Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, said that people feel they are living in a housing emergency. If you are in emergency accommodation with your children, you do not feel you are living in a housing emergency; you are in a housing emergency. That is the fact. The Minister of State came in here and opposed our motion because we did not acknowledge what the Government is doing. This is what we will acknowledge. This Minister and this Government have been in place for two and a half years. The Minister spoke earlier about the facts and the reality. The reality is that under his watch, we have the highest rents in the State, the highest house prices in the history of the State, the highest homelessness figures, the highest number of people living at home and the longest social housing waiting list. These are the facts. Is the Minister living in any reality? I will be honest. I have no confidence in this Minister or the Government. Shame on the Green Party for keeping them in there. I know members of the Green Party who really care about the issues ordinary people face and who do not believe the Green Party is doing the right thing.

The definition of emergency is a serious, unexpected and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action. Well a housing emergency requires immediate action. During the last financial crash when I was in Cork City Council, members of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael said the 300,000 young people who were emigrating would be back. A lot of them never came back. The young people who are now leaving might not come back either and that is on the Government's watch. What the Government is doing is a shame and a disgrace and this Minister should go

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