Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

People my age, when they look to the future, feel they have no chance of ever achieving homeownership. As my colleagues have said, this is happening under the Government's watch. The common theme among my friends and co-workers I have had in the past is that they work day in and day out and nothing gets easier. They feel they are completely locked out of homeownership. We are seeing now that the increase in the cost of living is squeezing people more and more in terms of their ability to rent or buy a home. At this time of the evening, people my age are going home after a long, hard day's work, commuting long distances after what probably was a tough working day. What are they going home to? They are going home to overcrowded, cramped living situations or to their parents' box room. They are trying to scrimp and save as much as they can in order to be able, at some point, to own their own home.

What is the Minister saying to people like that in Galway city and county? He is saying he will deliver 30 affordable homes in the city each year and 45 in the county. That is nothing for the people who are waiting for a home and who have been trying, year in and year out, to save the money to be able to get a mortgage. It does nothing for them. Something I have seen time after time from the Government parties and their spokespeople and elected representatives in Galway is that they tell us a brilliant development is coming on board to deliver affordable housing in Galway city. Week after week, people there contact me to ask when that provision will be delivered in order that they can have a chance to own their own home. Only this week, I found out that the promised housing will not be available until 2024. That is two years away. For people who cannot afford their rent and those who have had to move back in with their parents or grandparents, this is simply not good enough.

We know what is needed. We know there must be more supply. However, when we do see supply coming onboard in Galway, what we see is build-to-rent provision that is completely unaffordable for people who are working day in and day out. We need 4,000 homes a year to be delivered, as my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, said, and we need them at affordable prices.

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