Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the members of the commission for producing such a detailed and thought-provoking report. It offers a serious critique of the previous Government as well as the current one. The commission's report states that there have been systematic failures and ineffective decision-making in the Government's housing policy but this only confirms what we already know.

The report also states that the mandarins were merely reacting to the housing crisis and that risk aversion dominates. As a former councillor for the Sword's area and a TD for Fingal East, I spend much of my time making representations on behalf of households across the constituency who are stuck on the housing list or in emergency accommodation.

A majority of our constituency office work is focused on housing. Some families face homelessness for a second or, indeed, a third time in their lives. Despite what An Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, or Donald Trump think, this is not a laughing matter. There is nothing normal about a housing crisis but as the commission states, "only a radical, strategic reset of housing policy will work.". I ask the Minister for housing to stop sleepwalking through the housing crisis and shake off the conservative approach of his predecessors.

One important action that the Minister could take would be to reintroduce the tenant in situ scheme, which has played a positive role in preventing hundreds of adults and children from entering homelessness. There is no tenant in situ in place right now. I am concerned that proposed restrictions to the scheme will reduce the ability of the councils to do everything they can to prevent people from losing their home. I am also concerned that the capital allocation for 2025 will be less than the final spend on the scheme in 2024.

I understand that the Minister for housing will sign off on the final shape of the scheme before the end of the month and I urge him to provide Fingal County Council with the maximum amount of flexibility on the operation of the scheme and adequate funding to support tenants at risk of homelessness. I could give numerous examples of people who are in a situation where Fingal County Council has not entered into buying properties simply because the tenant in situ scheme prevents it. Many of these are people who are now going to end up in a homeless situation. I ask the Minister to please wake up to the housing crisis and reintroduce the tenant in situ scheme today.

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