Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is an important issue. I and my Government colleagues are acutely aware of the challenge the country has in tackling and solving the housing crisis. All of us in this House, whether Government or Opposition and whether some like it or not, have a responsibility to help resolve it, not to capitalise on it, manipulate it, sow division, block, delay or use any tactic to avoid supporting legislation that will fast-track delivery of the social homes that all of us in Government want. Many in Opposition say they want them but when it comes down to it and they are asked to press the button, press “Tá” and support it, they do not.

The proposers of the motion which would have been taken tomorrow had Government not put down a motion of confidence, and the reason we are debating this, are our colleagues in the Opposition from People Before Profit. Members from that party regularly state we should build public housing on public land. The Government agrees with that and is doing that. When the Government introduced legislation to do it and set up a Land Development Agency on a legislative footing, what did Members from that party do? They voted against it. They were not the only ones. Sinn Féin voted against it. Deputy Cian O’Callaghan and his friends in the Social Democrats voted against it. I assume a number of colleagues opposite also voted against it. That agency delivered its first homes this year on State land, has broken ground on the biggest social and affordable housing site this country has seen in decades, in Shanganagh Castle, which Deputy Boyd Barrett had difficulties with as well.

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