Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

According to a national survey by the Real Estate Alliance, the average house price across the country is now rising by almost €100 per day. Today saw the release of the latestdaft.iesales report, which shows that the average listed price nationwide in the first quarter of 2022 was €299,000, up 8.4% on the same period in 2021, with the largest increases in Connacht–Ulster, where prices rose by 20.1% in the year to March. This is indicative of the systemic failure of the housing policies being pursued by the Government that the Taoiseach leads.

The social media commentary on this issue consistently refers to the stories of people who are locked out of the market through their inability to access mortgages. A combination of high prices and low wages resulting from the extremist ideological position pursued by the Taoiseach and his partners in government to satisfy their free-marketeer masters comes at the expense of ordinary citizens and it is unsustainable. Let us consider the knock-on effects of this failure and the most vulnerable in society. It is a real test of how Government policy is working, or, in this case, not working.

Just an hour ago, I received an email from parents and friends of people with intellectual disabilities in south Donegal. They provided me with the names of 17 people in my immediate area for whom there is no provision for sheltered accommodation. One man has been on the social housing list for 16 years. Many of the elderly parents of those affected are sole caregivers and worry about their children's future beyond their lifetimes. Can you imagine the stress this puts on parents and the anxiety associated with wondering every day who will care for their loved ones when they are gone?

Approved housing bodies operating in Donegal have told me that financial viability modelling constrains their ability regarding project approval in towns and villages across the county outside Letterkenny. There is housing need but the bodies are not allowed to meet it. This is compounded by housing assistance payments, HAPs, that have been stagnant for six years in the face of a 20% rent increase in Donegal over the same period. I raised this three weeks ago with the Tánaiste. It is pushing people into poverty, yet we see no action.

The income limits for social housing eligibility have not been reviewed since 2011. It is depressing to read the litany of parliamentary questions tabled by Members on this topic and the ministerial responses that blatantly ignore the questions asked. Will the Government urgently review the HAP and social housing income thresholds to address the cost-of-living crisis?

Will he explain the Government's policy on the provision of sheltered accommodation for vulnerable adults so that I can go back to my constituents, many of whom are watching this debate today, with an answer for them regarding the long-term care of their adult children?

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