Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The tension in this debate is not there because Sinn Féin has created that energy but because housing consumes everyone's life. In smoking areas, clubs, queues for clubs, cafes, among sports teams and on trips, housing and renting consumes the life of everyone. Senator McGahon said people do not care who builds the home, where it is built or about all these regulatory and legislative matters, but we find ourselves in this place because we have had 30 years of bad housing policy and of incentivising the private sector. Since 1990, social housing has not kept pace with need. As a consequence, an ever greater number of people waiting on social housing have ended up living in the private rental market.

Senator Black said the ESRI said today that rents and house prices will keep rising for the foreseeable future, yet the Government parties tell us thngs have turned a corner. In what world have they turned a corner? Wages are not increasing at the pace of rent inflation. Senator Gavan spoke of the 15% increase in rents in Limerick. Who is getting a 15% pay increase?