Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin, especially Deputies Ó Broin and Doherty, for the work that they put in to this matter. We do not always agree 100% on everything and I would question their support of some of the carbon taxes, but this motion is nothing but a sincere attempt at trying to highlight the problems that we have.

This is no longer a Dublin crisis; it is countrywide. The Government is doing nothing whatsoever, in my humble opinion, to sort it, and I will tell the Minister why. First of all, however, I will declare an interest in all of these type of matters, as I always do.

When you look at the way the culture has been made to suit the massive institutional investors that come in from abroad, the fact that they are able to shelter so much money from tax and that they can buy up hundreds and hundreds of units at the same time, of course, that is not good at the end of the day for the person who is renting. That is one of the contributing factors to such increased rents and it is why it is so expensive for people who want to get on the property ladder and buy, whether it is an apartment or a house. This is not just the case in Dublin. As already stated, it is a countrywide problem. There is more to Ireland and more to the housing crisis than what is happening on this side of the Red Cow roundabout. We live outside the Red Cow roundabout - we are entitled to live there - and we have a housing crisis. We in County Kerry have a housing crisis. Every clinic that I go to, and every day and every hour that we are picking up the phone, it is people who are in trouble. It is the people themselves, the mothers, the fathers and the grandparents asking what are we going to do.

I do not know what in the name of God has happened this month, but the number of people who have been given notice to leave their homes has increased. I checked every one of them and some of them fall through the net and they are not done properly, but the majority of the notifications telling perhaps a young couple that they have to leave their home, are done properly. That is fine, but where are they supposed to go? I am sorry; I am out of time.

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