Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It is a pity the other part of the meeting went on so long as this merits some consideration in its own right. I doubt there is anything in this the local authorities are not already familiar with. We are all aware of Part 8 and the other Part. The Minister of State might tell us what additional powers are in this of which the local authorities might not already be aware. If they had known they had to plan for this a year ago, we would not be talking about reminding them of their powers. The inadequacy of the funding that has been available has led to this crisis in delivering social housing.

I note this just relates to Dublin. There is a housing crisis in a number of other centres of population. This week's daft.ieanalysis of the increase in rents shows a stabilisation in the city centre and an acceleration of rents in other areas. The problem is not confined to Dublin, although I accept it has been the epicentre. The tenancy protection unit that was put in place last year was also exclusive to Dublin. The pattern of what is happening outside Dublin is that whole families are being broken up with their belongings stored in a variety of locations, with family members perhaps being separated as well. It is manifesting itself in a very different way.

I have great concerns about the modular housing. It is not cheap. It costs somewhere in the region of €190,000 per unit if I am right. It has a life span of 60 years and is not a temporary solution. We are putting something very permanent in place. Planning should involve considering a variety of things, including the provision of housing, how that housing relates to other services that should be available and the cohesiveness of the community that is to be developed. We are in an emergency situation, which sometimes forces a less than optimum response. If we go back to the 1960s and the high-rise development that was Ballymun, in retrospect that was not a great idea. We are back in a crisis situation now and it is important the Department outlines the sense in which it perceives these houses will be a short-term measure rather than just saying they are short term. What length of time does it foresee people being in them?

Modular or system-built housing is used in other parts of the world and is perfectly good when it is in the right location and of a good standard. It is the other issues that go with it that cause me some concern. The housing might have a dual function. We have 25,000 students accommodated around the country. Housing that doubled as student accommodation for the second part of its function might be useful. The housing might then be placed in a different location and produce a different type of accommodation. It is really important we do not end up with identifiable ghettos.

It is also important to outline exactly what the response is going to be in places outside Dublin.

In terms of the tenancy protection service, one must consider people not being taken off social welfare because they have no address. Tomorrow is the closing date for the electoral register. A person needs an address to get on the electoral register. A homeless, man who has been sleeping rough since August 2014, told me he wants to vote. The response I got to a parliamentary question was that the local authority should be a bit flexible about that. Legislation does not allow flexibility and a person needs an address to vote. With tomorrow's closing date, the people most impacted by this crisis are those who will not be able to have a say on who will represent them. Many people are very mobile because of this and there is a great deal of instability - much more than is measured by the number of people who are living in hotel accommodation. Outside the Dublin region, it manifests itself very differently because some counties do not have hostels.

It was said that the tenancy protection service would be extended to other places but it was not. There is a need to take a wider approach. In my area, people trying to source accommodation in the Kildare, Meath and Wicklow areas are finding they are being pushed out, which is increasing the pressure in areas under pressure already. We need a wider response than we have had to date. I welcome what the Minister had to say about the longevity of the modular units.