation for more than three days because prices are going up by the week.

Students are also being exploited. They pay for their electricity through meters but there is no provision for that in the Bill.

There should be some dispute resolution mechanism. This is a feeble attempt by the Government to deal with this problem. When a tax, punitive or otherwise, is being introduced, it is applied at 12 midnight. However, we are making a big song and dance about a €113 payment. We are talking and talking about it. People cannot live. The cost of everything has gone up. We in the Rural Independent Group have looked for a mini budget because it is necessary.

The amendment is very good and I compliment Deputy O'Rourke and his colleagues on bringing it forward. We have to try to deal with this, and the public are expecting us to do so. Why are we so slow to react? Why does take departmental organisation months to act? We are nearly halfway through February. I wish everyone a happy Valentine's weekend. We have been waiting a long time for this to come through. Debates on different taxes, medical cards, grants or supports go on forever.

See this speech in context