Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)

The two previous speakers have summed up how we are giving massive tax breaks to developers. Hundreds of millions of euro in tax breaks are being given for apartments that are nearly built or are under construction. The Minister is an intelligent man. Why would the Government give someone a tax break when that property is already viable to be sold? Developers and builders do not construct apartments and apartment blocks if they are going to lose money, especially when we know they are making massive profits. The Minister is an intelligent guy and has an intelligent Department around him. I am trying to figure out the logic. The Minister is sitting there and this Government is sitting down and putting this plan together. Who came up with the suggestion, "Let's look after the developers. They're not making enough money"? Who suggested that €750 million?

Sometimes, when you talk to ordinary people in the street, they can get their heads around €1 million because they think of the Lotto being €2 million or €5 million this week. It is now €500,000 to buy a house, when you think of it. People can just about visualise what a million or millions are, but when you talk about hundreds of millions and €750 million, that is money people cannot get their heads around. They certainly cannot get their heads around how this Government chose to give those tax breaks on properties that were already profitable. I will ask the Tánaiste one straight question. Does he not accept that the apartments that are under construction and nearly completed were profitable? I am asking him honestly, man to man, if he does accept that, how can he justify giving them hundreds of millions of euro? How can he justify that?

As Deputy Doherty said, that commitment was never stated before the election. Can you imagine if that commitment was made four weeks before the election? Members of the Government parties came out and said they were building 40,000 houses, which they knew in their heart and soul was not right. They knew that in their heart and soul when they were doing their press conference. It was not us saying it. The ESRI, the Central Bank and people on the ground were saying it. The Department knew it because it is getting the figures in. The Taoiseach or the Tánaiste talked about Deutsche Bank or somewhere. Then, when they come in here, they use the ESRI and the Central Statistics Office when they are trying to justify certain things. Last year, when they were campaigning, which is a year ago now, they said they were going to deliver 40,000 houses, which the dogs in the street knew they were not delivering. Why did they not tell the people well before the election that they were going to give €750 million to developers who are already making vast profits? It was because they would have been run out of the boxes.

There is a question here of the Tánaiste's honour. He and members of this Government made comments during the election that were not true, or they withheld information from the public. They come in here and slag us and say, "Well, ye didn't get elected this time." At least we were open and honest with voters about what we were going to do. People might say they did not agree with it, but at least we put down on paper where we stood. The Government hoodwinked the public. Does the Tánaiste think he can justify that to the ordinary man in the street who cannot buy a house? I know families who have split up because he is going to live with his family, and she is going to live with hers, because they are trying to put a deposit together to buy a house. People are coming to me just when they have their mortgage approval, have saved hard and done everything right, but when they go to buy a house they cannot because house prices are going up faster than they can save. Does the Tánaiste think about whether he told them the Government was going to give developers and speculators vast tax breaks?

People trusted the Government and it betrayed the trust of ordinary people. People are suffering now. Every day, those people are heading to Australia, Canada and all over the world because they do not see a future here. It is obvious where the Government's priorities lie, looking after the big developers and not ordinary, hardworking people who are, as a previous Tánaiste said, getting up early in the morning. The other question people ask me is why they are getting up early in morning because they cannot buy houses, cannot look after their families and are crippled by the cost-of-living crisis.

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