Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair for his very nice comments. They are very much appreciated. I will pass on the remarks to my brother.

Like others, I welcome the Minister to the House. I do not know whether this is the fourth or fifth occasion on which he has come in here to protect tenants. It is clear from his effort and work that he is concerned and will look after people in a particularly bad situation because of Covid. I also pay tribute to my colleague, Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, who has done Trojan work in the House and who is doing Trojan work on the Affordable Housing Bill, as the Chair knows.

We all accept we are in the middle of a crisis. Not only do we have the housing crisis but we also have the pandemic. The Bill represents a clear statement by the Government that the Minister will support those tenants who need support. That is acknowledged. It will remain the case until Covid is out of the way.

Acknowledging there are problems in the system, I believe there are tenants who are unaware of the protections available. Only recently, I met people in the part of the country in which I live who had rental difficulties and I found to my amazement that they were not fully aware of the protections they have from the State. These are quite considerable. That has not been mentioned in the debate. The rent supplement, supplementary welfare allowance and exceptional needs payments are available. Significant support is available.Of course, some people can get caught in situations and perhaps they fall through the cracks in that regard. However, the reality is that we are dealing with emergency legislation today. It crosses my mind that at times there is criticism of emergency legislation in this House, and it is asserted that the Government interferes too much. Some of those people will be very slow to acknowledge what is being done to support tenants.

In the overall debate on housing, I welcome the enthusiasm of the Minister and his energy and work rate in trying to solve what is a massive problem. No party in the State has a silver bullet with which to resolve it. The Affordable Housing Bill, with its four clear elements, is going to revolutionise housing in this country. I acknowledge that some of its provisions will take a while. The local authority direct build scheme for affordable homes will be the first built on State lands in more than a decade. There is also the cost-rental scheme, the expansion of Part V and the shared equity scheme. Apart from that, I know that the Minister is examining other options. He is constantly talking to local authorities and CEOs. The Minister and the Government are determined to solve what must be solved to ensure that people have a roof over their heads.

As I have stated previously in this Chamber, all of us as politicians, no matter what side of the political divide we are on, have a big responsibility. The responsibility does not lie with just one group. It is down to us all to try and solve the issue.

I acknowledge that more people who are renting are looking over their shoulders. In that respect, I return to a point that I made recently. In the Ballinasloe area, people are now paying €1,200, €1,300 and €1,400 per month in rent. If they had affordable housing, they would be paying a mortgage of €500, €600 or €700 per month. I believe that is where the Minister is going. The actions that he is taking, supported by this Government, will get us there. Of course, it is not going to happen over two or three months. However, I believe that come next year, we will see improvements in the housing situation. It will gradually improve over the coming years.

I very much welcome the fact that the Minister is here today. I wish to quote from a previous speech he made. I hope it is correct. He stated: "We are in the middle of a national housing crisis and faced with such an emergency we need to use all the tools at our disposal to address this challenge". I believe genuinely and honestly that hat is where he is coming from. He will achieve his goal.

Irrespective of where one stands in Irish political life, and I know from talking to the public out there, he is to be commended for the effort and energy he is putting in to try to resolve the issue. I want him to know that. It is important. We need to support the Minister in his efforts, given the fact that it is a difficult portfolio. I hope that everybody, irrespective of their political views, acknowledges what he is trying to do, and his genuine concern to try to ensure that people end up with a roof over their heads without having to look over their shoulders.