Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like the Minister of State to respond. I understand Senator Higgins's legitimate concern. We are all concerned that the price of housing is unaffordable and that is what this legislation is about. The Government is changing the laws so we can deliver affordable homes. The Government will use all of the State's resources, including land and assets, to deliver affordable homes. That is the purpose of the legislation. The amendment proposed by Sinn Féin seeks to delete market dwellings from this legislation. The Affordable Housing Bill is dedicated to creating a whole new programme of affordable homes that people can purchase, for the first time ever in the history of the State, and affordable cost rental homes. We are not only going to provide affordable homes to purchase, we are also going to provide affordable homes to rent with secure tenure. The only reason market dwellings are being included in the legislation is because private market homes are the only ones that have been built. They are the only ones available at the moment and, as my colleague, Senator Casey, mentioned, local authorities are purchasing private homes.

We are seeking to legislate for the provision of affordable homes not just for now but for decades to come. My understanding, and I would like the Minister of State to clarify the position, is that if we were to accept this amendment, it would mean that in the short term, the next three years, we would exclude the State from helping people to buy privately built homes on the market. The amendment would exclude the State from being able to financially support people to do that. That is wrong. If we all agree and believe that there is a housing crisis, as I and my party do, we should be using every asset and power of the State to make unaffordable homes affordable, not just in the long term. People's lives are on hold. The lives of Senator Warfield's friends are on hold. They are unable to move on with their lives because they cannot afford to buy a home.This Government is legislating to help the Senator's friends. It is legislating to help the friends of Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party, and every young person who is paying unaffordable rent or is unable to move out of his or her parents' home. That is what this legislation is aiming to do both in the short, medium and long term. If we accept the Senator's amendment, and the Minister of State might be able to confirm this, the State will not be able to use its financial power to support people to secure an affordable home in the short term. Perhaps the Minister of State can clarify that point.