Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I rise to welcome the imminent announcement of the new housing strategy for 2015 to 2020. Today, €2.2 billion will be committed by Government to tackling the housing crisis. We have not had a housing strategy from any Government since 1995, but today we will see for the first time a strategy to deal with the 90,000 people on housing waiting lists across the country and with those who cannot afford to buy their own houses as they have been priced out of the market. It will also deal with people with disabilities who require special types of housing. It is a good day for Irish people who are in need of housing. In 2015 alone, 7,500 houses will be built. A new scheme will be put in place to deal with the private rented sector and 1,000 currently vacant houses in local authority schemes will be put into shape and made ready for tenants by the end of 2015.

This is the first time the problem has been tackled in any strategic way since the mid-1990s. Administrations during the Celtic tiger decided to abandon people in need of housing and to look instead to their chums and pals who were building houses in places where they were not needed and contributing to an economic crisis. Today's announcement means a stimulus package for ordinary people. It will put unemployed tradesmen back to work, in some cases for the first time in ten years. It will give hope to young people by starting up new apprenticeships and help corner shops by going back to the breakfast roll man and ensuring business is done on a daily basis. It will also assist hardware retailers, builders providers and everything else involved in housing.

With my colleague, Senator Aideen Hayden, I ask the Leader to ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, to attend the House next week for a full outline of the proposed strategy and programme for housing.