Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges that Fine Gael supported by Fianna Fáil or vice versa have held the Ministerial portfolio for Housing since 2016;

notes that:

— the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party coalition Government has been in office for two and a half years;

— during this time the Government's housing policies have failed, and the housing crisis has deepened;

— the current Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O'Brien TD, believes that housing is not in a state of emergency;

— rents and house prices have passed their Celtic Tiger peak and are still rising;

— homelessness is at levels never seen before, with child homelessness up by 51 per cent since April 2021;

— an entire generation of people are locked out of secure and affordable homes;

— waiting lists for social housing are too long, and eligibility thresholds remain too low;

— the student accommodation crisis is forcing some students out of third-level education;

— the Traveller Community, migrants, people with disabilities and older people continue to experience discrimination in the housing system;

— those seeking international protection continue to live in inadequate accommodation, while thousands of people granted asylum are unable to find a pathway out of Direct Provision; and

— in response to the deepening housing crisis, Raise the Roof, the trade union and civil society-led housing campaign, has called a major rally for housing in Dublin on 26th November; and

agrees to:

— declare a housing emergency; and

— call on people to support the 26th November Raise the Roof rally for housing in Dublin.

A number of weeks ago, the Minister and I participated in a television debate. During the course of that debate, he was asked a very straightforward question as to whether he believed we were experiencing a housing emergency. I have to say the Minister's response not only astonished me and the journalist interviewing us but it astonished most people watching the programme. The reason is that in the months leading up to the television programme house prices had reached historic highs, higher than any other period before, and were continuing to rise. Rents had reached historic highs and were continuing to rise. Homelessness had reached levels we never thought possible.

It is interesting to reflect for a moment on what has happened in the intervening two weeks. The Minister published a report for his housing plan for the third quarter of the year with no updates on the delivery of social or affordable rent or affordable purchase homes by that time. The reason, of course, is that as of the end of the third quarter, he is behind target. We had documents released from the Department stating that rather than needing 33,000 new homes to underpin the plan, the figure is in fact at least 42,000. Only last week, we had the Central Statistics Office, CSO, property price index showing house prices continuing to rise out of control at 10% State-wide, 14% in the midlands and 17% on the western seaboard. We also had, within a matter of hours of this, the Department releasing the latest commencement data showing commencements are falling by 14%, which is a very significant drop.

Probably most astonishing of all, the Sunday Independent got access to a Cabinet memo which showed that at the end of the third quarter, the Minister was behind the expenditure expected by that period by almost €500 million. Interestingly, one of the other things included in that newspaper report was that Lorcan Sirr, who has done very detailed analysis of the Minister's plan, stated that even if all of the targets are met, home ownership as a percentage of the total housing stock will continue to decline over the coming years. On top of it all, this morning we had the latest Daft.ie rent report. Rents are at the highest level of increase since Daft.ie records began in 2006, at 14% State-wide. Most counties in the State had increases in the high teens and a number had increases of 20%, 22% and 24%. In Dublin, where the Minister and I represent the electorate, the cost of an average new rental is €28,000 a year. This is truly astonishing.

Of course, behind all of these figures is a human cost. There is a social and an economic cost. We are speaking about schools that have no teachers to teach children. We are speaking about hospitals that do not have nurses to care for our family members. Medical centres are without young GPs. We are told that in some cases students are giving up college courses because they cannot find accommodation. Children are sleeping not only in hostels but we are even seeing increases of children sleeping in cars and tents. As the Business Post reported the weekend before last, we now see young people with a good education and good job prospects actively considering emigrating.

This is why the level of public anger at the failure of the Minister's housing policies is rising every day. This is why the Raise the Roof campaign led by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the entire trade union movement, civil society, homeless organisations, housing organisations and Opposition parties will be on the streets of Dublin, having met at Parnell Square at 1 p.m., to tell the Minister very clearly his housing policies are failing and we need to see change. What is very important about the Raise the Roof demonstration is that it is not just a demonstration of anger and frustration at the failure of the Minister and his colleagues. It is also a march of hope. One of the things that Raise the Roof is trying to do, and the Minister will hear this from all of the Opposition today, is to say there is an alternative.

The Taoiseach stood in front of us during Leaders' Questions and said there is no alternative to the Minister's plan. I have to say, as somebody who has been in the House for six years, there are many alternatives, which the Minister has ignored, and we are giving him some tonight. The first is to declare an emergency. Yes, it is a symbolic act and a statement of intent but if the Minister declared an emergency and the House declared an emergency, then as night follows day emergency actions must follow. What are these emergency actions? Given where rents are at, particularly rents not covered by rent pressure zones, we have to ban rent increases for an emergency period. There is no other way to protect renters. We also have to give renters a real refundable tax credit that puts up to one month's rent back in their pockets and not the ill-conceived and ill-designed relief the Minister has belatedly proposed. We also have to introduce an end to no-fault evictions whereby those who are abiding by their contracts can remain in place.

We need to see a doubling of Housing First as 240 tenancies a year is not enough. We need at least 500. We need to increase dramatically the tenants in situscheme. Many local authorities, including mine, are still not buying properties because the Minister has not given them adequate instruction and guidance. We need to ensure that properties such as Tathony House, where there are social renters and potential cost renters at risk of mass eviction, are purchased subject to the structural integrity of the property and the price.

We have to increase and accelerate the supply of social and affordable homes. The Minister's targets are too low. He is not meeting them and he needs to be more ambitious. Year after year, we publish detailed alternative fully costed budgets setting out what this looks like and how we would deliver 20,000 social and affordable homes every year, with 4,000 affordable rental and 4,000 affordable purchase. We need much more serious action on vacancy. There is no reason we could not be taking at least 4,000 vacant and derelict properties a year if the schemes were properly designed and introduced.

We need to use high-grade, long-term, good-quality modular building technology. At least 1,000 new permanent homes year could be done. Of course, all of this could be done if the Minister grappled with the red tape and bureaucracy of his Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, gave local authorities the funding in advance, took off the shackles and let them build the capacity at a more accelerated rate than he has done to date.

The Minister will often tell us that none of this can be done. What he actually means is that he does not have the political will to do it. It can be done and it must be done. The opening sentence of what must be the longest countermotion in the history of the Oireachtas, running to five pages and almost 2,000 words saying virtually nothing, is that the Minister states his plan is working. What he means is he will carry on regardless, irrespective of the cost to workers, families and children.

I have said on number of occasions that it is clear the Minister will not listen to the Opposition. He said when he took office that he would listen to constructive ideas and engage. In fact it is very difficult even to get him to the housing committee to give updates on reports, unlike his two predecessors. It is clear the Minister is not listening to us. Let me say this to all of those people who will hear the debate and the message from a united Opposition, trade union movement and NGO sector today. If the Minister will not listen to us, he will have to listen to the voice of the people. This Saturday in Dublin, and on future Saturdays into next year, people in their thousands, including Sinn Féin voters, Opposition voters, Government voters and non-voters, will tell the Minister loud and clear that his plan is not working, that it is failing and that it is making people's lives worse.

The Minister has very simple choice. He can join with us and declare an emergency and finally accept he has to change the housing policy. If he does not do so, the people will change the Government. It has happened before and it will happen again. I urge everybody, irrespective of their political views, if they are directly affected by the housing crisis, if their friends, family or community are affected by the crisis, they should be on the streets of Dublin on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Garden of Remembrance behind the Raise the Roof banner to demand a change of housing policy. After two and a half years, the Minister is out of time. We urgently need change.

See this speech in context