Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on this important issue. At the risk of sounding flippant, I am tempted to say in response to Deputy Troy, who got very excited when he spoke earlier, that this is another fine mess the Deputy's Fianna Fáil colleagues got us into. I said in this House a few weeks ago that the Government needs to place a greater focus on social housing and homelessness. After all the house-building of the boom era, it is incredible that we are having to deal with a housing crisis again. It beggars belief that we built so many houses but now we do not have enough properties to cater for those on the local authority lists.

I trace all our difficulties in this area back to the decision of a Fianna Fáil Minister, Martin Cullen, to water down the 2004 legislation in a way that ensured our response to housing supply difficulties was led by developers, rather than being based on housing need. I believe our problems in this regard have arisen from that amendment. It is unbelievable after a building boom that we are now facing a housing crisis of great proportions, but that is what the Minister of State has inherited. My constituency is considerably affected by this issue. I thank the Minister of State for investing capital funding in six housing units in the Borris area of County Carlow. I know it is not a huge development, but it will have a huge impact on an area that has faced a chronic housing problem.

I am a member of the Labour Party sub-committee on housing, which has been actively identifying specific areas that require precedence and focus from the Department. The developing crisis in this sector can be attributed to a shortage of supply. Demand for social housing units exceeds supply to such an extent that it is proving impossible for local authorities to meet the needs of those who are most in need and most vulnerable. My office, like that of every other Deputy who has spoken, is inundated on a daily basis with housing representations, the volume of which has increased significantly over the last nine months. In December 2013, some 72% of those classed as eligible for social housing were dependent on social welfare, 15% of them were in some sort of employment and 2% of them were being incentivised under the back to work scheme.

I cannot stress enough the importance of accurate data in the area of housing need. I believe we have achieved that now. Deputy Durkan referred to a desktop study of how housing needs are responded to. I believe we must have accurate data. In 2014, an assessment of social housing need revealed that over 89,000 people were in need of housing. This level of need is further amplified by the current cap on rent allowance and the high rental rates, which have resulted in a substantial reduction in the availability of private rented accommodation. Rental rates in Kilkenny have reached €850 a month. The rental accommodation scheme has played a pivotal role in recent years in delivering units in the private rented sector to those most in need of housing who cannot be accommodated by means of social housing.

Unfortunately, rental rates are now rising rapidly and landlords are refusing to accept rent-supplement tenants over private tenants. Some 27 landlords in Kilkenny left the RA scheme in 2012, which compares with only 12 in 2012. Rising house prices in Counties Kilkenny and Carlow are linked with February's CSO figures indicating that property prices have increased by more than 8%. This demonstrates how in the absence of an increase in the supply of social housing, the introduction of rental caps in the short term will merely aid the further deterioration of the social housing sector as the economy continues to improve.

In February five out of seven residents in the Amber women's refuge were referred to it owing to homelessness while the Good Shepherd centre had 22 residents, which was its highest number of residents in years. There has also been an increased use of bed and breakfasts and hotels by the local authority to provide emergency accommodation.

I welcome the Minister of State' decision to renew the State house building scheme. I also welcome the money allocated for voids. I also welcome the Minister of State's very proactive approach to address the issue of unfinished housing estates. Urgent action is required in the interim, as the crisis is getting worse. I would also like to see the introduction of rent moderation and rent regulation in the Irish market. As has been mentioned, these measures are used across Europe and I do not see why we cannot introduce it here. We should introduce a professional level of landlordism in Ireland, which might help in dealing with the crisis.

See this speech in context