Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Almost every single week, I have listened to the Taoiseach responding in a very tedious manner to legitimate questions from the Opposition, including ourselves in the Social Democrats. He asks where our solutions are and what we would do differently. I have a simple question now. Where is the housing Minister? It is becoming farcical at this point. Parliamentary debate means that we present in our time, which does not come for us regularly - it is about six opportunities a year - and we use it to discuss housing. We bring forward the solutions but this Government, which is now taking a hostile approach to parliamentary function and debate, decides the Minister will not be available and simply will not answer questions. We used to have ghost estates and now we have ghost Ministers.

Regardless of that, today we are once again bringing forward solutions, as we did throughout the last term and will continue to do through this term. This motion contains real practical measures that can be implemented now. These are measures to make home ownership more achievable, rebalance the housing market in favour of people rather than investors and ensure that rent does not swallow the entirety of a person's income. These are alternatives to the reality facing people today. What does the Government do? It will not only vote against it, it will not even debate it, but the Taoiseach will come into the Chamber later today and say we need to have a discussion on housing. The hypocrisy of it stinks. He will say he wants home ownership to be within reach, yet the Government will vote against motion after motion seeking to limit the bulk-buying of homes by investment funds. The Government will say it wants to stabilise the rental market yet it will vote against a motion that aims to strengthen protection for renters and curb excessive rent hikes, as is the norm in most European countries.

The Government says it wants affordability yet it continues to give tax breaks to institutional investors that do not build homes for ordinary families but instead hoard housing as an asset class. The same Government that says the Opposition has no idea will reject every opportunity to work constructively on solutions. The truth is that this is not because these proposals will not work; it is because they are politically inconvenient for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and the class they represent. To adopt these policies would be to admit their approach to housing has failed and that their reliance on the private market to solve this crisis has not delivered. The Government's policies have locked an entire generation out of home ownership and forced people into precarious renting well into their 40s. Its policies have made housing the number one reason young people are once again leaving our country. The Government cannot face up to that failure, so we get platitudes. The Government resorts to excuses. It says now is not the time and that these measures would spook investors. It says it has a plan but it can never quite explain why it is not working. Most tedious of all, the Government will say parties such as the Social Democrats had the opportunity to go into government. Every single day, it proves why we were right to walk away from that opportunity, when this is the reality facing this country as a result of its continued and unwavering approach to failure. A Government that claps itself on the back for record housing supply is still failing to meet demand. The Government tells people they should be grateful for small improvements, as if stabilising a crisis of catastrophic levels is something to celebrate.

There is nothing in this motion that is radical or unreasonable. It is the bare minimum that a functioning and serious Government should already be implementing. Housing is not an abstract economic concept; it is the foundation of people's lives. It determines whether they can build a future, put down roots and plan for their families. This Government does not see housing that way, however. It sees it as an investment opportunity first and a human right second. When it sees a crisis, it reverts back to tax breaks. The Government will vote down this motion today, not because it is unworkable but because it is unwilling. It is unwilling to change, to improve or to be better for the collective rather than just for those in whose interests it seeks to legislate.

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