Roderic O'Gorman
Dublin West · Green Party · Ireland
“These are men and women who served their working lives within the British civil service system but who, following unification, would be drawing their pensions in a united Ireland. The question of the funding of that will be extremely significant in any talks following a "Yes" vote on both parts of the island.”
“Some 100 extra staff have been hired to the public domain team to tackle waste and dumping and our councillors will continue to fight for a cleaner and greener Dublin.”
“These challenges are magnified by the continued failure of the current political institutions in Northern Ireland to operate for the best interests of the people rather than achieving best political advantage for the parties.”
“In the Dublin Central area, an average of 50 tonnes per month of illegally dumped waste is being removed by the council. It is a huge amount of waste, and this is more than is collected in an entire year from whole counties elsewhere in the country. Our current model of waste management is a direct contributor to this.”
“This means that in many areas, bags are the notional solution but these cause issues with seagulls or foxes or are intermingled with illegally dumped bags. The net result is our footpaths are strewn with waste. Dublin City Council recently rolled out a system of waste compactors in the core areas of the city centre.”
“The solution is to rationalise the current system, put local authorities back at the centre of waste management processes and use this to get a better handle on pricing and illegal dumping through contracts that are right for each specific area, instead of the one-size-fits-all model we have at the moment that is not actually working anyw…”
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“However, I would argue that probably our most meaningful support provided to Ukraine is in the context of the safety and shelter that Ireland has given to tens of thousands of Ukrainians, which has been offered since the very first days of the illegal Russian invasion. Across three years and nine months more than 114,000 Ukrainians have claimed temporary protection here in Ireland. While estimates vary, it is believed that between 70,000 and 80,000 Ukrainian men, women and children continue to see Ireland as their home today.”
“The impact of these wars has been huge in terms of disruption of trade and in terms of the undermining of norms of international law. The war has also been key driver in one of the most long-lasting cost-of-living crises that many of us have seen in our lifetime. Throughout this war Ireland has been steadfast in its support of Ukraine, and the forthcoming visit of President Zelenskyy here will be an opportunity for us as a country and for the Government to reiterate our position on this. As a country, we have provided more than €380 million in financial aid to Ukraine, in the context of humanitarian assistance and in the context of non-lethal military equipment and materials.”
“It is now three years and nine months since Russia undertook its illegal invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory. The impact of this war continues to be felt most immediately in Ukraine, where it is estimated around 15,000 civilians and up to 80,000 members of Ukrainian military are dead and the number of wounded in that country runs to hundreds of thousands. Notwithstanding their brutal dictatorial leaders, the Russian people have also suffered as a result of this war, with a death toll in that country estimated as running to hundreds of thousands. When we think of these huge numbers, we have to recognise that each one represents a despair and heartbreak brought to a family, always reminding us of the brutal cost of conflict.”
“The way to convince people that this works is to do it in a sequential way. We should bring it in for local and European elections first and disprove the fear and the rumour-mongers. I received an email yesterday from a known party saying, "Don't support votes at 16. My daughter is 17 and she's not mature enough" - ergo, no one is mature enough. That will be the standard of the debate. We can prove that the worries and the scaremongering are not justified by moving on local and European elections and then driving forward on the proposal that Deputy Farrelly is bringing forward. I look forward to strongly supporting this Bill when we vote on it next week.”
“That referendum was held on the same day as the marriage equality referendum and did not really get a look-in during the campaign. Many of us here were out trying to get behind the marriage equality campaign. If someone had come to Ireland and read the papers the day before that referendum, it was as if the question being put to us was, "Will every President of Ireland from now on be 21?" That was the standard of the debate in that campaign. It was completely corrupted. If we go first with a referendum, there would be much more focus on it and we could generate a strong, united campaign but I really worry about where the standard of debate would go for much of the campaign. This works; it is working around the world in the EU, elsewhere in Europe and in parts of the British Isles.”
“It is an idea that has been building momentum and its time is now. The fact that Keir Starmer would try to grab this as a fig leaf to distract attention from the other difficulties his government is having is so indicative of the fact that this is an idea whose time has come. While I do not have any dispute with the Bill, I have always advocated that we should start with the European and local elections in Ireland. I do that for one reason only, which is that it can be done by legislative change. The referendum that Deputy Farrelly's Bill will entail will be hard to win. I always think back to the referendum on the Thirty-fifth amendment to the Constitution reducing the age at which someone can contest the presidency from 35 to 21.”
“For example, 16- and 17-year-olds can vote in Estonian local elections. In the Scottish independence referendum the voting age was reduced to 17 and that has been subsequently rolled out for the Scottish parliament elections. Likewise, the voting age for the Senned in Wales has been reduced. The proposal that has been put in legislative form today by Deputy is Deputy Farrelly is not something "out there". It is operating well in European countries we travel to. The Minister for housing will meet other Ministers for housing in the days and months ahead at EU Councils who have been elected by 16- and 17-year-olds and that does not cast any judgment, democratic question or any question on the ability on the capacity of those Ministers to engage at any particular formation of the Council. This is not some idea that is "out there".”
“I too welcome this Private Members' Bill put forward by Deputy Farrelly. I look forward to supporting it. The concept of reducing the voting age to include 16 and 17-year-olds is one the Green Party has supported for a long time. When we first used to advocate for this change it was seen as radical, out there and unusual. That is not the case anymore because this movement is happening. It is early in its evolution but it is happening around Europe and the world. If we look around the world 16 and 17-year-olds can vote in as vibrant and large a democracy as Brazil and likewise, Ecuador. When we bring it back to the European continent we see that change having been made in Austria, Malta and thriving European democracies. A number of other member states or component elements of member states have made that change in lower order elections.”
“The Climate Change Advisory Council has a clear recommendation: the Government should conduct a full review of national energy taxes and fossil fuel subsidies and reform the system fairly in advance of budget 2027. There is a year in which to do this work. Will the Government listen to the recommendation from the climate council?”
“The Taoiseach delivered a strong speech to an international audience in Belém last week, yet back home today, the Climate Change Advisory Council concluded Ireland would overshoot its first carbon budget by 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The report has really highlighted Ireland's addiction to fossil fuels as a key reason the carbon budget will not be met. This Saturday, thousands of people will join the national climate demonstration, focusing on how Ireland's fossil fuel addiction remains a huge risk to affordability because it leaves Irish householders exceedingly exposed to spikes in gas and oil prices like those we saw after the Ukraine war.”
“The developers are not going to do this themselves and to be honest, the Department of housing is not going to do it itself. It is going to be up to the Minister and she may have to drag the Department of housing kicking and screaming to the table here. Can she give us a clear timeline of when we will see these new planning guidelines published, and when will we see local authorities implement them?”
“I know the Department of housing has a huge amount on its plate in addressing the housing crisis but to be honest, it has always been very clear to me that updating these planning guidelines to make developers provide appropriate crèche facilities in new estates has never been a priority for the Department. In the last Government, I got plenty of excuses about why the Department had not done it yet. It had to wait for the new planning Bill - well, that is done now. It had to wait for new planning regulations - it has had a year to pass those. Resolving this issue cannot wait any longer. There are going to be tens of thousands of houses built in the coming years; there must be to address the housing crisis. If we get these guidelines improved, they can contribute to the delivery of thousands of new childcare spaces.”
“When I was in the Minister's role, I put in place a process to address this to get the Department of housing to draft newer, stronger guidelines. Can the Minister give us a sense of when she expects to see those guidelines published?”
“One of the most infuriating experiences parents desperate to get a childcare place for their kid have is to be told the building designated as a creche on the plans they bought their new home from actually is not going to be a creche. They are told it has been too expensive to fit out, it is because the developer wants to rezone it as a house and sell it as such or, most infuriatingly of all, there is no demand in the area for crèche spaces. As the Minister has said, the planning guidelines were put in place in 2001 to ensure when developers built a certain number of units, a childcare facility building was put in place but those guidelines are not fit for purpose any more. They are not providing the right number of spaces. They are also often not providing the appropriately designed buildings.”
“The proposals from the Green Party would mean fairer settlements through a no-fault system, consistent award levels and full transparency to ensure the insurance companies were passing savings back to drivers. It is time to stop protecting the industry insiders and to start delivering a fair deal for motorists, homeowners, small businesses and communities all over the country.”
“One thing we really need to improve on here is something the Greens would argue strongly for. We need transparency and accountability for insurers themselves. There should be a central database to monitor real costs and ensure that where there are premium reductions, they are actually being passed on to the motorists. There should be profit disclosure rules to stop hidden profit shifting through re-insurance or through reverse manipulation. What would the outcome of these measures be? It would lower costs for consumers and ensure fairer treatment for genuine claimants. We have to move away from the half-measures we have seen in the past.”
“A new approach is needed, and the Green Party would argue that Ireland should adopt a no-fault compensation scheme for motor accidents. This would enable drivers and passengers to get quick and fair compensation without the legal battles and the endless blame game we are so familiar with. We should also empower the Injuries Resolution Board by making it the default and the binding route for most personal injuries claims. This would cut legal costs and delays. We should have standardised and capped compensation awards by aligning ourselves with EU norms. That would ensure fairness and it would also take away the jackpot elements that sometimes people experience, particularly for minor claims. There should be mandatory mediation of insurance disputes. This would help end more cases early and end them fairly.”
“Around 90% of injuries claims go to court, compared with just 4% going directly to the Injuries Resolution Board. As a result, we have payouts for minor injuries which remain two to four times higher than the EU average, and insurers cite this as a key driver of the high premiums that motorists here pay. Despite there having been some reforms, insurers have not passed on savings. The average profit margin in liability lines is over 13%, and again, that is twice the international average. Insurance firms are recording double-digit profits here in Ireland, even as claim costs actually fall. The Government talks tough it but it refuses to challenge the industry or the legal lobby that is benefiting from keeping things exactly as they are.”
“I am pleased to be able to speak about how we could solve some of the very real impacts of high costs for motorists. In the couple of minutes I have, I want to focus on how drivers are being ripped off on the issue of insurance. For many years, reform of insurance, particularly motor insurance, has been promised but in the end, each time, this caves in to the same vested interests. We have endless reviews but no real action. Irish consumers continue to pay some of the highest insurance premiums in Europe because claims still end up in costly court battles. Legal fees often exceed the compensation itself and payouts, even for minor injuries, are well above EU norms. For example, Central Bank data from 2023 shows that legal costs make up almost 60% of some small-claim payouts. This is because, in our system, litigation dominates.”
“At a time when there are bad-faith actors on the far right trying to divide our society in the most dangerous way, too often the country is left with a vacuum in leadership. Whether it is the attempted arson in Drogheda, the attacks on people of Indian or Southeast Asian descent across the summer or the continuous vicious racist abuse that many Irish people face online, the Government needs to stop its internal bickering, stop trying to shift blame and actually show leadership. The Government must lead on protecting people who are vulnerable, on standing up to hatred, whether it is on our streets or in the online space, and by combating misinformation with facts.”
“Except that never happened. The Department of justice has always had responsibility for all aspects of our border and who enters our country. Responsibility for issuing visas remained with the Department of justice. Responsibility for the Garda National Immigration Bureau, the International Protection Office and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal all remained with the Department of justice. Responsibility for policy on employment permits remained with the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The only thing that was taken out of the Department of justice was responsibility for accommodating people fleeing here, either through international protection or subsequently through temporary protection for those fleeing the war in Ukraine. This effort by the Taoiseach to rewrite history is not the leadership that we need.”
“It can speak to the facts about migration and international protection in our country, or it can continue to come out with poorly judged generalisations that are only speaking to fears. When you look at the approach taken recently, we are not seeing that leadership. We are actually seeing a bit of a blame game going on within the coalition. Throughout the last Government, we regularly saw Fianna Fáil backbenchers coming out briefing against Helen McEntee, when she was justice Minister, about international protection. Last Wednesday, in a turnaround, we saw Simon Harris declaring that it is taking too long to deport people from the country. Following this, last Thursday, in an interview with Claire Byrne, the Taoiseach declared that it was a mistake to have taken migration responsibility out of the Department of justice.”
“He knew the effect they would have on the ears that heard their fears reflected back to them and he knew the debate it would trigger. It contrasted so much with the thoughtful, rationale contribution from the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, in his article in yesterday’s edition of The Irish Times . I will focus on the Tánaiste’s comments as the context could not be clearer. I will speak in factual terms now. This past weekend, we saw an attempt to kill innocent people and children. That is a fact. As the investigation into this is ongoing, we cannot speculate on what kind of hate is driving the minds of people who do these sort of things or where it comes from but we can make a fair guess. It is against that backdrop of where are as a country right now that the Government must make a choice.”
“The Tánaiste said yesterday that we need a rationale, calm and informed debate on migration. I agree with that sentiment. Unfortunately, the past week offers little evidence that he means what he says. We need a reset on our public discourse on migration and that starts with all of us in this House and with our leaders in government. For a rationale debate, we need to make appeals to truth, not fears. For a calm debate, we need to stop exaggerating, misrepresenting and facilitating the endless conveyer belt of online lies which too often end up in diluted form on the floor of this House. For an informed debate, we must speak only to facts. The Tánaiste bulldozed through each of these three last week. He did so purposefully. He chose his words carefully.”
“A consequence of climate change will be more frequent and more severe weather events like Storm Éowyn. Is the Taoiseach confident that enough is being done to put in place agreements with other countries so we can get extra engineers quickly the next time we have a storm like this?”
“Storm Éowyn was the largest storm ever experienced by ESB Networks. It followed less than two months after the previous largest storm, Storm Darragh. A total of 768,000 customers lost power. One of the biggest gaps revealed by the storm response was the slow speed at which engineers from other countries were drafted in to help the ESB with repairs. Some homes did not see their power back until 18 days after the storm. The Government published the report on Storm Éowyn yesterday. There are plenty of good recommendations in it. However, there is only one line in a 100-page document about development of new mutual aid agreements with other European countries so we can boost the number of engineers we have working to restore power at short notice.”
“Can the Tánaiste give us any good news on this point? Can he confirm how much the Government is allocating towards climate finance in 2026? Will it meet the target of €225 million that the Taoiseach set?”
“We have to judge a government by its deeds, not its words. When I see this Government row back on many key initiatives that were advanced over the past four years, I worry that it is quiet quitting on climate action. Regarding the Tánaiste's Department, there is not yet clarity from the budget announced last week of how much will be specifically allocated towards climate finance. As he knows, this is money allocated to the poorest countries that are most exposed to climate disaster to take actions to save lives and livelihood. The Taoiseach, as the Tánaiste's predecessor, announced in 2021 how important it was that Ireland would do its best globally and that we would reach a target of €225 million annually for climate finance investment. We were almost there. I think it was €190 million.”
“We are already seeing the wasted opportunities that slow-walking approach generates, such as the removal of the ban on dirty fracked gas, the raising of the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund and the Government's climate Minister trashing the work of the Climate Change Advisory Council. Is the Government willing to lead on climate or is it simply a Government of "just not yet"?”
“Undoubtedly, winning public support and making it as easy as possible for people to reduce their emissions is vital. That is why when we were in government, the Green Party cut public transport fares, made solar panels cheaper to install and increased funding to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to make energy retrofits a reality for thousands. Building support for the necessary measures our people and our country are going to have to take also requires leadership. It is the same level of transformative, risk-taking leadership that was shown by Lemass or T. K. Whitaker in the 1960s and 1970s when they transformed Irish society. However, the vision the Taoiseach articulated last week was "Careful now, do not show too much ambition" or "'Yes' to climate action, but just not yet, just not too much".”
“He went on to say: "If we get into a position where we’re going to challenge every single thing, saying it’s against the climate, we’re going to divide society fairly fast and we’ll then get a negative reaction against good, progressive policies that seek to address climate and very serious issues.” It is hard to reconcile these two speeches made on the same day. The mismatch between them goes to the heart of the Government's approach to climate. That the Taoiseach can speak to the physical damage to homes and communities that extreme weather events can cause and the risks of fines to our country if we do not act on the one hand and then set that up against the idea that negative reactions mean we should not progress on the other is inconsistent.”
“I have a tale of two speeches for the Tánaiste that he might help me untangle. Last Wednesday, in his budget speech, the Taoiseach included a section on climate change. He said: Climate change is not a distant threat. More and more, Ireland is experiencing at first hand its growing impacts. He went on to say: We have accepted challenging emission reduction targets ... and we have considerable work to do to achieve what we have committed to. We know there will be cost implications if we fall short ... We must factor these into our policy considerations. Later, on the very same day, at the opening of Stripe's new offices, the Taoiseach said, "I don't think we can mitigate for climate change." To put this into context, mitigation is the absolute central pillar of the global response to carbon emissions.”
“I commend the Bill to the House and look forward to the opportunity to go into its provisions in more detail on Second Stage and subsequently on Committee Stage.”
“My Bill would change this so that drones operating within the neighbourhood airspace could be subject to noise pollution complaints. Commercial drones are a new field of real innovation. They already have important uses. I have no doubt they will have more. However, right now Dublin 15 is in the middle of an experiment. Thousands of journeys that would take place on our roads are now being transferred into the skies above our homes. There has been no discussion about the scale of this change or of whether this is something people want. By proposing rules around two key elements, planning and noise pollution, I look to seriously debate the issues around commercial drone deliveries in the Dáil.”
“It does this by amending the Planning and Development Act 2024 to create a new consideration for the Minister to take into account when issuing a national planning statement, that is, that it is consistent with the regulation of the private and commercial operation of unmanned drone aircraft systems in the public interest. The point of the public interest is particularly important. Each local authority would also be required to have a section in its development plan setting out how it regulates commercial drones, again prioritising activities that are in the public interest. Second, the Bill changes the law to make it easier for local authorities to regulate noise pollution coming from drones. Right now, section 108 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act stops local authorities regulating noise from aircraft, which includes drones.”
“My Bill comes as a response to the disappointing National Policy Framework for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, which was published by the Government in August. This framework was an opportunity to clearly set out a timeline for delivering the regulatory reforms that are needed to accommodate this new technology. Instead, the framework contains no clear commitments to introduce laws to fill the gaps in the existing rules about commercial drones. The Bill has two key functions. First, it makes clear that drone bases - these are the locations from which delivery drones operate - need planning permission.”
“Members of the public have raised with me a wide range of issues related to airborne delivery drones, including concerns about the noise from these machines, the safety of them, the planning status of drone bases, privacy issues, as these drones are fitted with cameras, and their impact on wildlife. I have raised these concerns repeatedly in the Dáil in the past eight months as a Topical Issue matter and as a parliamentary question to the Minister for Transport. Earlier in the year, I also successfully requested a dedicated meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport. At that hearing, we heard from experts, particularly those in the local authority sector, about how the gaps in existing regulations are preventing them from adequately dealing with the concerns the public are raising.”
“Today I am proud to table my first Private Members' Bill, the drone regulation Bill 2025. For more than a year now, a commercial company, Manna Air Delivery, has been using airborne delivery drones to deliver food takeaway orders across Dublin 15. This is a brand new area of technology and, as with any new technology, there are benefits. However, these deliveries will spread to more areas across Dublin and the country and as such there is an urgent need for airborne delivery drones to be regulated because, right now, the rules around their use are incredibly lax.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the regulation in the public interest of the private and commercial use of unmanned aircraft systems, commonly referred to as drones; to create an additional consideration for issuance of a National Planning Statement; to require local authorities to prepare objectives for the management of unmanned aircraft system operations; to permit any person, a local authority or the Environmental Protection Agency make a complaint to the District Court with respect to the emission of noise from certain privately or commercially operated unmanned aircraft system or systems causing annoyance; to amend the Planning and Development Act 2024; to amend the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (as amended); and to provide for related matters.”
“The Save Lady's Island Lake campaign group are seeking monthly water quality testing on the lake to see if measures are working and they are seeking confirmed additional funding to help stakeholders, primarily farmers, meet the cost of measures to reduce the volume of nitrates entering the lake. Will the Taoiseach give us an update on the measures being taken to reduce pollution here?”
“Yesterday the EPA published the Water Quality in Ireland Report 2019-2024, which shows only half of water bodies are in satisfactory ecological health. I have raised a specific instance of poor water quality with the Taoiseach in the past, namely, Lady's Island Lake in County Wexford. At the time he said he would personally intervene to see if we can get an action plan put together to start the process of reversing this. Senator Noonan and I met the Save Lady's Island Lake campaign group a couple of weeks ago and witnessed the impact of pollution on this lake. I understand an oversight group has been set up, but how do we move from oversight to real action that will improve water quality?”
“That is not an exclusive role but a strong role in the delivery of houses to those who most need them and the delivery of different houses through long-term tenure in the context of social housing or a new form of rental tenure in the cost-rental model. We will continue to scrutinise this Bill as it goes through these Houses, but we are supportive of the ambition to give our AHBs a greater capacity to expand their work and help more people.”
“The budget announced a derelict property tax, which is a positive step. That it is to be based within the Revenue Commissioners is important for its enforcement and its ability to deliver. While local authorities have some arms or levers to deliver on new taxes, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners is the best place to locate this. We will be looking closely at the provisions around this tax when it is introduced through the finance Bill. I again recognise the work the approved housing bodies are doing to deliver housing to those who really need it - those who have been failed by the market. They are a strong manifestation of the belief I have and the Green Party has of a really strong State role in the delivery of houses.”
“Many of them would be for the same cohort that the Housing Finance Agency, which we are discussing, seeks to assist. There are some easy wins in Senator Noonan's Bill for a government that is willing to act. It would broaden the definition of a derelict property, require local authorities to publish their derelict sites register online and compel local authorities to start acquiring sites once they are on the register for more than two years. Unfortunately the Minister of State’s Government has not run with this Bill. It has delayed it for a further two years. Regularly I hear the Taoiseach say he will take on new ideas but the practice when a good idea is brought forward in a constructive way is that it is just delayed in this manner. That is really disappointing. This was, as I said, an easy win for the Government.”
“This has been successful. In the context of a housing crisis, it is not acceptable for people to be hanging on to large amounts of land that is zoned for housing. In its first year it has raised over €40 million for the Exchequer. I was disappointed that in last week's budget, loopholes that allow it to be avoided have been maintained for 2026. That does not allow the land hoarding tax to act to its full potential effect. Regularly the Taoiseach tells us that when it comes to housing he has an open mind and is happy to listen to ideas the Opposition brings forward. My colleague, Senator Noonan, has brought an idea forward in the Seanad. He came up with legislation that would apply really beneficial new ideas for tackling the issue of vacancy and dereliction and could realise up to 11,000 new homes.”
“That is good but my understanding is it is once-off and will not be added to the overall base. It will allow catch-up for some of the 2024 waiting list for tenant in situ purchases and make a bigger dent in the 2025 one, but it does not deal with the challenges we will see in 2026 and 2027. When speaking about State interventions where the market has actually failed, there is no more glaring example than the proliferation of vacancy and dereliction we see around the country. Much of that is fuelled by land hoarding and wider disincentives to develop existing land or abandoned buildings. It has been difficult to resolve. It was something the Greens put significant focus on in the context of the previous Government. One measure I was particularly pleased we were able to get over the line was the land hoarding tax, the RZLT.”
“Through them over 3,000 homes have been purchased by the State and moved from the private into the public sector between 2023 and 2024. That represents over 3,000 families who, but for the tenant in situ scheme, would have fallen into homelessness and would have been added to those dreadful monthly lists we see issued from the Department of Housing. Over the course of this year my Green Party colleagues on local authorities around the country have been flagging their concern about the lack of funding for the tenant in situ scheme and how that is slowing the ability of local authorities to make these purchases and interventions and, crucially, prevent people from falling into homelessness. I recognise that in August an extra €50 million was announced by the Department for the scheme.”
“This was done primarily through the introduction of the cost-rental model – the Vienna model – to Ireland, which was a key priority of the Green Party in the previous Government. Cost rental is now embedded as part of the State’s housing policy and it is providing long-term secure tenancies to renters at rates that are significantly below market ones. Over 4,000 homes were delivered by AHBs for cost rental according to the quarter 2 statistics for this year. One critical aspect that really underlines the success of the cost-rental model has been the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme. As we know, there are two strands to the tenant in situ scheme and they have been a vital lifeline for people at risk of homelessness.”
“That is done through State interventions such as the work of AHBs, as provided for in this Housing Finance Agency (Amendment) Bill. The Green Party supports the broad aim of the Bill, which is to raise the lending power the HFA has. The role the State plays in the provision of housing is a key splitting point in Ireland’s politics right now. Many of us have long argued that the State must scale up its involvement in ensuring that housing inequalities are addressed and that everybody has a right to a roof over their head. It was that approach and that strong belief in the State’s ability to do more that guided the Green Party when we were in government. We took the policy levers we were able to leverage in terms of bringing new approaches in that would broaden access to housing, especially for those on lower incomes.”
“I wish the Minister of State a good afternoon. This debate offers us a really good opportunity to recognise the really vital role the AHBs play in housing provision and in making housing a reality for so many people who otherwise simply would not have access to housing at all. In particular, we have to recognise that they consistently support marginalised communities, vulnerable people and people with additional needs and they prevent many people from simply being left behind. In a housing crisis where supply is always limited and market forces often move what supply there is towards profitable areas and thereby cater to the better-off, it is these vulnerable communities who are often left feeling the brunt. It falls to the Government to ensure market failures are responded to and not allowed to exacerbate an already difficult situation.”