Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In today's Ireland, hundreds of thousands of ordinary workers and families face an impossible situation. They are confronted with a housing crisis of unprecedented proportion. Successive Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Governments have utterly failed on housing. Bad planning, mismanagement and downright dereliction have resulted in one of the worst shortages of social and affordable housing in Europe. Where the stock does exist, very many residing there are living in substandard conditions. These are draughty, cold and overcrowded homes, with damp, mould and, in some cases, pests.

From health, social justice and plain decency perspectives, this is not good enough. Living in social housing should not mean living in homes that are harder or more expensive to heat. It should not mean living in an unsafe environment or doing damage to your or your children's health.

I have an example in my constituency of a family of four. There is a serious issue with their home. Due to a bonding issue, cracks are forming in the walls, paint, plaster and tiles are peeling away in several rooms and leaks are forming due to water escaping between bad or damaged tiling. They cannot so much as put a strip of sellotape on the wall before cracks start to form. This is a serious problem but when you take into account they have a child with a disability who cannot have a support bar placed in the bath, it becomes an even more dangerous situation. Despite being contacted several times, the local authority has yet to perform the necessary renovations.

This story makes clear that solving Ireland's housing crisis is not just about significantly increasing the housing stock but also about ensuring all homes, new and existing, are of a decent standard. Alongside increased funding for estate regeneration and response maintenance, Sinn Féin would prioritise the retrofitting of social authority homes in a way that works for people. That needs to happen. I urge the Minister of State to support the motion.

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