Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The housing crisis is a manufactured crisis caused by bad housing policies by successive Governments and the dependence on private developers to increase the housing stock. It has continued to spiral out of control under this Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party coalition. Young couples are finding it impossible to get on the property ladder even when both have good incomes. To add insult to injury, they are being virtually gazumped by investment funds with ready access to resources whereby they can afford to buy up large numbers of apartments as well as houses in estates.

They have also availed of significant grants and tax exemptions to their advantage over time. These investment funds are driving up property prices and rents. Increasing house prices along with high rents are proving to be a major roadblock for families and those wanting to get on the property ladder. Sinn Féin will stop vulture funds from buying up housing stocks that should otherwise go to families. There is also a serious lack of social and affordable housing stock. The answer to this lack of social and affordable housing is that the Government should give local authorities the lead in building such housing. In fact, we need a State company dedicated solely to the building of these houses that would not be influenced by the private sector. Lands owned by local authorities such as those identified in my constituency around Finglas, Ballymun and Santry can be utilised for affordable building projects. The Government can replicate the success of housing bodies such as Ó Cualann housing, which has been building and delivering affordable housing for years.

The number of people and families I see regularly in my constituency office who are about to be made homeless is alarming. With little or no HAP properties available, an increasing number of landlords leaving the rental sector, investment funds asking for exorbitant rents and few social and affordable houses being build, we are facing a perfect storm. This will only result in further record homeless figures and the prospect of a family owning their own home becoming ever more remote and unattainable. There are 138,000 people on the housing waiting list. I do not understand where the Minister is coming from on this. There are 14,000 homeless and 4,000 of them are children. Families are living on the edge when it comes to homelessness. We have seen that people are even topping up the HAP to stay in a HAP property. There is money being handed out behind the scenes, which should not be happening but is. People are really worn down to the bone when it comes to paying rents. Many people are emigrating and they say they are leaving because of the price of housing, not because they do not have good jobs, families and commitments here. It is the price of housing and cost of living. The price of housing is a major stumbling block.

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