Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with my colleague, Senator Leyden, that there are manifest failures in the health service whereby we had a Minister who was unfit to be put into the position in the first instance and we now have a Minister who is running the service from the commentary box and is not actually dealing with the issues. However, it is not the only area in which the Government is in serious dereliction of its duty. Last Thursday, the Master of the High Court highlighted an area where the failure to address the concerns of people who are finding themselves before the courts, brought there by the banks, is a scandal. The Master did the State some service by highlighting the case of a person whose house could have been sold for €90,000 but was subsequently sold off as part of a bulk lot to an equity fund. It transpires that only approximately €60,000 was obtained and the person is responsible for the difference. Therefore, the failure of the State to address this is adding to the crises people are experiencing. It is indicative of the Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Act under which a veto was given to the banks and the bankruptcy legislation in respect of which the former Minister, Deputy Shatter, spent two to three years vacillating before introducing an inadequate Act which we argued against in the House. It has now taken Deputy Penrose to prompt the Government into doing what it should have done four or five years ago, namely, introduce a one-year bankruptcy period to meet the current unprecedented situation.

That is not to mention homelessness at all. Every Member could speak about the housing situation in his or her own county. In my home town, New Ross, there are more than 600 people on the local authority waiting list. I spent 30 years on the local authority and it was never within an ass's roar of that number. The maximum number we ever had was between 100 and 150. This year, the Government has not allocated a single house to the town, which is an absolute disgrace. People working in low-paid employment cannot qualify for council houses. We are creating a situation in which the few houses that are being built are being occupied either by people on social welfare or elderly individuals. Everybody recognises that there is a social necessity to have a good social mix in public housing schemes.It has been a failure of the Government, and while it might create controversies about rent and rent controls, these are minuscule compared with what needs to be done. Houses need to be built and, unfortunately, the Government has refused to do it. I hope it will not be returned to office and that the next Government will make it a priority.