Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Government to withdraw its countermotion. What we know so far about the Housing Commission report is that it calls for a radical reset of Government housing policy. That is what we call for in our motion. From what we have heard so far, the report indicates we have a deficit of over 256,000 houses. Some 23,500 homes would have to be built every year in addition to the targeted number the Government proposes just to clear the backlog.

I heard other Deputies speak about planning issues. There are issues with building on flood plains. We all know what happened in Midleton. I will cite an interesting statistic from The Echo today. I thank my Sinn Féin colleague, Deputy Gould, who obtained the relevant information through a freedom of information request. This is the heading, "More than 16,000 bids made on 70 local authority homes in Cork county". The article states:

More than 16,000 bids were made on just 70 local authority homes in Cork county in the first four months of 2024 ...

Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed there were 64,356 viewings of 70 properties ... on Cork County Council's choice-based letting ... system between January ... and May ... [of] this year.

For the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to tell us the Government's policy is working is utter bonkers. We all meet people every day. I commend Cork city and county councils because they are shovelling snow while it is still snowing. There has to be a radical change here. We have to start thinking outside the box.

The Government has been reactive instead of proactive. That is why I mentioned flood plains. It is a willy-nilly approach. Houses are banged in on the cheapest spots.

In east Cork, 70% of the work my office does is related to housing. We hear the stories of people coming in, as others mentioned. They include a cancer patient who has children with heart defects. They are not being forced to move out of rented accommodation - I will be honest with the Minister of State in that regard - but they have to move out and there is no place for them to go. The offers are substandard and this tenant had to refuse an offer. Now she has been taken off the choice-based letting even though she is a cancer patient. Her child has a heart condition. She refused the offer because the property was dirty, damp and totally unsuitable.

The major revamp required in housing policy is to do what it says in the Housing Commission report. I ask the Minister of State to withdraw the countermotion and support our motion.

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