Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Apologies for arriving late as I was at the agriculture committee. Week after week, the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, dismisses those of us in the Opposition who highlight the lived reality of people unable to access secure and affordable homes. He ignores the Opposition constantly when we remind him that his plan is not working. However, I think it is impossible now for the Minister to dismiss the views of his own Housing Commission. Not only did the commission outline what the Government should be doing, it also landed a devastating blow highlighting the failure that is this Government’s record on housing. As the commission stated – and I am sure others have said this – “Only a radical strategic reset of housing policy will work” to address the chronic issues we have after 13 years of Fine Gael in government, propped up by Fianna Fáil for the majority of those. It identified core issues such as ineffective decision-making and reactive policy-making dominated by risk aversion. The report is a damning indictment of the Government in general and particularly the Minister, Deputy O’Brien.

It is damning when we see what the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, did after such a crushing professional embarrassment. Perhaps he should have availed of some quiet personal reflection on his errors or taken on board the advice of this commission. No, instead he basically claimed that it was the commission of experts who were wrong, he was already doing all of this and most of the recommendations were being implemented - a claim which is simply disingenuous. I recommend that anybody who did not listen to Michael O’Flynn on “Today with Claire Byrne” on Friday listen back to the podcast. Mr. O’Flynn is a member of the commission. The Minister even dismissed one of the central recommendations out of hand and Mr. O'Flynn was taken aback by the level of dismissal by the Minister. The level of arrogance of the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, is off the charts.

If the Government had really turned a corner, it would not need recommendations from a housing commission. It is incredibly insulting to the people who put in the work and much effort, who are very busy in their lives and who dedicated two and a half years – not just the members but many others within the working groups – only to be told: “Thanks for that but we are doing it anyway. We do not need your advice.” It raises serious concerns, and not just for those people at the sharp end of the housing crisis. Instead of getting homes and workable solutions, they are getting bluster and spin. It is also deeply insulting to the work of the Government going forward because why would anyone sit on any of these commissions into the future? Why would anyone want to give up their time and effort and genuinely engage in trying to fix the mess when dismissal of expert recommendations is not something new under this Government? We have seen that lessons have not been learned since the then Tánaiste, Deputy Leo Varadkar, dismissed the work of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare and claimed it was straight out of the Sinn Féin manifesto. It is deeply insulting to experts to be treated in that manner.

Furthermore, the housing crisis has far-reaching consequences. Our education system is entering into a crisis because teachers cannot afford to live where they work. Our health system is on the brink with nurses and doctors leaving in droves. Only this afternoon, I was in Rathborne Nursing Home, listening to the residents there. They were telling me how upsetting it is that when they get used to and familiar with the carers they have and build up a relationship of trust, and then those carers move on because of the pay and conditions but also, because they cannot afford to live in the city, they have to give up the work. New carers come in and a new relationship has to be built up. The justice system is also affected because gardaí are struggling to find affordable housing in this city.

Basically, the social contract in this country is now in tatters - spiralling rents and sky-high property prices. They have all left our political system really vulnerable to growing anger, which is being harnessed by the far-right. People are really angry and really frustrated at the lack of progress on housing. According to the UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing: “Far-right parties prosper when they can exploit the social gaps that emerge out of underinvestment and inadequate government planning ... and when they can blame outsiders." We are in dangerous territory now with the housing crisis. It is very concerning that the Minister just dismissed the commission’s work and recommendations. The Government has laid fertile ground for the far-right to scapegoat those seeking international protection, whereas we are trying to guide people as to where their anger should be focused. It should be focused on the Government, which is failing everybody. Those who get up in the morning, go out and work and do their part of the social contract are not seeing the Government live up to its side of the bargain.

On the ground, people are very angry. The Government’s reaction to the Housing Commission report is shocking. I think they should reflect on that and take a moment out, reset the dial and decide to sit down with the Housing Commission. On Friday, Michael O’Flynn said nobody had contacted him to discuss the report’s findings. That is what he said on Friday and it is now Wednesday. Perhaps things have improved since then, but that is very concerning when the report had been on the Minister’s desk for a couple weeks at that point.