Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I agree that people who have been knocked off the housing list can appeal but the appeal does not always work. In fact, it seldom works. The problem is that such people are put to the bottom of the housing list and have no chance of being housed within the next five, six or seven years. That is deplorable, as far as they are concerned. I ask that the Minister look again at Kildare as an example. Rents in the county are as high as €3,000 for month for new housing rentals. That does not work for many of the people in the income bracket I am talking about. It drives up inflation and house prices. Everything is going in the wrong direction for them. House prices are rising very rapidly and, at the same time, the availability of houses is very restricted, with only small numbers coming on the market. A special and unique review of these cases, of which there are many, is needed. I would not be slow to try to exploit every possibility for people in any such situation but it does not work in a number of counties. Kildare is not unique.

See this speech in context