Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to engage in semantics with the Deputy but she has seized on the word "emergency" in the past two weeks as if it is some sort of magic word that will transform our housing output. She is not the first to come up with the term "emergency". At the launch of Housing for All in September 2021, I made it clear that when I talked about and referenced a whole-of-government approach that, "[T]he fact is that the social emergency that is our housing crisis cannot and will not be solved by any one department on its own". The point is that we have treated this issue as an emergency from day one, in terms of the legislation we have passed and the initiatives that have been outlined. A lot of what we are doing is already bearing fruit.

While many people urgently need housing, many others have got housing. I refer to Laura, a new tenant in Stepaside, who was struggling to find accommodation and said that she had to get her dad to help her because it was so expensive. With the cost rental scheme things are now a lot more affordable and it has been a great opportunity for her to move into an apartment she can finally afford. Bernardo said that his family had been looking for housing since last November and it had not being going well. They wanted a two-bedroom apartment. He went on to say that he did not quite believe the price could be true because he knows the rent in Dublin for a two-bedroom apartment is about €2,000 per month and they were ready to go for a one-bedroom apartment that would cost at least €1,500 per month. The family is moving into a brand new apartment with two bedrooms for €1,264 per month and, unlike other rental properties, they can stay for the long term and it is their home for as long as they want which makes them really happy and secure. Courtney, who is moving to a cost rental home in Kilcarbery Grange, said it gives her security and has a beautiful home. Bernard was one of the first home scheme applicants. He said the first home process was easy, fast and has helped him, and that the first home scheme experience is definitely one of the best services he has received. What is significant about the first home and cost rental schemes?

Yesterday, I was at a Land Development Agency, LDA, development at Shanganagh where the sod was dug for 600 houses. Some 50% of the units will be a cost rental. Actions speak louder than words. Who opposed the LDA? Sinn Féin opposed it and voted against it in this House and the prospect of 600 homes. All councillors in the area, irrespective of party, yesterday celebrated the launch of the development and their role in making sure the site was available. Who opposed the first home scheme? The Sinn Féin Party opposed the first home scheme.

Time and again the Sinn Féin Party has voted against and opposed significant housing developments throughout Dublin and the country, from Oscar Traynor Road to Ballymastone in Donabate.

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