I acknowledge Cara and Mark Darmody and the amazing advocacy work they do. It is inspiring for everybody here.

Some 3,500 new homes are being built at the Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend, which is expected to house around 8,000 new residents. The first apartments are due to be occupied early next year and prospective tenants are finally being given the opportunity to view the new apartments. The vast majority of people, however, are completely priced out of this site. A one-bedroom apartment costs upwards of €2,500 per month to rent, or €625 per week. It is absolutely insane. Even with the generous salaries given to Members of this House, which are well above the average in Ireland, we would not be making enough money to rent or buy an apartment on this site. You would nearly need two Senators living together just to afford a one-bedroom apartment. How does that make sense at all? How is it not a glaring sign that the housing system is completely broken? This is one of the most well known building developments in the State and it is only available for the wealthiest of the wealthy, as is the case with almost all of the recent housing developments in Dublin.

The only hope someone with a low or moderate salary, or even a salary above the national average, has to find a home there is to avail of social and affordable housing schemes, which are completely inadequate to meet the huge demand from Pearse Street, Ringsend or Irishtown. Our housing system is completely broken and it is built around serving the wants of the rich with the needs of the less well-off just an afterthought. It is welcome that this site is expected to include hundreds of social and affordable homes after a long fight by the local community and representatives but the fact that thousands of other homes on the site will be completely inaccessible for 90% of the population is an alarming sign of the state of housing in this country. I ask the Minister to come in and debate affordability in housing.