Before I start, the Housing Agency was tasked with researching and monitoring housing-based interventions that sought to strengthen social cohesion. I am wondering if that report informed this Bill, or if there is yet to be a report. If you ask the people of Dublin South-Central, they will clearly tell you that affordable and social housing is key in addressing the fragmentation and displacement of their communities, as vulture funds, student accommodation and transient accommodation smother their area. Swathes of high-rise, transient accommodation have been imposed on their communities. The historical community of the Liberties is choked with eight-to-12-storey blocks of student accommodation that have forever changed the small streetscape and skyscape of Dublin's oldest settlement. Likewise, the aparthotels that cater for this, the premier tourist trail in the country, have resulted in what we call a tourist paradox, a phenomenon that is growing worldwide where tourism and transient visitors destroy the cultural environment that is necessary for tourism activity in the first place. The recent protests at Thomas Street's aparthotel development proved to the be tipping point for locals, who are furious at yet another planning permission for a bland, featureless and cheapening development while their community is scattered to the wind, along with the exodus of home-grown businesses and community facilities. Unaffordable housing is divisive. Tensions are rising and discontent is wholly understandable. The affordability crisis represents a social challenge that must be addressed. It must be front and centre and the cornerstone of Government policy. Access to affordable housing enables broader social cohesion and strengthens communities, something we desperately need to encourage, support and nurture in these days of sometimes turmoil across our cities and Europe. This legislation should include and encourage site visits so as to give a helicopter view of the context of what is being proposed when assessing large developments, or at least a real-time video of the area and a virtual walk-through to gain a perspective on and understanding of the visual impact, scale and impositions of developments of this nature in the inner cities. They have swallowed up and bulldozed a lot of traditional streetscapes, and with them a lot of our communities in the inner city. Those streetscapes are our urban gems and they are being diluted and dismissed regularly. This has been concentrated in inner cities over the last decade. Affordable housing is a linchpin that sets the groundwork for a stable living environment for families. It is crucial for personal and communal growth. Stability nurtures people and protects their well-being. Government policy must prioritise this and not be an indifferent bystander to the experience of inner city communities that have long encountered deliberate neglect, disinterest and abandonment. The Minister, Deputy James Browne, got some insight into this when, albeit pushed, he visited the Liberties. That visit was welcome and propelled the decision to answer to the locals and replan the generation that was parked. The State must invest in our people, our families and our working-class communities. That is the priority. We deserve better.

Sentiment score: 0.04