Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is very good that the Opposition tabled this motion on housing. We should probably have a motion on housing every day the Seanad sits. After health, it is probably the single biggest issue in the country. However, because it is so important and it is such an emergency, we should probably focus on solutions and the present rather than the past and all the problems. We know all the problems so people should not waste time talking about problems and things from 2017 and 2018. That is a waste of time.

The Opposition does not own the issue of housing or rental concerns. Everyone on all sides of the House cares just as much. I do not know if Opposition Senators have even read the housing policy in our programme for Government because it is the best one that has ever been seen from a Government. They have spoken about fuel poverty as though they own that issue too. Personally, I lived through fuel poverty with my son where we had to live in the sitting room because we could not afford oil but we could afford a bale of briquettes. They should spare me the narrative where Opposition Members understand what is going on and we have no notion because it is not true and it is disingenuous. The Government will be the first ever to have a mission to retrofit the social housing stock. Yes, people are cold in social houses but we have the solution. The Opposition does not want a carbon tax. What are we doing with carbon tax? We are using its revenue to make social housing warmer. What is it they want? They want everything so long as it sounds good coming out of their own mouths and they do not want it if it is coming out of our mouths. Let us not use housing as a political tool. It is too serious an issue. Let us not dilly-dally and waste time on motions for the sake of trying to undermine the Government's hard work on this issue.