Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The announcement by the Land Development Agency yesterday is ostensibly a positive one until we look at the details. A similar announcement was made back in April 2017. That was six years ago. It was made by the then Minister, Deputy Coveney, on what public land was available and how many houses could be built on it. Each Government proceeded to rely on the market, which has made matters much worse. For social housing this is because of the housing assistance payment. I spent 17 years of my life as a member of a council. I watched the housing assistance payment being introduced by the Labour Party and Fine Gael. I watched it become the turning point in changing our housing policy. People were taken off the waiting lists. My time is up and there is so much to speak about in this but I will finish by saying I am sick and tired of the traded insults across the Dáil. I am sick and tired of the spin. It is time the Government listened to us. We are here and we represent people. We have very good ideas on how to sort out the housing problem. They are not based on the market although the market does have an important role.

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