Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

I would appreciate it if something were announced today and dealt with in a week or two rather than dragging on down the road. That legislation could have been put in place. We were advising it should be introduced years ago but nobody would listen to us.

We must consider the building of houses in cities. We are building out but what about building up? When I am in Dublin and places such as that, I meet people who say they are well able to do that but are being blocked from going forward.

The turnover of council houses is an issue in Cork and elsewhere in this country. There is a problem with the speed of turnover of houses. We meet many people who would love a home, would do it up and look after it themselves. Some people leave the houses in meticulous condition but at the same time, there is a hold-up in bringing it back into the system again.

I have many clinics over weekends and through those, I find creeping into society again is that the powers that be, the planners, are blocking people from getting farm sheds. I know we are talking about building houses but farm sheds are important for young people who are trying to find a way to belong on their farms. They are being asked what they need a shed for. Nobody wants to build a farm shed unless they need it. I cannot understand how a planner can ask such people to prove they need a shed by asking how many cattle they have. Nobody is going to put themselves to an expense of €30,000, €40,000 or €100,000 only that there is a need for it on their farm. Surely, they should not be asked those kinds of silly questions.

The whole point is that infrastructure is at a standstill in most parts of this country. In my constituency of Cork South-West, you cannot build a house in Dunmanway. I am bored of saying that in this Chamber. Imagine that in a town as big as Dunmanway. It has a great opportunity because of its close proximity to Cork city and towns such as Clonakilty. Dunmanway feeds into Clonakilty, Bandon, Bantry and Skibbereen. You cannot build one house in the town and there is no possibility of building there for the next five or six years. The same is true in Shannonvale in Clonakilty, where raw sewage is pouring into the sea and nobody cares. The same is true in Rosscarbery. Nobody gives a damn. Ballydehob and Goleen have been waiting for a sewerage system for 25 years. In God's earthly name, what has gone wrong with this country? It is at a complete standstill. The Government needs to stand up and call a housing emergency. It should listen to Independent Ireland for once. That is what we are asking. It will be embarrassing to take the hit for a couple of weeks and people will roar and shout, but we will get things done if that happens.

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