Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for bringing this Bill before the House. This is the second time in two days that this issue has been debated in the Chamber. It just goes to show how the Government has lost control of the housing crisis. Levels of homelessness continue to rise, despite the winter ban on evictions. It is an extremely important issue that needs to be raised time and again. Like Deputy Mitchell, people are coming to my office on a daily basis extremely worried about what the future will bring.

The Minister will be gracing us with his presence in south Dublin on Monday in order to turn the sod on a new development of 8,500 houses in Clonburris. There is an element of him talking out of both sides of his mouth on this matter. This is a development of 8,500 houses. It is a phased development that will bring other infrastructure, such as schools, businesses and amenities, into the area. I was a member of the council in 2018 when the Minister's party colleagues voted against this development. He will be standing there wearing his hard hat and high-visibility jacket, carrying his shovel for the photo opportunity and saying how great he is, when his party originally voted against the development. Not only did his party vote against it, his Government colleagues in Fine Gael also voted against it. They went one step further and appealed the original decision to An Bord Pleanála. As stated, I was a member of South Dublin County Council when this happened in 2018. It is now 2023 and are only now turning the sod on a development that is much needed and that will supply homes, businesses and amenities for up to 22,500 people in south Dublin and beyond. The Minister's party opposed that. I am just reminding him to think of that when he is on site with his shovel at the weekend. One of the reasons that his party opposed this development related to the insertion of a clause to provide up to 2,500 public, social and affordable homes in that development. There is, as already stated, an element of the Minister talking out of both sides of his mouth.

I do not have time to go into the details now, but I ask the Minister what advice I should give to a family who, through no fault of their own, are facing eviction. There are very few houses out there and most are unaffordable. The other day, one of my constituents finally got a house on the South Dublin County Council list after 18 years. I can send the Minister the correspondence. They were waiting for a house for 18 years. If this eviction ban comes to an end, we will be putting people back into homelessness when there are not enough places in homeless accommodation. Homeless hubs are becoming a hierarchy in homeless accommodation. They are meant to be temporary but they are becoming permanent under the Minister's watch.

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