Kathleen Funchion: Government 'fiddles while Rome burns' on housing
Kathleen Funchion spoke in the Dáil about the worsening housing crisis, criticising the government's response and highlighting the long record of Deputy Owen O'Brien on housing policy. She said the situation has deteriorated since her first Dáil speech seven years earlier and argued current measures are insufficient.
Legislation and advocacy
She thanked Deputy Owen O'Brien for bringing forward the legislation and said Sinn Féin, and in particular their housing spokesperson, have introduced countless pieces of legislation, motions and policy papers. She noted that Deputy Owen O'Brien has been the party's housing spokesperson since 2016 and regularly sets out housing visions in alternative budgets.
Tenant-in-situ approvals
She criticised the focus on the tenant-in-situ scheme and cited local figures, saying Carlow has approval to purchase 10 properties under the scheme and Kilkenny has approval to purchase 25. She stressed those are the numbers local authorities are working from "as of date".
Local authority capacity concerns
She asked whether local authorities will receive the additional staff they need, saying they are already overburdened and questioning how they will deliver on new purchase schemes and responsibilities without more resources.
Effects on people's lives and services
She argued housing now affects all aspects of life - employment choices, the nursing and education sectors, emigration and where young people choose to study - and said the crisis has made people reassess job and education decisions based on accommodation availability and cost. She added there are 11 properties to rent in Carlow and 16 in Kilkenny today, underscoring local shortages.
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Thank you very much, Cathaoirleach. First of all, I want to thank my own colleague, Deputy Owen O'Brien, for bringing forward this piece of legislation. Seven years and one week ago, exactly, was the time I gave my very first speech in the Dáil ever, and it was on the housing crisis. So, when I was preparing for tonight, I felt I probably could have just dusted off that speech, except things have gotten an awful lot worse. And in that seven years, and you might be very interested in this, Minister, Sinn Fein, and in particular our housing spokesperson, have introduced countless pieces of legislation, countless motions, policy papers, and every year in our alternative budget, Deputy Owen O'Brien, as our housing spokesperson since 2016, puts forward our visions for housing. So, they are all there, easily accessible for you to look at. So, it seems to me that under your watch, yourself and the Senior Minister, government fiddles while Rome burns. And your so-called solutions aren't meeting the minimum needed to catch up on decades of underinvestment. In the last week or two, we have heard yourself and all of your colleagues talk, you know, ad nauseum about the tenant-in-situ scheme. So, just to point out from my own constituency, Carlo has approval to purchase 10 properties under the tenant-in-situ scheme, and Kilkenny has approval to purchase 25 properties. That's the information the local authority has as of date. That's what they have to date. That's the information that they are going on. And also, in relation to go to the local authority... I ask, please, genuinely, that speakers not be interrupted while they are speaking, because then we can all have a... Thank you, Cahirlach. Thank you, Cahirlach. In relation to go to the local authority for everything, is there any chance the local authorities are going to be giving the correct staff and the increase in staff that they need, because they are totally overburdened as it is? And it is, I can't actually describe how frustrating it is that seven years later, we're not only in the same housing crisis, but it has gotten far, far worse. And it seems like a very obvious observation to make, but housing affects all aspects of your life. And I say this this evening, an obvious point, because I genuinely don't think the government truly understands this. I know government TDs have been out this week and last saying they aren't immune to the plight of people whose families are at the coalface of the housing crisis. But really, I think it's more a case that many government TDs, including in my own constituency, are speaking out of both sides of their mouths. Housing affects people looking for employment. Many now are reassessing whether to take a job, irrespective of whether it's the right job for them. It's, can I afford accommodation? Can I even find accommodation near that job? It's, we've seen this in the nursing sector, we've seen it in the education sector, and we've seen scores of young people, and not so young, leaving abroad and emigrating again. People are choosing college and university based on availability and cost of accommodation. They're not based on where they'd like to study or if this is the right course for them. We have 11 properties to rent today in Carlow and 16 in Kilkenny. Sorry, I'm over time. Sorry, I apologize.
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