Point of correction and housing standards
A brief correction is made about the speaking order, then Deputy Andrews raises severe housing conditions and Ireland’s failure to meet European social rights standards. The Tánaiste acknowledges poor housing but points to major ongoing investment and the need for more social, affordable and private homes.
Can I raise a point of order, please, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle? I apologise for interrupting. There may have been an error yesterday, in that the Leas-Cheann Comhairle mistook Deputy Richmond for myself in the queue.
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Deputy McAuliffe looks nothing like him.
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I agree with the Deputy. Deputy Andrews will confirm that it was in fact myself that stood between him and Deputy Gould.
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I call Deputy Andrews and will come back to Deputy McAuliffe, who was on the list. Incidentally, this is not a point of order but a point of correction, which I fully accept. I call Deputy Andrews.
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In 2017, a ruling was made by the European Committee of Social Rights that Ireland had breached Article 16 of the revised European Social Charter. The committee went on to state that the Irish State had failed to ensure the right to housing of an adequate standard for a not insignificant number of families. We are four years on from this ruling and nothing has changed for people paying rent to live in houses and flats throughout the inner city. The conditions people are living in are truly shocking in many cases. Tenants describe living there as a constant battle against mould and damp as well as recent rat infestations. Why has the State not acted to amend its failings? Is the State content to have its citizens living in such deplorable conditions?
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I acknowledge the fact that much of our local authority housing and social housing is substandard in my constituency and in that of the Deputy. It would be only fair for the Deputy to acknowledge also the huge investment that has gone into improving, upgrading and renewing social housing and local authority housing in my constituency and his. Some major redevelopment is under way throughout the country to improve and bring social housing up to an acceptable standard. This will continue. At the same time, we also need to build a lot more social and affordable housing and private housing. There are capacity constraints. There are only so many construction workers. Construction is paused because of the pandemic. While we would love to do all of these things quickly and at the same time, there are limitations to what we can do but we are doing as much as we can.