Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I should not need to remind the Tánaiste that he is in government, and not the Social Democrats. The Tánaiste talks about the things we oppose. Imagine if we had supported the Government's decisions on housing. That is what has led us here. We opposed the Government's decisions because we believe they are wrong. It is not about what we think. The evidence is in the number of people who are homeless. There are 12,000 people homeless and we are looking at an additional 3,000 homes gone in three weeks' time. We do not know how many people that is and we do not know how many children that is. We are not trying to hide the fact that we oppose the Government's suggested legislation on housing. It is not working. This decision will make it worse, and not better. I am asking if Fianna Fáil's traditional values are represented in the decision to end an eviction ban in the middle of a housing crisis, when all of the measures the Tánaiste is saying will help the situation have yet to be ironed out. We do not even know when they will be introduced. The Tánaiste is explaining them as if they will work and as if they will be introduced before the ban is lifted. That has not happened. It is clear to everybody that the Tánaiste is making it up as he goes along. Will he please consider reversing this decision before 3,000 more households are forced into homelessness?

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