Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I support the comments made by my colleague, Senator Conway, and formally second the Government amendment. Without trying to sound patronising I believe the motion tabled by the Sinn Féin Senators is very thoughtful and very well researched. I have no personal difficulty with it. However, the fact the Minister for Social Protection is before the House this afternoon to speak about housing policy rather than the Minister of State with responsibility for housing or the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government shows how wrongly we have wandered as a society with regard to housing. To a degree, rent supplement is a fire brigade action and until such time as we put out the fire and put in place a proper housing policy we will continue to struggle with the very sad facts and figures as presented in the motion.

It is quite unbelievable, politically, socially and morally, that in 2012, after the Celtic tiger, the building boom and the construction of tens of thousands of houses throughout the country, that so many people do not have a decent place to live. The Minister of Social Protection has what is probably an accidental role to play in housing policy. We really need to move beyond the emergency solution that is rent supplement towards a real housing solution and policy. We have not had a substantive debate on housing in a political generation. Former colleagues of ours published, debated and ignored the Kenny report and since then there has been no real housing policy apart from building and speculating. A housing estate was not a place where people and families lived; it was a profit vehicle for those who wanted to turn an acre into a €1 million park. We need a debate on this.

In recent weeks I have put on the record of the House how surprised I have been when a number of our colleagues have expressed their delight and pleasure at reading media reports about the increase in house prices.