Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Contrary to mainstream economic theory, all wealth in our society is generated by workers. It is very obvious now that we are chronically short of the skills and workers we need in a whole range of areas, including construction, the health service, teaching, bus drivers and hospitality; you name it.

Of course, the reason we are short is that it is unaffordable for tens of thousands of people who are qualified in the professions and trades to live here because housing is completely unaffordable. This has been confirmed again today by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, SCSI, highlighting the affordability gap for ordinary workers. As a result, tens of thousands of skilled workers, people who are leaving college or who have qualified in the trades, are leaving the country when we desperately need them. What is the Taoiseach going to do to make housing affordable? Does he agree with our proposal that, under the Planning and Development Bill 2023, a minimum of 50% of all new housing should be designated as being social or affordable?

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