Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the previous speaker on the tenant purchase scheme. I encourage the Minister of State and the Department to examine the idea of local authorities being in a position to provide finance again. As we all know, with the onerous regulations put upon financial institutions one needs a secure cash flow and a substantial deposit whereas in a tenant purchase scheme, the loan to value ratio of the house one is buying and the conditions are advantageous and it is less speculative by nature. The best place for many of these people to get loans is from the local authority rather than from a financial institution.

I also encourage the Minister of State to consider a public private partnership whereby funding could come from credit unions which would not provide direct mortgages but might have money on deposit which they could give at a preferable rate to local authorities, thereby servicing the same clients. This idea should be considered. I have spoken to some members of the credit union movement who see validity in it. On Monday, the Minister of State was good enough to visit Tralee, the town I come from, with regard to the regeneration programme. There is €100 million on deposit in the town at present and the interest rates are low. If it were State guaranteed, it would be off-balance-sheet for the Government and could provide the possibility of people purchasing houses. The money could be used for the housing list. The same town has a waiting list of approximately 2,000 people.

Most of the people on the housing list are in receipt of rent allowance. This is a big bugbear of mine. I was the chair of the housing strategic policy committee on Kerry County Council from 2009 until I was elected to this House. One of my observations and ideas is that landlords have had the benefit of the most secure form of tenant known to any financial institution and that is the State. They have seen exponential increases, particularly in the Dublin area, in the value of their properties over the past while. I am of the opinion that traditionally tenants in Ireland, particularly in the private sector, have never been provided with the level of tenure and security which is essential for their well-being, particularly those with families. This is achieved throughout Europe but it is not what we have here. It was very suitable for landlords to have tenants in place paying rent which were paying down debts while the values of the properties were increasing and potentially the investment was returning a yield. I am conscious of the fact these people are not in a home for longevity. They can be at the mercy of the landlord or the financial institutions. They set up homes, families and communities but they can be moved on and this is starting to happen. There is an increase in activity and people are starting to sell properties.

In such cases, provision must be made for the tenants.

I will put forward an idea that should be examined. In the event that one is looking to provide someone with rent allowance, it should be along the lines of the rental accommodation scheme, RAS. However, there should be the option of taking a purchase price on such properties if they are the subject of rent allowance for a prolonged period not just in respect of a particular tenant, but if it is provided to someone who is in receipt of rent allowance. In the town I have just given to the Minister of State as an example, 2,000 people are on the housing list, the majority of whom are in receipt of rent allowance. Consequently, the provision of stock means a great number of people essentially are benefiting from the State paying their mortgages while paying the rent.

I believe the ownership of a house is essential for good communities. One area at which one looks is the provision of landscaped green areas. When one visits an area, it is always encouraging to see a green area on which a couple of young fellows and young girls have thrown down sweaters to make goals and who are playing sport. I refer to the level of anti-social behaviour in areas with green spaces that encourage people to play sports or which simply accumulate numbers of young people who are under supervision in such green areas. It is not rocket science and architects will tell one it is possible to breed a level of community involvement through the design of what the Minister of State intends to do and I can tell that the Government intends to build social housing in the future.

Another area on which I wish to see money spent is the plight of the homeless people I have been encountering. One issue is the banks are not giving people the necessary leniency to enable the latter to get on to a housing list and get their rent supplement. I dealt with a case fairly recently in which an individual was able to sign up for his dole but as most of it was going on his rent, he was living on a small amount of money. He was unable to get rent supplement and in such a situation, a person is being tipped towards homelessness. The facilities are not in place to look after such cases and a provision should be put in place with immediate effect whereby someone could be provided with a rental allowance for a short period until a review is carried out on it.

I compliment the Minister of State on the regeneration projects. A great service is being done for the country in this regard, which everyone in this House welcomes. However, there is also a problem that emanates from the lack of job creation outside the key areas. While there is talk of rents rising in Dublin and Cork, this it is not happening nationwide. I recognise the country was in a bad place financially, etc., but consideration must now be given to the regions. I want people to be able to live there, to raise families, to be able to look after their parents and to build up their communities and, consequently, jobs must be created, particularly in the regions. As for IDA Ireland's regional strategy from 2015 to 2022, I impress on the Minister of State the need to have a strategy whereby the Government tries both to build houses for social protection purposes and to build communities, which will involve the creation of jobs and giving people sustainability in the regions.

While I welcome what is being done today, more can be done with regard to the progression of the economy. I would like as many people as possible to own their houses. I do not believe the rental predicament is terribly favourable here, particularly with a buoyant market. It is about creativity and a little imagination but as I stated, my major bugbear relates to rent allowance and the fact that neither the tenant, the local authorities nor the Government has any ownership over such properties. Consequently, people can be tossed out at short notice, which is unfortunate and unacceptable to me. While this predicament arises from where we are at present, it is something that can be resolved with the help of a couple of the creative ideas I have tried to convey.

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