Mary Lou McDonald: Housing metrics mask a national crisis
Mary Lou McDonald confronts the Taoiseach over government housing 'metrics', arguing that record rents, evictions and homelessness show the policy is failing. She cites nearly half a billion euro spent last year on emergency accommodation and nearly 5 billion over the last decade to manage homelessness.
Mary Lou McDonald highlights the financial toll: rising state spending on emergency accommodation and almost 5 billion euro spent in the last decade managing homelessness. She warns the taxpayer is bearing the cost of government failure while homelessness continues to rise.
McDonald describes the human cost of the crisis - families in hotel rooms, single people with nowhere to go, pensioners facing homelessness and children growing up without a home. Her intervention frames homelessness as both a social and fiscal emergency.
The Sinn Féin leader demands honesty from the Taoiseach, asking when the government will admit its approach is driving repeated crises and when it will change course. She presses for integrity and a clear change in direction.
The Taoiseach responds that the solution is increased supply, noting the state is building more social houses annually and ring-fenced funding for emergency accommodation was included in the budget. McDonald counters by highlighting continued local opposition to developments and the need for accountability.
Costs and consequences
Mary Lou McDonald highlights the financial toll: rising state spending on emergency accommodation and almost 5 billion euro spent in the last decade managing homelessness. She warns the taxpayer is bearing the cost of government failure while homelessness continues to rise.
Human impact
McDonald describes the human cost of the crisis - families in hotel rooms, single people with nowhere to go, pensioners facing homelessness and children growing up without a home. Her intervention frames homelessness as both a social and fiscal emergency.
Demand for honesty
The Sinn Féin leader demands honesty from the Taoiseach, asking when the government will admit its approach is driving repeated crises and when it will change course. She presses for integrity and a clear change in direction.
Government response and supply argument
The Taoiseach responds that the solution is increased supply, noting the state is building more social houses annually and ring-fenced funding for emergency accommodation was included in the budget. McDonald counters by highlighting continued local opposition to developments and the need for accountability.
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Transcript
Go raibh maith agat, Ceann Comhairle. Taoiseach, I'm struck by your boastful approach around your so-called metrics on housing. A metric of record and skyrocketing rents, record evictions and record homelessness and last year state spending of almost half a billion euro on emergency accommodation. Over the last decade almost 5 billion euros spent on managing homelessness and all the while homelessness continues to rise. Families in hotel rooms, single people with nowhere to go, pensioners facing homelessness and of course children growing up without a home and the taxpayer footing an extraordinary bill for government failure. Can I ask you when are you going to be honest? Where's this honesty that you're bragging about? When are you honestly going to accept that your approach to housing is driving crisis after crisis and where will you have the honesty and the integrity to accept that and to change course? Deputy, the solution to the housing issue is supply. We need far more supply than we're getting. Notwithstanding the fact that we're building more social houses now than we ever have per annum and we'll continue to do over the next 10 years and the investment is being put in. There's massive state investment in housing and there's additional discreet ring-fenced funding for emergency housing but also to deal with those on emergency housing and to provide them with homes and the Minister has in the budget would have got ring-fenced funding to enable him to do that and we will continue on the supply and you know we won't be out there objecting like you're objecting to apartment after apartment in your own constituency. I mean we're talking about being honest. You're objecting left right and centre.