Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)

It is time to get real. The ESRI, the Central Bank, the Secretary General of the Department of the environment, Uisce Éireann and the approved housing bodies - the list goes on and on - all say the Government is failing on the basic issues. As Deputy Ó Broin has rightly pointed out, Uisce Éireann has been looking for money for a year and a half. Across all of our constituencies, projects cannot go ahead because of lack of investment. It is happening in Gweedore and it is happening in Dublin city centre. That is the reality.

After more than a decade of the Tánaiste being a Minister and of Fine Gael being in government for nearly a decade and a half, we have serious issues with water and electricity that are putting the most basic right, namely to a roof over one's head, in jeopardy. To add insult to injury, we have people who want to build homes.

See this speech in context