Eoin Ó Broin

I thank Deputies Murphy and Coppinger for introducing the Bill and allowing us the opportunity to discuss this very important matter. Sinn Féin is always happy to support any Bill the intention of which is to strengthen the rights and improve the living conditions of people in the private rental sector. While no Bill, especially no Opposition Bill, is perfect or going to solve the problem by itsel…

After months of delay, it is finally here. Almost a year into this Government, it is only now publishing its housing plan. Given the amount of time this has taken, we can be forgiven for expecting something bold and new, a plan, as the Tánaiste once said himself, to once and for all tackle the housing crisis. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Anyone who will take the time to read the plan will …

It is not new. It already exists.

It has existed since 2023.

It has existed since 2023.

The Tánaiste has been in government for more than ten years-----

-----and he has been telling us the same story over and over again. In 2016, Simon Coveney’s plan had all of the same promises, all of which were broken. In 2021, Darragh O'Brien's plan again had all of the same promises and all were broken. Today, all we are getting is more of the same. None of the things the Tánaiste has just described as new are new.

The €100 million for vacant social housing acquisitions for families who are homeless has existed every year since 2020. In fact, this year the Government cut the funding for that scheme from last year. The €400 million equity fund has been in place since 2023. Yes, it is going to be extended but it is not new. The only thing that is new is the Tánaiste refusing to tell us and the public how many …

It has been the same story for a decade.

The same story for a decade.

The Government is creating the intergenerational anxiety by its failure over and over again.

You missed your social housing targets every year.

You missed your affordable housing targets every year.

You cannot deliver homes at genuinely affordable prices.

I am speaking in a very reasonable tone of voice.

I am reminding you of your failures.

Where is the annual target to measure progress?

Where are the annual targets?

They are not there because you know you will not meet them.

You know you will not meet them.

There is no money for councils.

When the Government took the decision to purchase the convention centre and hotel in Citywest, it said there was going to be a new template for State-owned provision of accommodation for people coming to Ireland to seek international protection. It gives me no pleasure to say it, but the events of the past two weeks show that template is in tatters. The community of Saggart and the surrounding are…

I urge the Minister. If this template is going to work it has to change; otherwise, it will augur very poorly for the future.

I listened to the Minister for housing earlier and if ever there was an example of a Minister out of touch with the lived realities of homeowners and tenants impacted by defective concrete blocks and building materials, that was it. My God, he clearly has no understanding of the reality that people who represent these counties are articulating today. Given that it has been 15 long years since home…

That is not true.