Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Sinn Féin spokesperson for housing, I am glad to have the opportunity to speak to the Minister today. It is one of the most pressing issues for people, especially for families throughout the country and in my constituency of Laois. My constituents tell me they feel there has been a real lack of political will from the Government for far too long. It has been unable to find an effective solution and its Housing for All plan has failed.Housing prices are rising, rents are rising and homelessness is rising. That is not just something we say; those are the facts. February's homeless figures show a record high of 15,378 people without a home, including 4,653 children. Asking prices for homes nationally rose again by an average of 3.7% during the first three months of 2025 according to the latest Daft.ie house price report. In Laois, prices in the first three months of this year were 14% higher than the previous year, meaning housing prices in Laois are rising much faster than anywhere else in the country. To buy a new home in Portlaoise now, buyers are paying an average of €500,000. The average rent on the open market nationally is €1,956, which is 43% higher than before 2020. The housing crisis needs an urgent and honest response from the Government but instead we see social and affordable housing targets missed time and time again, even though those targets were too low to begin with.

In the run-up to the general election, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael told barefaced lies about meeting housing targets, so it is hard to have confidence in the new Government plan which is threadbare of details and continues the pattern of low housing targets and no new policy ideas. According to the recent Sunday IndependentIreland Thinks poll, the public does not believe this Government is up to the challenge of housing. People do not believe this Government is even trying to solve the housing crisis. The people deserve better. Our young people deserve better. An entire generation of young people are locked out of affordable housing and many are choosing, or are forced, to emigrate.

It is not only young people who are struggling to put a roof over their heads. We are now seeing a growing number of people approaching pension age trapped in a private rental sector that does not meet their needs. With council lists growing, the overall reliance on the private rental sector for social housing and the failure to meet the social and affordable housing targets homelessness figures will continue to rise. However, there are solutions. Sinn Féin and other Opposition parties, as well as the Government's own Housing Commission, have set out detailed alternatives for the Minister to consider. We support the Housing Commission's call for higher targets of 60,000 new homes each year for the next five years. Of these, at least 15,000 a year should be social and 10,000 should be affordable. However, affordable needs to mean affordable in reality.

It is time to stand up for the renters. We need to freeze and reduce rents and introduce proper, secure tenancies. Sinn Féin will continue to hold the Government to account as we continue to offer alternative policies that are needed for people to one day have a home of their own. I really wish the Minister the very best of luck in his position and I hope we can finally end the housing crisis.