John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I support the Labour Party motion. I am glad to have the opportunity to discuss this important issue in the Seanad this evening. I was surprised by many of the contributions from those on the Government side, particularly that of the Minister of State. I did not realise he was as out of touch as he is clearly. I listened to his attempts to explain, incredibly, that the affordability gap is not as bad as people think. The Minister should try to explain that to a young couple, in this city or elsewhere, who are working every hour God sends to provide money to pay a mortgage so they can get onto the property ladder. Their recreational time with their families has been dramatically cut over the past five or six years. The Minister should explain to them that the affordability gap is not as dramatic as people think. He has clearly lost touch with the real world. The big issue about which I hear on the doorsteps during the local election campaign is the affordability of housing.

I am one of those who intends to buy a house over the course of the next few years. There are thousands of people, however, who are not as fortunate and do not hold a position that enables them to afford to buy a house. The Government, over the past seven years, has failed miserably in every attempt to make housing more affordable. It has intervened in the market in several different ways and each intervention has failed. The problem has got worse rather than better. When the Minister of State claims there is no affordability problem, he is clearly wrong. If he does not understand and accept that, he should not be in his current position.

I am delighted to support the Labour Party motion. Housing is the single biggest issue that affects younger people. I am conscious of the fact that over the past few months, local authorities the length and breadth of the country have raised development levies across the board. This is a further tax on people who are trying to provide their own homes.