Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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I will start by paying tribute to a good friend of mine who passed away suddenly this month a year ago, after I was elected a councillor. There is a memorial service for him this weekend. He was a member of the Social Democrats and we served on the national executive of the party together. He was born in Britain of Nigerian and Ghanaian descent and he was deeply committed to making this island of ours better. His name was Kodzo Selormey and he was a patriot in an era when people who lay claim to that word have no sense of its real meaning. I wanted to honour his memory today at the close of this Dáil term because it is likely I would not be speaking here in the people's Parliament today but for his hard work and friendship and the spirit he shared with all of us in the Social Democrats to make this a country for everyone.

I was deeply concerned last week, listening to the chairperson of ALONE, Seán Moynihan, speaking about the housing crisis and the extent of its effects on older people. So much of the discussion around housing focuses on the typical young couple stuck renting or in their childhood bedroom unable to get on the ladder. Knowing many of those people personally, I expected to hear those stories when I entered politics. What shocked me, however, was meeting people since I entered public life in their 40s, 50s and 60s in terrible and hopeless circumstances paying extortionate rents with no prospect of ownership.

The latest census shows an 83% rise in renters over the age of 65. Some 42% of all older people renting face significant stress from renting in the private sector due to concerns about the instability of their housing. We know from the number of renters in their 40s and 50s that this will only increase.

I recently spoke with a constituent in his 60s living in a studio apartment who was deeply worried about the proposed changes to the rental protections and what they might mean for him as he approaches retirement age. I say "retirement age" and not "retirement" because he is now convinced he will never be able to retire. He will not be able to afford his rent on his pension and is terrified of the hikes to come from this Government's policies. He has been told to deplete his savings, so that he can access social housing. Is this what we are telling people now? Are we asking people who have worked their whole lives who do not have an asset to their name to squander what little they have saved so that we can create a generation of destitute pensioners on housing assistance payment, HAP, and on housing lists?

I heard from another older couple in my constituency dealing with a devastating cancer diagnosis and a progressively worsening prognosis when they were dealt with yet another blow in the form of an eviction notice. Can you imagine what it is like to deal with the enormous challenges of such a diagnosis arriving precisely at the time that you are told you will lose your home? I spoke with another older couple who are dedicated to helping the most vulnerable people in our community in a local hospital and doing this while caring for their son with a developmental language disorder. They suffered a no-fault eviction by their previous landlord and their rent for a two-bedroom apartment doubled overnight. Their savings are now draining away, as they rent at the expense of their future and the future of their child.

The story that shocked me the most on the campaign trail was that of a professional woman in her 50s with a well-paid job in an American multinational whose extortionate rents have left her and her family with no prospect of homeownership in Dublin.

What began as a singular crisis in housing is now resulting in a cascade of social calamities, a catastrophe that affects everyone in society, and none more than people who are already vulnerable and marginalised and bear the brunt of pre-existing social problems. What do I say to these people? How do I tell my constituents that the Government has sacrificed them on an altar of greed? How do I explain to them that the Government's housing policy will not save them, nor will their pension, nor will the private market on which the Government is so reliant? What hope can the Minister of State give them now in their moment of despair?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Hayes for raising this important issue today. The clear focus of this Government is to increase the supply of new build social and affordable homes to buy or rent. There is a record level of investment being provided for the delivery of housing in 2025, with overall capital funding available of €6.8 billion. The capital provision is supplemented by a further €1.65 billion in current funding to address housing need. This funding will support the delivery of increased numbers of social housing and cost-rental homes.

On 10 June 2025, the Government approved new policy measures to provide for the enhancement of rent controls and tenancy protections from 1 March 2026. The stronger tenancy protections will provide further improvements to security of tenure. The rental sector provides a home for a significant proportion of the population and we need to give people more certainty that their tenancy will not be ended. We want to provide more stability and confidence in this area.

The programme for Government includes a number of commitments related to the supply of housing for older people. I have been appointed to a role where for the first time there is a stand-alone Minister with responsibility for older people in both the Departments of housing and health and it is something I am very committed to in terms of housing for older people. As I said, the programme for Government includes a number of commitments related to the supply of housing for older people. This commits to increasing housing options and choices available to older people to facilitate ageing in place with dignity and independence. Work on these commitments is ongoing within a policy group recently established within my Department, by me as Minister, to look at the progressing and implementation of these commitments. This work will be advanced through specific measures in the new housing plan that is currently being prepared by my Department.

Under the housing assistance payment scheme and the rental accommodation scheme, local authorities also continue to provide critical housing supports by enabling access to accommodation within the private rented market for eligible households, including older people. My Department provides capital funding to local authorities and approved housing bodies to support the delivery of social homes in their area, including for older people.

Under the social housing investment programme, my Department provides up to 100% of the costs where local authorities build or acquire homes and apartments for social housing use. Under the capital assistance scheme, my Department provides up to 100% capital funding to approved housing bodies to provide new social homes for priority categories to include homeless people, disability and housing for older people. From 2020 to 2024, 514 units for older people were delivered under the capital assistance scheme, CAS, by providing purpose-designed age-friendly homes. Furthermore, CALF funding is capital support provided to AHBs by local authorities to facilitate the funding of construction, acquisition or refurbishment of new social housing units which may also accommodate older people.

Meeting the housing needs of all households, including older people, continues to be a priority for this Government. We will continue our focus on the delivery of homes to provide a range of choices which meets the diverse needs of the ageing population, spanning owner-occupier, private rental and social housing.

I did not know the man Deputy Hayes made reference to. Was his name Kodzo?

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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His name was Kodzo Selormey.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I join in acknowledging his recent passing. He was obviously someone very close to the Deputy.

I am utterly committed to housing for all people. For me, it about providing choice. I take this very seriously and I am actively progressing and working on it. As the Deputy said, our demographic is evolving and we will have an older population. We have to bring a range of choices across the spectrum for older people and I want to work on that with all sides of the House. It is hugely important and very much a priority for this Government.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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I appreciate the Minister of State's commitment to this area and I do not doubt his sincerity but, like every single occupant of his office before him, he has been sent out with prepared remarks to defend the indefensible. He and this Government unfailingly refuse to reckon with the enormity of the problem in housing. The Government is tinkering around the edges of failed policies while the situation deteriorates even further, leaving in its wake a litany of shattered dreams for individuals and their families who want nothing more than security and a safe place to call home. Can we call building 500 homes in four years, which was the figure the Minister of State just cited, a success? The longer this goes on, with more and more people in these precarious housing situations, the greater the chance that the vicissitudes of life, such as a cancer diagnosis, bereavement or loss of income, will come at the same time as an eviction notice, a rent hike or another hair-brained Government policy that only makes life more difficult, more stressful and devastating for my constituents and their reasonable desires for a dignified life.

As all these problems continue to compound, there will be multiple generations for whom it will be too late as they will find themselves either unable to retire or being turfed out onto the street. When will this Government wake up and come to terms with the fact that what is required now are 1930s and 1940s levels of public investment and State-led development on a massive scale? We need to reject the neoliberal developer-led model this Government has an addiction to.

We often hear about how our ageing population is creating a timebomb in our pensions system but the failures in housing policy have become so entrenched that the current Cabinet, like every previous Cabinet, has lit the fuse early for those without a home. We now have several cohorts ageing through the crisis, missing every milestone on the road to housing and long-term financial security, and this Government is failing them completely. It seems no matter who you are or what your story is, there is no escaping this crisis. Nobody is safe from this Government's housing policy, even the elderly and the Minister of State's party's voters. It will fall to parties like mine to clean up this mess.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I again thank Deputy Hayes for raising this important matter. I listened carefully to the points he raised. The Government is working diligently in conjunction with key stakeholders, particularly local authorities and approved housing bodies, to increase delivery of housing for older people. We also want to work with the private sector because everyone has a part to play in the delivery of housing, including for older people.

The clear focus of this Government is to increase the supply of new builds and affordable homes to buy or rent. As I stated, a record level of investment is being provided in 2025, with capital funding of €6.8 billion supplemented by a further €1.65 billion in current funding allocated to address housing need. The Programme for Government: Securing Ireland's Future includes a number of commitments to deliver practical housing options for positive ageing. It commits to increasing the housing options available to older people to facilitate ageing in place with dignity and independence. As I stated, work on these commitments is ongoing, with a policy group recently established in the Department of housing to look at proposals on how best to progress them. Crucially, consideration of these proposals will feed into development of the new housing plan being progressed in the Department of housing. These proposals will set out a pathway to develop practical housing options for positive ageing to meet the housing needs of our growing and ageing population.

For me, it is all about choice when it comes to older people. Like any group, they will have differing needs. It is about providing a range of choices which allows older people to make their own decisions on where they wish to live. This could mean continuing to live where they are, moving to a smaller unit, independent living or supported living. My role in the Departments of Health and housing is to ensure older people have all the supports in housing and health they need to enable them to make those choices and decisions.