A Thánaiste, ní chreideann an tAire Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta gur cás éigeandála í an ghéarchéim tithíochta cé go bhfuil méadú ar chíosanna, ar chostais agus ar phraghas tithíochta, agus ar líon na ndaoine atá gan dídean.

On Tuesday night, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage claimed there is not a housing emergency. I am sure that anyone who heard that remark was aghast at the suggestion we do not have a housing emergency in this country. Yet, the Taoiseach thinks he is doing a great job. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is the only Fianna Fáil Minister the Taoiseach has guaranteed will stay in his post, despite him repeatedly failing in that post. Rents and house prices are rising and homelessness is at record levels but the Taoiseach thinks the Minister is playing a blinder. This is the level of delusion that surrounds housing in the Government. It is not just me saying that. I want to share with the Tánaiste some of the stories from young people who have contacted us in recent days to illustrate the reality of the housing crisis and the impact it is having on people's lives. One said:

I am living with my parents who are close to retirement age. Living at home in my mid-30s puts a strain on our relationship and a strain on my mental health. It seems for my entire adult life there has been a recession or a housing crisis in this country.

Another person stated:

I am 32-year-old. I work as a clerical officer and have been saving for years with my boyfriend and we cannot afford these high house prices.

Another person stated:

I'm 29, my partner is 31. We're both in good, full-time jobs and we have saved a thirty thousand euro deposit for house. We cannot get a mortgage. We're now considering moving to Canada.

Another person stated:

I love my country and I wish I could stay. It's just sad I can't afford to stay in the country I was born and raised in.

That is only a sample of the young people who responded to our recent housing survey. These are people who are living through the reality of the shambolic approach to housing the Government has taken for more than a decade. Those are the words of real people who are living in the real world unlike the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage who says there is no housing emergency and the Taoiseach who think his Minister is playing a blinder.

An analysis carried out by the Irish Daily Mail shows that the Government's housing targets are too low and pent-up demand will outstrip planned supply. Sinn Féin has been telling the Government that for years. We have repeatedly brought forward proposals to deal with the emergency we face. The Government cannot even meet the embarrassingly low targets it has set. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, promised over 26,000 new-build social homes by the end of 2022. So far, less than half that amount have been delivered. We were promised 4,100 affordable homes by the end of this year. To date, only 925 affordable homes have been delivered. That is why house prices are going through the roof. It is why rents are soaring and homelessness is at an all-time high. Does the Tánaiste accept there is a housing emergency? Does he agree that the so-called Housing for All plan is not working? Will he commit to ensuring a new plan is brought forward that gets to grips with the crisis in housing and is delivered within timeframes that are acceptable?

I thank the Deputy. I agree there is a housing emergency and have said so in the past. I agree there is a housing crisis, which is a term I have used in the past. However, competing with each other to find new and more dramatic words to describe the housing challenge does not build any houses or solve problems for any of the people the Deputy mentioned in his contribution. What we require is housing action, and that is what we are doing, led by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. We are implementing Housing for All, which is a good strategy that I believe is working. I will give the Deputy a few reasons why I think that is the case. We will exceed our targets for building new homes in Ireland this year. Roughly 28,000 new homes will be built in Ireland this year. That is not numbers; that is 28,000 families who will be living in a house this Christmas that did not exist last Christmas. It was not long ago that only 4,000 or 5,000 were being built in Ireland per year. We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of new homes being built. It is not enough, however, and we need to go further and higher in the years to come.

This year, we will provide more new social housing than has been provided in any other year in the history of the State. People often talk about all the homes that were built by councils and housing bodies in the 1920s, the 1950s, the 1970s and the 1980s. There is not a year in the history of the State that we will have built and provided more social housing than this year. That is a significant achievement. However, it is not enough and we need to do much more.

Many people do not know this but it is really important. In the past 12 months, 15,000 first-time buyers, mostly couples, have bought their first homes. That is the highest number in 15 years. That is significant but it is not enough and we need to build on it and do even more.

When it comes to helping people with the cost of rent - I agree it is a real challenge for many people - we are bringing in the rent tax credit, which the Deputy has advocated for in the past. That will mean €1,000 for a single, tax-paying renter and €2,000 for a tax-paying renting couple. That will put the best part of a month's rent or more back in people's pockets. That is something for which the Deputy has called and that we are making happen. It is actions that matter, not the words used.

As long as a year and a half ago, I said that we should aim to build 40,000 new units per year. That target is contained in the Housing for All plan. We want to ramp up as quickly as we can to 40,000 units per year. We acknowledge that since those targets were set, the population has increased faster than we thought. We have welcomed 62,000 Ukrainians to Ireland. Many of them will stay and more will arrive. Our economy is growing faster than anyone expected. New households are forming all the time, particularly smaller households. We are absolutely going to review those housing targets with a view to increasing them next year. Let me be clear about the targets. We are going to exceed our new housing target this year through the building of 28,000 new homes. However, we do not congratulate ourselves for exceeding a housing target. It is not a matter of meeting a target, ticking a box and thinking it is great. We need far more housing in Ireland. We probably have a deficit of 70,000 or 80,000 homes. If we could build them overnight, we would. There is no lack of money being put into the area. There is no lack of political will. However, we are dealing with real constraints, including the availability of labour, materials and serviced sites. No matter who is in government, they are going to have to deal with those real constraints. There is no lack of money, effort, care, compassion or political will. However, there are real constraints with which anyone would have to deal.

The Tánaiste has had 12 full years to deal with those constraints. As we now approach the end of 2022, house prices have never been as high in the history of the State. Rents have never been as high. Homelessness figures, which include 4,000 children, have never been as high in the history of the State. Thousands of people, who are contacting all of us, are locked out of homeownership. People cannot afford to get by. They are seeing rents increase over and over again. The Government continues to refuse to bring in a rent freeze. Is it not now time to accept, after nearly three years in government, that the plan is failing? House prices, rents and homelessness have gone up. I do not know what the Tánaiste is using to measure success but to my mind, that is failure.

A whole generation is locked out and is desperate. It is time to look at real delivery and bring forward a plan that actually expedites the delivery of social, affordable and cost-rental housing. The Government is blatantly failing to meet the targets. Less than half of the social housing that was promised by the Government, and only a quarter of the affordable housing, will be delivered this year. This is failure on any scale. Is it not time to stop defending a Minister and his failed plan, and instead come up with a better plan that actually delivers and listen to what we in the Opposition have been putting forward?

The Deputy is right about something. My party has been in office for the past 12 years. In fairness to Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, they have not been in office for so long - only three years. However, there is no party in this House that has been in office on this island more than the Deputy's party. Sinn Féin has been 20 years in office on and off in Northern Ireland, with a Sinn Féin finance minister, a Sinn Féin housing minister and a Sinn Féin joint head of government to use its own terms. What is happening in Northern Ireland? House prices are going up and rents are going up. To use Sinn Féin's own figures, 20,000 people are homeless. If we have failed, surely Sinn Féin has failed worse and for longer. What are Sinn Féin's criteria for failure? Does it apply one standard for us and another standard for itself? That seems to be its metric and its approach to everything - one standard for the Government and a different standard for Sinn Féin.

If the Tánaiste thinks housing in Derry is similar to housing in Dublin, then he is delusional.

That is true when it comes to ethics. It is true when it comes to finances - both Sinn Féin Deputies' personal finances and that party's finances - as well as its policies.

The Tánaiste is delusional.

Maybe he does not understand how the Assembly runs.

Táimid ag bogadh ar aghaidh-----

He is delusional if he thinks housing in Derry is similar to housing in Dublin.