Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister back to the Chamber. It is probably not appropriate to say it in the Seanad, but I also thank him for his generosity of time in addressing one of his partners in government’s parliamentary party. That is through co-operation where we put housing first, and I would like to see more of that.

I know the Minister is very passionate about this. I often compare it to the biggest prize in politics: to resolve the housing crisis of our time. It is the biggest challenge. I know he is dedicated and is up for it. He was there in opposition and now is his moment. Unfortunately, it is one of those moments in politics that takes more than a moment and people must be patient. It is not one move on stamp duty. It takes time to get houses. I often compare it in sporting parlance to the greatest prize in Irish sport: the Sam Maguire.Perhaps Munster people and others would say it is the Liam McCarthy Cup but the Sam Maguire is the pinnacle in Irish sport. It draws the largest crowd. It is a special day with the Celtic cross on one's back pocket if one is lucky enough to get one. It has been proven that it takes years of preparation to win the Sam Maguire. Professor Niall Moyna trained those Dublin lads as youngsters. He took them through the Sigerson Cup and now they dominate. The Minister does not need any advice from me or anyone else. He knows that it takes time and it is unfair for people to snap their fingers at him and say "where are the houses?" tomorrow. I see good in everyone but I do not see politics generally exploiting this issue. They are reflecting the anger of the people. Come general election season, it might be very different but I see passion and fire in people's bellies when they talk about this issue and we must respect and reflect that but it is very important that the debate is couched and based in reality. Therefore, I was happy that one of Ireland's expert spokespeople - no one less than Deputy Ó Broin - accepted that we need a certain amount of private investment as a catalyst to get apartments built. This came from a Sinn Féin spokesperson.