Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

That is because driving record rents even higher, according to the Government, is somehow going to bring rents down. Make that make sense. No wonder the Taoiseach's Cabinet colleagues are utterly bewildered.

The Taoiseach has claimed repeatedly that housing is the Government's biggest priority. Yet, when it comes to policy announcements, they are chaotic and sloppy. Even today, the Minister conceded that students and those on short-term rental contracts will not be protected from the rental reset, which is an absolute disgrace and it goes against what was said last week.

The Taoiseach also said the Government wants to extend the rent pressure zones across the country, but it did not even have the legislation ready last week to do so and he did not have the answers last week when he was asked in the Dáil about it. The truth is that the policy is a shambles and the Government is making it up as it goes along. It has no coherent plan and just one guiding principle, that is, to design a housing policy that extracts the maximum profit for investors.

The Land Development Agency was set up in 2018. Now, seven years later, the Government is finally talking about giving it greater compulsory purchase powers. The Social Democrats demanded this from the outset but successive governments preferred to have a toothless tiger, a Land Development Agency that was prevented from acquiring the land it needed. Once again, the Government had to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing the right thing. It is completely unclear now whether these powers will be accompanied by a new budget. Perhaps the Taoiseach could clarify that in his response.

I am acutely aware that every time we discuss housing in this Chamber it feels hopeless and that is because we are usually discussing failed policies of the Government. It does not have to be like this. The problems we are facing now are because of the wrong political choices being made, but the Government can make the correct political choices. However, that will mean it will have to admit that what it was doing was not working and agree to a complete reset of policy where the Government prioritises people who want to own their homes and not investors. It is clear that not once was that mentioned. Of all those rental homes the Government is proposing will be developed, none will be able to be purchased to be someone's home.

I urge the Taoiseach to listen to the Opposition. We have concrete solutions.

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