'Government has turned its back on rural Ireland' - TD
Sinn Féin TD, Conor McGuinness has said that the government has "turned its back on rural Ireland".
Deputy McGuinness was speaking in the Dáil yesterday (Tuesday, June 17) during an emergency action on housing and homelessness.
He said: "The government has turned its back on rural Ireland. The national planning framework is a disgrace of a document. It wants to end rural housing.
"Let us be honest about this, in that the planning framework the government has instituted and presided over is doing nothing to address the depopulation crisis in our rural communities," the Co. Waterford TD added.
According to Deputy McGuinness, families are "crying out for housing" throughout Ireland.
"If they are not crying out for housing, they are in our clinics crying to us because they are facing eviction or watching their children raise their families crammed into their childhood bedrooms, sometimes multiple families in the one home," Deputy McGuinness said.
"They are the hidden homeless who are never counted in the figures and never make it into the headlines but they are homeless nonetheless."
"Others are only a paycheque or an eviction notice away from becoming homeless. People are in fear," he added.
During the debate, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne said he is taking "rapid decisions" to address the housing crisis.
According to the minister, the government will make "bold decisions", as he believes that is what the government "has to do" to get out of the housing crisis.
He said: "Despite the upward trajectory in supply under Housing for All, the number of new homes (built) last year was disappointing.
"Overall, we delivered more ahead of our targets under Housing for All. We will achieve that step change. It is important to reflect on the progress we have made in recent years under Housing for All.
"After all, in 2012 and 2013, fewer than 5,000 new homes were built in this country each year. By 2022, an undeniable step change in delivery was achieved, with almost 30,000 homes, and more than 32,500 homes delivered in 2022 and 2023, respectively, exceeding the targets in Housing for All," Minister Browne explained.
