Mattie McGrath: 'Sick and tired' as government fails on housing
Mattie McGrath criticised the government's housing record in a parliamentary speech, calling schemes 'fake news' and accusing ministers of 'blunder and bluff.' He said people are 'sick and tired' of political posturing and expressed no faith in a Sinn Fein motion, calling the debate phony.
Main criticism of housing policy
He accused the government of failing miserably to build houses despite scheme after scheme, saying ministers run out before opponents speak and cannot face the truth. He described repeated promises as ineffective and labelled the approach 'blunder and bluff,' arguing it amounts to politics with people's lives.
Tenants and small house owners
He urged fair play between tenants and small house owners who rent properties, refusing to call them 'landlords' and describing many as ordinary, accidental or incidental owners. He warned that tens of thousands have left the rental market because it is no longer viable for them.
Rural Independence amendments
McGrath said his group, Rural Independence, tabled amendments intended to give solace to people and to protect the balance between tenants and property owners. He criticised other parties for demonising owners as 'land grabbing' and said the debate risks alienating the public.
Legal and practical consequences
He acknowledged advice from the Attorney General and argued people must retain control over their own property, citing examples of owners abroad who cannot return because tenants cannot be removed. He concluded the current political handling of housing is distasteful and deepens public disillusionment.
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We are used to the ministers running out before we speak, it's a total disrespect, but they can't face the truth. The real truth is that this government has failed miserably in all their plans to build houses, and we have scheme after scheme rolled out, and we have this promise and that promise and the other promise, but nobody believes in it. It's fake news, all of it now, because it's blunder and bluff, as I said before from the minister. We go back to Rambo days, and that's what we do with the bluff and blunder. They could build houses, they'd be muttering up everywhere. But I have no faith either in this motion here that Sinn Fein had brought forward, because the people outside are quite frankly sick and tired of what's going on. The gallery will be full tonight if people had any interest in this phony debate between two groups of people here that want to. It's plain politics with people's lives, with roofs over people's heads and everything else, and it's most distasteful as far as I'm concerned. Our group in the Rural Independence have put down a number of amendments here to try and give solace to people, to try and give solace to people, to try and give solace to people. And then give solace also to have fair play between the tenants and the small house owners that want to rent them out. I won't call them landlords, they're ordinary people. Some of them are accidental landlords, some of them are incidental landlords, and some of them have made huge investments of money that they paid tax on to buy a property to have it for a rental scheme. And what happened from the parties that have left here? Gawk law, only demonise and attack them all as if they're evil, land grabbing people and everything else. Go back to the days of the people days and the white buys. That's as if the people are like that. Decent people. We saw tens of thousands of them have left the market because it's not viable to be there anymore. And what happens? You've got advice from the Attorney General, I accept that. I know myself that people must have destiny over their own property. They're entitled to. I know people in Australia who want to come back and move into their house, but they can't do it because they can't get tenants out. So it's not on one side or the other side here. And fair play is a fine thing with me, but there's not much fair play what goes on here. Plenty talk. If the left had their way here, and they had left, they'd take the houses off people that owned them. Big houses of people that are paying to live in them, and they'd have nothing left to live in. Thank you very much.
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