Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Here we are at the end of a great week of the Government's spring statement being told all is well. Fair enough, but any future recovery must be a fair recovery. Any benefits must go to those on low incomes, in particular low paid workers, and towards restoring and improving public services. Jobs have been created and this is welcome, but this is down to the fact we are coming from a situation where we have very high rates of unemployment and there are other external factors. Many people have emigrated in the intervening period and wages being paid across many sectors are lower than they were six or seven years ago. It is in that context that jobs are being created.

The Government has put yet another commission in place, the low pay commission, but what is needed is action. Sinn Féin has launched a document calling for decent work and a living wage in which it puts forward its proposals. We are often challenged in the House to produce our proposals. We launched them within the past week and they are here in black and white. We would welcome the views of those on the other side of the House on them, in particular the views of the Labour Party who might see a common cause in them.

The latest position is coupled with the fact that taxes and other impositions, such as the local property tax and water charges, are placing a heavy burden on households and many people now are significantly worse off than they were. It is also the case that recovery in employment is not evenly spread. In my own county of Laois, unemployment remains high and the fall in the numbers on the live register has not been so great. We welcome any fall in unemployment numbers, but the numbers of long-term unemployed remain sky high. This applies across the midlands region. Some 7,388 people in Laois are unemployed and the number unemployed in Kildare is over 15,000.

This is reflected in a range of ongoing social problems. Last week, figures were released which showed that Laois had the highest rate of claims for exceptional needs payments from community welfare officers, in other words, emergency payments. Many households, including those with members who are in work, also continue to be burdened by debts. Mortgage debt in particular is a huge problem. There have been hints from the Government that it will raise this matter with the banks, but the banks have basically told the Government to get lost. That is what has happened. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, has attended their annual general meetings and that is what he has been told. The Government has not used the 98% share that Joe and Mary public have in AIB to try to address the issue even with that bank.

The statistics show that many people in County Laois are in mortgage distress. Some 76% of people in the county who are on shared ownership loans are in arrears and what is most worrying is that 60% of those households are in arrears of three months and more. This is the case despite the fact that local authority staff are trying to do everything they can to address this problem and to come up with solutions. The figures for households with private mortgage loans are equally as worrying. According to the most recent figures, some 16% of mortgages in Laois are in arrears of three months or more and in Kildare the figure is 12.4%.

The Government is not dealing with or facing up to this issue. The fact is that the Labour Party and Fine Gael gave the banks and lenders a veto on any settlement for those in mortgage distress. We pointed out the problems this would cause nearly three years ago, but were ridiculed for that. The Government asked what we would propose and we said what we needed was an independent agency with the power to compel the banks and lenders to accept reasonable proposals and see them through. We advocated this three years ago and advocate the same again now. We urge the Government to do this. There has been some talk about doing this in recent days and we want the Government to move towards that.

Much has been made of the potential of the mortgage-to-rent arrangement as a possible solution, but the numbers approved so far are derisory. There has been just one mortgage-to-rent arrangement in County Laois. The Government has failed to deal with the issue of spiralling rents and the growing gap between the rent allowance threshold and actual rents. This is causing homelessness, not just in cities but in the country where we now find people sleeping in cars. Some 90 people showed up homeless at Laois County Council in the first three months of this year.

The situation is causing huge stress also for families living in private rented accommodation. Some of these people come to our clinics every week because they are in danger of losing their accommodation. There is a housing crisis. A dampener is being put on house building by the new building regulations. We want building regulations, but they should be realistic regulations that work for and do not strangle the building of extensions and one-off houses. This issue needs to be addressed.

Yesterday, the Joint Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government was to discuss a report on the housing assistance payment. That report includes very worrying figures on the numbers of people who are dependent on emergency accommodation. Of most concern is the fact that a huge number of these people have children. In County Laois, there are over 1,800 households on the housing waiting list and I believe another few hundred should be on it. In County Kildare, the number of households on the waiting list is now heading towards 8,000. This is unsustainable. We need a housing programme similar to what we had in the 1930s, and in the 1950s under a Fine Gael-led Government, and similar to those we had again in the 1960s and 1970s. Temporary accommodation is no substitute and merely acts as a subsidy for private landlords.

In regard to the home tax and water charges, it is noticeable that the Government appears to be content to ignore this issue for the time being. We were to have legislation and I would have hoped it would have come before the House this week. However, all Dáil business was suspended to allow for the spring statement. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, has failed yet again to bring the legislation before the House. That is hardly surprising, given the Millington, SiteServ and IBRC controversy and given also that the cost of water metering jumped in the space of a month in 2013 by approximately 40%.

In that context, we should look again at the Government's claim that the economy has turned a corner. It may say that and some figures may be put together to show it is happening.

The Government has been less than up-front if we consider how it has dealt with issues. The water charges underline this approach to the economy. The Government has introduced a fake scheme called the "water conservation grant" of €100 per household that has nothing to do with the conservation of water; water will be wasted because of it when people see there is no incentive to conserve water. It has nothing to do with having more efficient use of water or stopping wastage.

We have had a week of the Government slapping itself on the back. The problem is that while the Government is doing this, citizens are carrying a heavy load on their backs. There are people under significant stress and under much pressure, and that is affecting mental and physical health. All of us meet these people every week in our clinics, offices and on the street. These are people who are broken mentally, physically and financially. They cannot cope and they have suffered years of trying to deal with mortgages. Results of a survey in England were published this week which demonstrated the stress arising from mortgage issues. When doctors examined the people over a period, they found that the stress was similar to that experienced by people on battlefields during war. We can see that in people's faces. The issue of mortgage debt has not been dealt with, either in the private area with respect to AIB, Ulster Bank etc. or the local authority loans. We must face up to that for the good of society, our own good and that of our children. It would even ease the burden on our health services as this affects those services. People are really suffering because of this.

This week has been a diversion to distract attention from the fact that we continue to pay money to the after-effects of the banking bailout and what has had to be mopped up by the Government. Spring statements cannot hide or change certain facts. Low-income families continue to be hit hardest, and particularly those in need of accommodation. The Government has failed to deal with key crises in the sectors of housing, mortgages, health and child care. Disposable incomes are at an all-time low. The Government has had four years to address this but in some ways, many people are telling me they are now in a worse position. What we are seeing now is window dressing and electioneering.

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