Left-right politics and housing protest
Senator Gavan defended the Dáil motion as politics and used his final pre-summer contribution to thank staff and reflect on the new left-right divide. He then condemned housing mismanagement, backed the Raise the Roof protest in Limerick and called for more investment in housing.
Perhaps people need to think about the difference between politics and political opportunism. What is happening in the Dáil this evening is politics.
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As this will be my last contribution to the Order of Business before the summer, I will begin by expressing my gratitude to all of the staff, to the Leas-Chathaoirleach, to the Leader for her courtesy and to the Deputy Leader. I wish everyone a very good summer after what has been a fairly energetic and, at times, combative session. I have to say that I believe politics is in a good place right now. Regardless of whatever else we can say, we can say that, after the last general election, we finally have a left-right divide in politics. That can only be a good thing. The years when we had the names Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael alternating while the policies did not change are over. Whatever is to come in the future will be along the left-right divide-----
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I am sorry. I am a bit lost here.
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The issue I will raise today in the minute or so I have left is that of the Raise the Roof protest happening in Limerick this Saturday as a result of the crisis in housing, which is another great failure of 11 years of Fine Gael mismanagement and misgovernment. I am really proud that the trade unions are leading this march. I am delighted to see them leading the call for a doubling of investment in housing. It is significant that the Economic and Social Research Institute, the Government's own think tank, pointed out last year that this Government is spending half of what it needs to in order to tackle the housing problem.
That is why we have 14% rent rises in Limerick. That is why we have 100,000 vacant homes across the State. Unfortunately, it is a litany of failures on the part of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. I encourage people in Limerick to come out at 1 o'clock and join their colleagues, their brothers and sisters in the trade union movement, and join people from Sinn Féin and other progressive parties to make it clear we will not stand for this housing crisis anymore. Of course, I wish my colleagues in the Dáil well tonight with the motion of no confidence in this appalling Government.