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

Anois, an fhírinne. Ar dtús, caithfidh mé a rá go bhfuil ár bplean ag obair. Tá sé ag obair anois. Níl na buntáistí á fháil ag gach duine fós. Thógamar 30,000 teach nua anuraidh agus tá mé cinnte go mbeimid ábalta níos mó ná sin a dhéanamh i mbliana. Thógamar níos mó tithe sóisialta anuraidh ná mar a tógadh le 50 bliain. Arís, táim cinnte go mbeimid ábalta níos mó ná sin a dhéanamh i mbliana. Tá tithe ar phraghas réasúnta le ceannacht don chéad uair le cúig bliana déag anuas. Don chéad uair riamh, tá tithe á ligean ar cíos ar phraghas réasúnta tríd an cost-rental scheme, agus ceadaíodh morgáistí do níos mó ná 25,000 ceannaithe anuraidh freisin. Táim cinnte go mbeidh tuilleadh mar sin á dhéanamh againn i mbliana. Is é sin an fhírinne. Tá ár bplean Tithíocht do Chách ag obair. Níl plean ar bith ag Sinn Féin. Níl aon phlean ag Sinn Féin atá cosúil le Tithíocht do Chách. Táim cinnte go leanfaidh an dul chun cinn atá á dhéanamh i gcúrsaí tithíochta i mbliana agus le linn na bliana seo chugainn.

Regarding the SCSI report, Deputy Doherty neglected to say that the SCSI is very clear in its support for Government schemes like the First Home scheme, the help-to-buy grant and the development levy waiver to boost home ownership and reduce costs. I remind the Deputy that Sinn Féin is opposed to all three. His party is opposed to all of them. Potential first-time buyers watching in here today need to know that Sinn Féin does not want to give them back the €30,000 in tax they have earned to help towards the deposit. The thousands of people who have been approved under the First Home scheme, many of whom are renters stuck in a rental trap, also need to know that Deputy Doherty, his housing spokesperson and his whole party here are opposed to that - a scheme that is actually working.

The Deputy regularly comes here and rails against the Government. That is fine; that is his wont. However, as the main Opposition party, he has a responsibility to actually propose alternatives. We were waiting for his housing plan that Deputy Ó Broin said he would bring forward in July. He never brought it forward. Instead, a month after the budget he produced Sinn Féin's alternative budget. The alternative budget has two and a half pages committed to what it would do on housing. Sin é, two and a half pages and nothing else. Deputy Doherty may want to clarify this with his colleague next door to him.

Another way we are actually getting families into homes is by tackling vacancy and dereliction. An deontas folúntais, Croí Cónaithe, has had over 5,000 applications with nearly 3,000 approvals. Even though Sinn Féin Deputies come in and ask me to alter the scheme, Deputy Doherty's party opposes it. It made no provision whatsoever in its alternative budget for any funding whatsoever for that grant. He might inform the House today what his position is on that. I noted earlier this week on Tuesday night - maybe it was after the day the you had - that you have also now stopped talking about bringing back a moratorium on evictions. You have dropped that because you know the measures we have brought forward, like the tenant in situscheme, are working. This is serious politics. Government is about implementing policy and making a difference for people.

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