Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On page 120, the programme for Government commits to holding a referendum on housing. There are almost 7,000 people on the housing list in Kildare and there is a ten-year to 12-year wait for allocations. There is no sense of urgency in dealing with this issue. We need to build public homes on public land. If there is not enough suitable public land, we need to acquire it through compulsory purchase order. It is not acceptable for families with young children to live long-term in substandard accommodation or in hotels and emergency accommodation. We need urgent action and a strong constitutional amendment which drives an ethos of cost rental and publicly funded housing to deliver it. When is the Government going to act to bring forward this referendum?

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