Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Senator that the Minister is a disgrace.

I compliment the Leader and his office on the work they have done to facilitate the dementia group in regard to meeting the Minister for Health next week. I want to express my appreciation to him and his staff. They acted honourably at all times.

The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government was in the Chamber yesterday. What is becoming apparent, particularly in Dublin, is that the Part V aspect of social housing is not being delivered on in the communities where it is meant to be. To give some background, similar to Cork, Dublin comprises a number of villages, such as Clontarf, Marino, Ringsend, Sandymount, Ranelagh, Rathmines and so on. Part V is not going to be delivered anywhere in the south docklands and is going to be pushed out to the suburbs. The local authority has been reported in The Irish Times on three occasions stating there will be no affordable housing in areas like Ranelagh, Rathmines and Sandymount, and if anyone is expecting it, they are not living in reality. We are talking about people on substantial salaries of between €60,000 and €75,000 being told they will no longer be able to live in the community they grew up in. That now seems to be Government policy.

The other problem which is coming, including to Cork, Limerick and Galway, is build-to-rent. I will outline what is happening in the Dublin area. Last year some 2,000 apartments were built for the market - for people to get an opportunity to get a foot in the property market and buy their first home. Of the 2,000 apartments that were built, 1,500 were sold to the build-to-rent market, denying young people the opportunity to purchase their first home. This is now moving out of control yet it is facilitated by a preferential tax break for the funds involved. We need to have a conversation before this gets out of hand. It is another issue, like the Airbnb scandal, that is going to impact on property markets right across the country, facilitated by Fine Gael.