Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

People who are profiting from the housing crisis are coming in to answer about it. It is unbelievable. Not everyone had a chance to buy a gaff when they were 20, like the Minister of State. He said he was not a person of privilege, but he is. I want to go back to the Government itself. It wants to pivot to the private sector. IRES REIT profits have increased 3% since the statement by the Taoiseach on Monday. Landlords got tax breaks of €160 million. The Government is feeding the beast and landlords are not interested until rents go up even more.

I want to finish by speaking about the public sector. It has been said it cannot resolve the housing crisis but of course it can resolve the housing crisis. It has done it before. Please do not kowtow to the idea that the private sector has an interest. We have a major land bank in Dublin West where the council has told us it could build 7,000 homes with schools, facilities and parks. It is sitting idle. What is this Government going to do about other local authorities with similar land banks included in their long-term strategy?

Is it going to leave the councils off the hook, or is it going to push them and fund them to see those homes get built? What it has done today is an absolute insult to young people in the private rented sector and to anybody like teachers, nurses and therapists who we cannot get. The whole crisis is affecting every single thing seeping into society and they do not care.

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