Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak with my colleagues on the issue that is dominating the public forums of debate in this country. What strikes me most from those discussions is that what should unite us is a real desire among us all to deal with this issue because no matter what political badge we might wear on election day, the reality of homelessness, the pressure of renting, and the pressure on young, middle-income families who cannot purchase a home due to the problems in the private housing market is something we all face daily in our constituencies. Our senior spokesperson on housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has brought forward proposals on an affordable house purchase scheme, because while discussions surrounding the construction of social homes has dominated much of the debate, I know from the people calling into my office that a proper affordable home scheme could make a real difference in this debate.

On the issue of social homes, or in good old plain English, county council estates, shortly after my election to my local authority, almost 20 years ago, with the Minister of State, Deputy English, we both saw the extensive construction of council homes in our town, Navan, and in many sections of Meath. I mean real construction of estates with several hundred homes being constructed. I disagree with what the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, said about his philosophy and these estates because they were planned properly by the then Minister, Noel Dempsey ensuring funding was provided to build community centres in the heart of these council estates which today house many services, new swimming pools, schools, roads and infrastructure. It was a comprehensive package whereby there was a philosophy that drove our house building programme. It was not just building homes, which did happen, but building communities. Somewhere along the way that philosophy has been lost at national and local level. We need to see this Government deal with that, not just the national Government but local government too.

Last Thursday at the Committee of Public Accounts we heard some revealing and shocking statistics from the chief executive officer of the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, Brendan McDonagh, who said in a housing report that it had offered 7,000 social homes to local authorities yet only 2,700 were availed of, meaning some 60% were not taken up. That is shocking. When further probed on this Mr. McDonagh revealed that it was the Housing Agency that acted as the conduit, saying the councils were not taking up homes because they did not want what he termed an over-concentration of social homes in one area.

I can only speak for my county, but when we have more than 4,000 people on a waiting list, it is simply not good enough to hear that coming back from local authorities. It is not on that 4,300 homes could just be let pass.

On the supply of private housing, the regional spatial and economic strategy which followed on from the national framework plan is going to have a devastating impact on counties outside Dublin, including Meath, Kildare, Westmeath, Longford and Offaly where population caps will come into force and thwart the housing market, in particular the private housing market, even further. It will also lead to social housing problems.

Listening to the debate on housing afternoon during Leader's Questions, I could not but help hear the cheap political dig by Deputy Mary Lou MacDonald of Sinn Féin. She accused Fianna Fáil of sniping from the ditches. I smiled because in County Meath the only fellow sniping from the ditches is Sinn Féin's Deputy Peadar Tóibín who has form. Three weeks ago, in my constituency, we were all invited to the opening of 43 new council homes in Trim and Athboy, where my constituency office is based. We were in Athboy where the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, was on hand to open 32 homes in a fine scheme on Connaught Street. It was a great day for the families who received the keys to their new home and it was a privilege to join them on the day. Where was Deputy Peadar Tóibín during this moment of positive action? He was not in the estate.

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