James Bannon (Fine Gael)

The current Government should be ashamed of its record on social housing. It has continually failed to meet its commitments to social housing under the national development plan, leaving more than 60,000 people on local authority waiting lists and at least 5,000 people homeless, sleeping in bed and breakfasts and on our streets. Time and again, on the Order of Business and other occasions, I have pointed out that within a radius of 200 m of the House one will see people sleeping in alleyways and on the street. This is a major blight on the record of the Minister and the Government.

According to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the age and gender of people who are becoming homeless has substantially altered in recent years, with more women and young people seeking advice. There has also been an increase in the number of two parent families experiencing homelessness, indicating that the direct structural effect of the price of accommodation on homelessness is increasing.

In line with the Government's shameless and relentless targeting of the less well-off in our society, house buyers who have already lost the first-time buyer's grant now face punitive levies, which result in many of them being priced out of the housing market. This problem is evident irrespective of location and is being raised continually on our canvass for the local and European election campaigns.

To paraphrase the well known saying that an Irishman's home is his castle is to present a picture of permanence and prosperity. For many in the rental sector, however, their accommodation is far from a castle and they are far from having security of tenure. In many cases, they are subject to the whims and financial greed of some unscrupulous landlords, mainly supporters of the Fianna Fáil Party. I note the presence of Senator Brennan who recently left the Fianna Fáil Party because he could not put up with its cronyism.