Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have other meetings to attend. We know there is a massive housing crisis, and a homelessness crisis in particular. Since 2008 we have had cuts of €1 billion in the housing budget. We should not mask the figures. Even last year €60 million was cut from the housing budget. We keep hearing that more funding is being added but that is not the case. We should put that in the context of the previous cuts.

Reference was made to Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and what we got in housing in terms of the 20% when schemes were built. I would like to hear the opinion of witnesses in that regard. The voids have built up as a result of the natural turnover in most local authorities. One moved and one dealt with the voids, but because of the lack of funding, a huge build-up developed – more than 1,800 across the country - and we are now getting funding for 900. We are only catching up on what should have been a natural progression. That is why the lists have been getting bigger.

Comments were made about the cap on rent supplement. Unless we put rent control in place we will ask for more trouble because all we will see is an increase in rent. We need a system of rent control whether it is tied to inflation or the cost of living. There is no way around that.

I know that many voluntary housing groups are represented here. In the past, the local authorities were the main providers of housing. I wonder what would happen if the local authorities were set up in the same way as the voluntary housing groups in terms of accessing funding. Does anyone have an opinion on whether that could work? The Minister has indicated that it could work. When I spoke to officials in Dublin City Council, they said it could not work. I would like to hear why it could not work. Why should the local authorities not be able to access the open market to add to their housing stock? Why should they not be able to borrow on that basis, through the Housing Finance Agency or otherwise? I would like to know whether people think that can be done.

I agree with everyone that evictions should stop. I believe we need to find a solution to this problem. We are going to have more and more mortgages getting into deep trouble. We are heading into a further crisis. Approximately 180 people are being housed in hotels every day at a cost of much more than €14,000 a day. That money is being thrown away. We are fighting every day to chase places in hotels. If one or two families are put out, the local authorities cannot even house them. It is an absolutely crazy situation.

A new tenant purchase scheme is about to start. I believe the moneys in question should be ring-fenced for housing and not put to any other use. I would like to hear people's opinions on that. In the past, these moneys have been used for various things. That is a scandal. It should be ring-fenced.

I would like to speak about the issue of financial contributions. In my own area of Finglas, more than 100 people who are on a list to go to senior citizens accommodation or otherwise are waiting for financial contributions. There is a source of revenue that can be utilised if it can be brought on stream again. There is a danger in this regard, however. We have to make sure this does not add to the property bubble and cause prices to be put up. That is why rent controls are so important. We must put them in place in order that increases do not happen.

I want to ask about what happens to couples who own properties when they separate. A different rule seems to apply in rural Ireland compared with Dublin City Council and the main local authorities. Dublin City Council will accept that someone has a housing need if he or she can prove that he or she is separated and cannot afford a property. If such a person moves back to Dublin from another area, he or she can get a letter stating that he or she has a housing need. If the property is sold, the funds accruing from that will go towards the local authority, if necessary. Some local authorities do not seem to act in this manner. I have received mixed reports from Cork and places like that. I would like to hear about the experience in the local authorities that are represented at this meeting. Is there a block of people who end up in these situations?

I have told the Minister that solutions are needed. We have identified through parliamentary questions that €1 billion is available to be used under the strategic investment fund, or the old pension fund. We need to start building more social housing. I know people have said it is not the be-all and end-all, but it sets the parameters for the control of housing. There are many positives associated with the construction of social housing. It can be used to take people off the rent supplement or rental accommodation schemes. The savings that accrue from building social housing and putting people into it are important, as are the moneys gathered by the local authorities as a result. There are many pluses in this regard.

I would like to say a few words about the issue of homelessness. More than 5,000 people are on the homeless waiting list. Many people are presenting as homeless. It has been mentioned that 46 families presented themselves in a single month. That is mad. There is no way we will end the homeless strategy in such circumstances. I would like to hear people explain how the present policies will solve the homeless situation. I cannot see it. When I spoke to a manager in Dublin City Council the other day, he told me that the council is being told to direct homeless cases as priorities. It is all very well and good to direct most of the housing that is coming on stream to this sector, and I agree with such an approach, but we have to watch what we do thereafter. People on the housing list or on rent supplement can have a housing need that is every bit as bad. They could eventually end up on the homeless list. It is going to be a vicious circle. I think we need to be careful about how we do things.