Rory Hearne
Dublin North-West · Social Democrats · Ireland
“I thank you, a Leas Cheann-Comhairle, for your work and support during the year and thank all the staff here. I wish my colleagues in government the best of luck over the summer and respite from our robust engagement. We look forward to going at it again in the autumn.”
“The Dublin public will be very upset when they realise their fire fighters and emergency response service are at risk of being split and downgraded.”
“I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. It is important to have a discussion about the context of education costs and back-to-school costs. Of course, the context is massive inequality in this country.”
“However, what it is actually doing is throwing families into even more stress on top of not being able to pay the basic bills. In my constituency to respond and support families struggling with back-to-school costs, the Finglas voluntary food and family support service, Feed Our Homeless, last year organised help for families with a pop-u…”
“A second tier of child benefit would lift 55,000 children out of poverty but the Government will not do it. It costs the same as what it has given in tax breaks to developers, investor funds and large fast-food giants. Childhoods pass quickly. No child should have their future limited by poverty.”
“The Government is ramming through planning legislation this week that will exempt sheds out the back without proper scrutiny. It is satisfied with handing our young people to vulture landlords. The Government is now offering a future of renting a shed out the back with no rights whatsoever.”
The complete record
Every one of 986 lines we hold for Rory Hearne, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 17 of 20.
“Today the Taoiseach said that rents are supposedly not going to increase but we know it is the case that rents will increase as a result of the measures brought in today by the Government. We are in the midst of an emergency that the Government accepts is an emergency, with rents higher than they have ever been in the history of the State - they are completely unaffordable and unsustainable - and we will now see rents rise even further. The removal of that rent cap between tenancies means we will see rents increase across the board; make no mistake about it. The move today by the Government was a signal to landlords to go ahead and increase the rents. It is telling them that they can do so - that is what the Government is saying to landlords of existing properties and landlords of new properties who build them.”
“As the Taoiseach knows, a genocide is ongoing in Gaza now. The Central Bank of Ireland is facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds. I repeat that the Central Bank of Ireland is facilitating the sale of bonds funding genocide. Deputy Micheál Martin is the Taoiseach and leader of this country. Will he intervene with the Central Bank immediately, speak to the Governor and ask him to immediately stop Ireland facilitating the funding of genocide? It is straightforward. It is an action we can take. It is something we can be a leader on. It is real action and Israel will feel it. Can the Taoiseach imagine if we think back to the Second World War and the Central Bank of Ireland was then facilitating the funding of the Nazi regime? What would he have done then? I think that should guide his action now.”
“He described how he had sat down with his family about two or three months ago. They had no food left and they had to eat pet food. He described how that was the moment when he and his family were completely dehumanised and humiliated. He has come to Ireland and he took part in the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign march this weekend. He said there that he felt human again. He has been broken like so many people in Gaza. We have a responsibility to act. I commend all the protests being organised by people across this country and the world. We have to continue. We are not powerless. We have to stop this.”
“It could be doing more. We could enact the occupied territories Bill immediately, including services. We could stop the Central Bank from authorising Israeli bonds. We could stop the transport of military weapons of war over our airspace. We could be taking a lead at the UN General Assembly and leading an action that should be taken there. Do not say the Irish Government is doing all it could. It could be doing more and it must. We plead with the Goverment to do more. Because even if it is just one country, at least we will have stood up when the world has been silent and complicit with what is going on. I spoke at length to a journalist named Abubaker for a podcast. He is a young journalist aged 22 years. I would really encourage people to listen to it. He is only out of Gaza a month.”
“The horror going on in Gaza right now is beyond words. The UN reports that 14,000 babies could lose their lives in the next 48 hours unless aid is allowed in. It also states that almost 1 million children are at risk of famine. More than 16,000 children have been bombed and murdered by Israel in Gaza. These numbers, every single one of them, represent a child with parents. How can we as a common humanity allow this to continue? Our collective humanity, even the notion of a common humanity, is being bombed into the rubble by Israel and the complicity of countries around the world. What is happening in Gaza is that an entire population is being ethnically cleansed and children are starving and being bombed. It is an open-air extermination camp, with all the significance of what that concept is. The Irish Government is not doing enough.”
“It is not acceptable. Cara and Mark, we will continue, as all the Opposition will, to push on this until children get the services they have a right to and need.”
“It is entrenching deep inequalities. These children have done nothing other than to be born in the wrong area and not be able to have access to services, supports and assessments of need. Many families are going private and breaking themselves to try to cover that cost. What has happened in this regard is absolutely not acceptable. Different reasons have been given as to why these delays are happening. One of the reasons the Tánaiste gave was that the length of assessments of need was causing significant delays. He said some assessments can take up to 90 hours. I have followed this up with the HSE and it has been unable to provide data which shows that assessments of need are taking 90 hours. Why are the Tánaiste and the Government plucking figures from the air to try to justify reducing services and the number of assessments of need?”
“Our Proclamation refers to "cherishing all the children of the nation equally" yet here we are utterly failing our most vulnerable children. It should be our starting point, our priority as a country. In my constituency of Dublin North-West, I have been working with parents who have been trying to get assessments of need. They have been waiting months and years to get assessments and then further months and years for services. To give the House the figures, in CHO 9, which is an area that includes my constituency, 2,411 children are waiting for an initial contact. They have been waiting 12 months for an initial contact with a CDNT. These are areas such as Ballymun and Finglas, some of the most disadvantaged areas in our country, where children need intervention and parents cannot afford to pay for services privately. How is it acceptable?”
“Cara, you are an inspiration to parents and children up and down this country. You are a citizen in the true meaning of the word. You have taken selfless action to right what is wrong, you have spoken truth to power and, while you see empty Government seats, that does not diminish in the slightest what you have done, your powerful action or the massive impact you are having. We in the Social Democrats and across the Opposition will continue to support you in what is happening. Mark, I am sure you are a very proud father. As a parent, I feel deeply that our State is utterly failing its children, particularly its most vulnerable children. It is failing to deliver their rights and to deliver services to them. The Ministers of State present know that it is the first duty of a republic to look after and protect its most vulnerable.”
“The Taoiseach probably saw the figures yesterday that showed that the average rent in this country is now over €2,000. My question is simple and straightforward. The Taoiseach and his Government accept that the housing crisis is no longer just a crisis. It is an emergency. How, in that context, can he agree with the Minister for housing, who said, as quoted in the Irish Examiner yesterday, that the Government will be making changes to the rent pressure zones? How can the Government agree to lifting rent caps in the middle of a housing emergency? Renters need to know. Given what is going on, there should be a commitment to keep the rent caps and the rent pressure zones in place for a minimum of three years to give renters some security. Regardless of the questions of institutional investors and supply, renters need that.”
“Under Standing Order 35(3), I would like to propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister for housing come into the House and take questions on the housing emergency. It can no longer be called a crisis; it is an absolute disaster. Commencements of residential units have collapsed to a ten-year low. The Government's plan is failing disastrously. Does the Minister have any-----”
“Will he and the Minister for housing immediately publish the Housing Agency report on rent caps that is sitting on the Minister's desk? Will they give renters some certainty by committing to retaining the rent caps that are in place for a minimum of three years?”
“We hear today that rents are up again 5.5% nationally. The new average rent in Dublin is €2,177 per month. A worker earning €30,000 per year would have to spend their entire take-home pay to cover that amount and that still would not be enough. Renters across this country are struggling. How can they keep paying higher rents? They are stressed and terrified about the potential removal of rent caps. Renters feel unheard. They also feel that the only voice the Government is listening to is that of the vulture fund landlords who want free rein to rack up rents. Renters will be making their voices heard next Wednesday at a public event we will be hosting outside Leinster House. I invite the Minister of State opposite to join those renters and hear their voices.”
“It would act on the Low Pay Commission's recommendations, act on pension auto-enrolment, actually support unions and workers, and enact this legislation.”
“Trade unions have done research - an example being the Respect at Work campaign - that has shown that union busting is going on in this country. The Respect at Work report found that 69% of workplace representatives had observed at least one form of anti-union behaviour by employers. The most common forms were the victimisation of union activists and discouraging workers from joining a union. It is disappointing because many workers, especially younger ones, want to join and be part of trade unions. The surveys show this. We need to see that trade unions can be and are an essential part of creating a sustainable, fair and socially just economy. If the Government was serious about protecting workers and supporting unions, it would support this Bill.”
“One of the issues in the context of Ireland's high cost of living is what is called excessive profiteering. This is because workers do not have the ability and right to assert that they get living wages. When we look at it, 145,000 workers are living at risk of poverty. In this economy that has been booming for so long, there is something problematic there. We still have large income inequalities for those in lower income jobs, who are suffering with low pay. This situation is linked to the inability to be in a trade union and the lack of a requirement for employers to have to support people and engage with workers in this regard. While there are issues concerning the lack of trade union legislation, it is also important to highlight another aspect.”
“To back up my colleague, we very much support this Bill. I thank our colleagues in People Before Profit for introducing it. This is important legislation. Collective bargaining is key in terms of Ireland and our economy. When we look at it, the Irish economic model has, unfortunately, been built on an undermining of workers' rights by not ensuring collective bargaining is in place. When we look at the situation across the world, one of the key reasons inequality has risen to the level it has - the research shows this - is directly linked to the decline in trade unions and to workers being in trade unions. Part of neoliberalism was about smashing trade unions and ensuring workers did not have that bargaining power. That is the reality.”
“It is as if the Department is actively blocking Ó Cualann. I ask the Minister of State to meet Ó Cualann and ask what blockages it is facing because it tells me that it faces blockages, one of which is the lack of seed funding. This money - the amount involved is not huge - could be used to provide affordable housing. Another issue, as was mentioned earlier, is the tenant in situ scheme. It is shocking to hear that the Minister for housing is refusing to meet representatives of Dublin City Council to engage on the scheme, which is being gutted. It is another example of the Government being a barrier to delivering housing. We need an emergency response to this crisis and emergency investment in infrastructure.”
“Surely the starting point was to have the legislation ready so it had the powers to deliver - to be able to bring in the utilities and service providers and unblock the blockages. The Government is setting up an office that will have no additional power. How will it have any ability to compel State agencies? This question has yet to be answered. It is important that there be accountability within Government around the barriers both it and the Department have put up. The Minister of State is probably familiar with Ó Cualann, which is an affordable housing delivery body. For a number of years, it has developed affordable housing. It built it in Ballymun in my constituency. It requested seed funding, which is upfront funding to enable it to start the development process, yet it has not been able to get it.”
“If we add on thousands more potential homes in north Dublin, we will come to a standstill in terms of delivery of new homes in Dublin city so we need an emergency response in terms of investment in infrastructure. There was a very good and solid recommendation from the Housing Commission, which we supported, regarding the setting up of a housing oversight executive, not a housing activation office where deck chairs from the Department are moved around on an apparently sinking ship. The housing oversight executive was supposed to be underpinned by legislation. There was no mention of a CEO or tsar. It talked about a board and having resources. The Minister mentioned legislation coming later.”
“Of course, there must be accountability and value for money but Uisce Éireann needs that funding. There is significant land in Ballymun and Finglas in my constituency that could be used for affordable and social housing but we hear from Uisce Éireann that it will not have the infrastructure in place in the new town planned in Ballyboggan in Dublin 7 to enable the development of that new town. Dublin City Council is developing a master plan when we know the infrastructure will not be in place. We are in an emergency. Uisce Éireann has said that there is a need for two new large wastewater treatment plants in order for that development to go ahead.”
“It is very clear from Uisce Éireann that it does not have the funding currently allocated to build 50,000 homes every year so if the Minister wants to immediately address one of the key barriers, he should allocate the funding. It was disappointing to hear the Tánaiste talk about the requirement for Uisce Éireann to present its guarantee that it will deliver on this funding. Uisce Éireann cannot plan to deliver if it does not have the funding allocated to it so it is a chicken-and-egg situation. It needs the guarantee from the Minister of State, who is shaking his head, that it will have the funding to deliver the infrastructure. I do not know why the Government is dithering on allocating the funding to Uisce Éireann. It needs to be upfront and announce that whatever funding Uisce Éireann needs will be provided.”
“He was too busy spinning the fibs of 40,000 homes being delivered. I ask for accountability in this House. The former Minister should come back in and explain where the figure of 40,000 homes came from and why he did not address these critical infrastructure blockages of which he was well aware. It is unfortunate that the current Minister is continuing where the former Minister left off and is not taking an emergency response to the lack of infrastructure. The Minister has been in office for five months but has not yet pulled together an emergency meeting of the utilities to see where the blockages are and what needs to done. Unfortunately, all we have heard is disagreements about whether or not Uisce Éireann got the €1 billion and whether or not it is the additional funding it requires.”
“The Government was offering local authorities funding to address the significant public infrastructure deficits where the lack of enabling and accessing infrastructure has been hindering the early development of housing. This was 2017. Eight years ago, the Government was aware that critical infrastructure blockages existed and provided some funding but this funding was clearly inadequate. This is what is extremely frustrating. We come in here week after week and on the media, it is the same thing - this surprise at these barriers. The Government was going to bring in a housing tsar to break down the doors and tackle these blockages and barriers. It is baffling that the previous Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage was not breaking down doors to deal with the issues he knew about.”
“I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. We will be supporting it and opposing the Government's amendment. This is a vital discussion. Unfortunately, it feels as if every week, we are discussing a new blockage to providing housing. The incredible thing is that each week, this new barrier is responded to by the Government and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage as if it was a complete surprise and as if they were not aware of these issues - the infrastructure blockages and the lack of investment in infrastructure. I will bring the Minister of State back to 2017. Fine Gael launched a local infrastructure housing activation fund. What was this for? It was for dealing with critical infrastructural blockages such as roads, bridges and amenity spaces.”
“We need a commitment to resourcing higher education overall, but particularly schemes such as the higher education access route, HEAR, and the disability access route to education, DARE, which provide access for those with disabilities and those suffering from disadvantage. As the Minister has said, we see across the world, and particularly in the US, an attack on universities and academics. It is important for us to assert our support for the third level sector and universities and to allow for funding and critical engagement, particularly in the social sciences. We need solutions to the issues of housing, inequality and poverty. We must provide the support services our society needs to ensure we have a functioning and sustainable economy.”
“Those sciences provide for critical areas, including community work, social work and teaching. They also provide the ability to understand the social issues we are, and will be, affected by and bring forward solutions. At the heart of it is bringing through students from disadvantaged backgrounds in particular. I have seen this. There is empowerment through education. In Ballymun in my constituency, for example, the average age at which a person finishes education is 19. In the 2022 census, only 30% of adults in Ballymun had an education higher than secondary. That number shrank to 16% when considering third level qualifications.”
“I thank the Minister and my colleagues for the opportunity to speak on this issue. As an educator who worked as an associate professor in the area of social science in Maynooth University, I emphasise the importance of social policy and social sciences in education. I worked at Maynooth University, but there is also a university in my constituency, namely, DCU. It provides high-quality education. However, our education system is affected by inequalities, lack of access and underfunding. In particular, as was mentioned by my colleagues, there are issues of precarious contracts at third level. This is about the power of education, and not just to create an economy. Without a functioning society, we cannot have a functioning economy. There needs to be an emphasis on, and investment in, social sciences.”
“His parents, like so many parents of children with additional needs and autism, are just asking for the supports and resources their children need and, as the Taoiseach has acknowledged, have a right to. Why are children with additional needs being denied this education? Can the Taoiseach ensure these children have the resources that enable them to have a full school day, just like all children?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I raise the case of a five-year-old autistic boy with additional needs in my constituency who is attending junior infants. His mother Grainne contacted me recently and their story is revealing of a system that is badly failing children with additional needs. After months of school distress, hours of work with the school, mediation and facilitation, Grainne explained that her child is finally going to school happily and not hugely distressed afterwards. The parents in the school have built this success. He is happy going into school but he cannot stay longer than one hour. After one hour, the child has to leave because the school simply does not have the additional needs resources - the ANA or SET resources - to keep him there longer.”
“The Minister of State said in his response that there has been a significant increase in waiting lists in Beaumont Hospital since last year. When we look at this, of those 40,000 on the waiting list, 2,500 have been waiting for more than one year and 790 have been waiting for 15 to 18 months. To be waiting 18 months for an appointment is unacceptable. Margaret's case is unacceptable but she is not the only one. I have been contacted by constituents who are on lengthy waiting lists for urgent care. They are worried, scared, and feel as if they are being passed from pillar to post. This is a broader issue of dignity for patients. It is an issue of dignity for staff. We need to retain our doctors and nurses, which is linked to the housing issue and housing crisis.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit for the response. I appreciate the work being done in our health services across the country. We have to accept that the care being provided, even though doctors, nurses and administrative staff are doing their best, is not up to what is needed in all cases. Too many people in this country are left waiting on trolleys, including in Beaumont, and left waiting for appointments. What we have not seen is the full implementation of Sláintecare, which was the cross-party policy that was agreed. It is true investment has increased but the population has increased. The need has increased. We must match the level of need that is there with investment. It is simply not enough.”
“I understand that Beaumont hospital is to receive capital investment but there needs to be a sense of urgency for everyone like Margaret who face unacceptable waiting times. These delays have life-altering consequences. By the HSE's figures there are currently 3,412 patients on the wait list for inpatient procedures and a staggering 40,493 people on a waiting list for outpatient procedures at Beaumont hospital. I would appreciate the Minister of State's response to this.”
“I also want to highlight the issue regarding waiting lists at the hospital. I will raise one example, the case of a constituent, Margaret, who contacted me recently. Margaret saw a consultant in Beaumont hospital after her GP found two lumps in her breast. This consultant then referred her to the BreastCheck unit in Beaumont hospital. She waited three months for an appointment, despite being advised that her case was urgent and the turnaround should only be two weeks. She did get an appointment but this was simply to check again the presence of the lumps. She was advised by letter that a follow-up appointment would be required if a biopsy was necessary. This was all against the backdrop of her waiting anxiously beyond the advised two-week timeline for urgent cases like this. Is it acceptable that this is what patients are facing?”
“Almost 5,000 staff are employed in Beaumont hospital. On this International Workers' Day, I thank the staff at the hospital for all the work they do in very difficult and challenging circumstances, particularly the nurses who provide amazing care to patients, but also the porters, cleaners and all the staff who keep a hospital going, and the doctors and administration staff who do incredible work against the odds. Unfortunately, in 2024 HIQA undertook an inspection of Beaumont hospital and found that on the day of the inspection 28 patients were accommodated on trolleys and in armchairs. HIQA noted at the time that the arrangements were not fully effective at the time of inspection to manage the mismatch between service demand and hospital capacity. I want to highlight this today and ask the Minister to respond.”
“I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and say hello to my kids in the Public Gallery. I want to talk about Beaumont hospital. It is a core provider of healthcare for the half a million people in its catchment area across north Dublin, which includes my constituency areas of Finglas, Ballymun, Whitehall, Santry and many others. Beaumont hospital is a key public service, a key provider of healthcare and provides many people with high-quality care. Unfortunately, the hospital, as with much of our healthcare service, is under severe pressure. The issues in Beaumont hospital have been raised in this Chamber by my colleague and constituency predecessor, Róisín Shortall, and others. Unfortunately, much remains to be done to support the hospital to be able to deliver the quality service that the public in my constituency and further afield needs.”
“If we are to establish how best to help young people when they leave care, it is essential that we know precisely where they end up. I would be grateful if the Minister could respond on this, in particular the gathering of information and bringing it together to ensure that these young people who are so vulnerable are not falling through the cracks.”
“I am aware from consultation with the Simon Community that young people leaving the care system are often not aware of the supports the Minister has outlined which are available to them. I ask the Minister to ensure information about housing and homelessness services, and social protection supports are made available in schools, local communities and youth services. Another issue I would like to raise is the collection of data. Currently, Tusla does not provide any distinction in its data about where young people find themselves after leaving State care following their 18th birthday. We just have one crude figure to cover young people who end up in a variety of settings such as in hospital, prison, homeless services and mental health or disability services.”
“According to the Simon Community, the number of people aged 18 to 24 experiencing homelessness is approaching 1,800. This represents an 8% increase over the past year. Some of the most vulnerable and those most at risk of experiencing homelessness are young people leaving State care. This cohort of young people often leave care without a support network. They have also experienced trauma in their lives and we know homelessness is a very traumatic experience. Ensuring that the State is there to support them is vital. Will the Minister outline the financial supports available to these young people, in particular to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first instance?”
“The Irish Daily Mail and the Irish Independent both report today that Mr. McDonagh was due to get a pay cut if he went back to the NTMA. In creating a housing tsar, has the Government created a golden parachute to keep him on his outrageously high salary? How does the Tánaiste think, on this International Workers' Day, low-income workers feel with the postponement of their living wage, while the Government creates gold-plated positions for insiders?”
“The housing crisis is a social and economic disaster. Solving it requires an emergency response that is unprecedented in scale and a radical reset in policy. Yet, what we have seen so far from this Government is disarray, half-baked ideas, kite-flying and a complete lack of a joined-up approach. The proposed appointment of Mr. Brendan McDonagh, NAMA CEO, now appears to have been another ill-thought-out solo run by Fianna Fáil to add to the scrapping of rent caps and the tax breaks for investor funds. How can we have any confidence that this Government will co-ordinate a solution to the housing disaster, when it cannot even co-ordinate and take a joined-up approach in its own Cabinet? To be clear, the Government's new activation office is only a fig leaf of what the Housing Commission proposed as a comprehensive, resourced executive.”
“We need mechanisms by which, for example, the Land Development Agency is given full compulsory purchase order powers to compulsorily purchase private land on a significant scale and start looking at ways in which it can prepare that land and ensure that affordable housing is built on it and getting builders to build on it. Local authorities could also play that role. We are limiting what the State can do with land by only focusing on public land. There is a real issue about the public land we are using. There is a lack of clarity on this and on outcomes and strategies in the planning framework.”
“We have a fundamental problem in how we are doing that because, ultimately, we are still taking this market-led approach to housing delivery and it is still in this plan. The entire planning objectives contain no mechanisms by which affordable housing will be built on land. There are no mechanisms by which this will be implemented, apart from aspirational references to what the Land Development Agency might do with public land. However, there are no mechanisms by which that will happen for private land. That is a major flaw that must be addressed.”
“While the tax measures on zoned land might go some way towards forcing development or ensuring zoned land is developed, what the framework is not doing, ultimately, is addressing the issue outlined by the Kenny report in the 1970s of the speculative, windfall gain from land that is rezoned. It is home buyers who have to pay this. Countries like the Netherlands have a much more active land strategy whereby the state purchases the land, gets the planning permission and puts in the infrastructure. Essentially, what we are going to do is zone all of this extra land for residential development with no mechanisms by which to ensure that the infrastructure goes in and homes are actually built on it. We can put the infrastructure in there but it may not necessarily be built on.”
“If local authorities zone land for residential development and there is no set allocation for affordable housing, what we will see, which is what we see currently, is land being speculated on. When the land is rezoned, the private owner of the land gains the uplift from that rezoning and can sit on it or sell it on to someone else who buys it and then sits on it. There is no mechanism through which that land can be developed. There are no proposals or measures put forward to ensure that zoned land is developed. There is a flaw in this framework because there is no use-it-or-lose-it mechanisms in terms of planning permission or zoning.”
“It is extremely frustrating that they have not been tackled. It is only now that this is being looked at and the Government is asking if there are new ways in which we can tackle these issues. Why have they not been tackled up to now? I am concerned that what we are going to see is more lip service and claims that these issues are going to be tackled rather than properly tackling them. There are some fundamental issues at play here. The proposal we made to zone land for affordable housing is not in this plan. I do not understand why we are not zoning land for affordable housing as has been done in other countries. It is a way to ensure that, when we are zoning land, it will deliver affordable housing in perpetuity. There is a fundamental problem in the zoning of land currently.”
“I just cannot get my head around it. We have measures like the tenant in situ scheme, which was working well and the Department accepted was working but has now been restricted for some reason. It still exists but its ability to function for local authorities is being restricted. It has already been reported that Dublin City Council in my own area has issues with regard to the funding that is available to make it work. The same is true of Kildare County Council and Cork City Council. These councils are saying that, due to the changes, they cannot use the scheme to the same extent they did last year. Will the Minister reinstate in full the tenant in situ scheme? On the planning framework itself, there are clearly issues with zoning, the servicing of land and infrastructure but these problems have been there for years.”
“I ask that the Minister take this proposal on board and see how it can be implemented rapidly and start providing an additional financing stream for affordable housing that would actually help to deliver homes. The reality is that we are in a catastrophic situation. The level of homelessness that we are seeing right now is unprecedented but, unfortunately, it is becoming normalised by this Government. It is not just the current Minister, who is relatively new, but also previous Ministers. We must restate that current levels of homelessness or, indeed, any level of homelessness or any child being left homeless is a national scandal. I cannot get over how we have allowed the situation to develop whereby it is not a case of stopping everything because we have thousands of children growing up in emergency accommodation.”
“For example, I wrote to the Minister about the proposal we put forward for a homes for Ireland savings scheme that would offer a new source of finance for housing. Indeed, it would be private financing. It was very frustrating to hear the Taoiseach say that this would not build any homes but that what was needed was institutional investors and private equity funds to provide finance to build homes. That is actually a contradictory statement. He said the issue was that we did not have finance to build homes but the home for Ireland savings scheme is a solution that can access additional finance to build homes and potentially leverage the €160 billion that is in the banks.”
“This planning framework is important but, unfortunately, it is insufficient and inadequate in a number of areas, which I will talk about presently. I wish to discuss the housing emergency because it is linked to this. It is linked to what is absent from the planning objectives. I refer to the absence of an objective to deliver affordable housing and any assessment of what scale of affordable housing is required or how it is going to be delivered and where. We heard a claim yesterday by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, that the Social Democrats and the Opposition had not put forward ideas, alternatives or solutions around housing but we have put forward a number of evidence-based solutions and I want to put them on the record again.”