Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Honohan for coming before the committee and giving his views.

I am becoming a little concerned and confused as time passes. While modular housing may not be the answer in many cases, in a crisis one must be guided and bound by the urgency of that crisis and the extent to which we can continue to have families forced out of their homes or living in unsuitable accommodation and sometimes split up to avail of accommodation. In some cases, two, three or four families are sharing one dwelling, with some sharing one room. Such circumstances are totally unacceptable and whatever action is needed to address them must be taken. If housing cannot be provided quickly and we are not allowed to build modular housing, nothing will be done to address the problem. I do not want intensive developments such as that which was built in Ballymun to be built elsewhere. Members discussed this issue the other day. However, a short-term solution to the current problems can be found and it is the direct building of modular housing. The rest could follow.

Part ownership, State ownership and private ownership were mentioned. The shared ownership-loan system, under which the rental part of the equity was the subject of an annual 4.4% increase, was a farce. This approach can only be described as imposing a penalty on those who had the temerity to provide a house for themselves because they happened to be in a particular income bracket.

On the control of land prices, we had the Kenny report, the McKinsey report and Myles Wright reports. Produced at different times, they all addressed the same issue, but for one reason or another, it was decided not to implement them, although one of them was partially implemented. Given the reluctance of the courts and the State to proceed in the direction advocated in the reports, what scope is available in this regard?

Mr. Honohan is correct that there has been a shift from the State to the private sector. At the time, some of us recognised that this shift which occurred ten or 12 years ago was patently wrong, but no one shouted "Stop". Local authority housing requirements came to be provided for by private housing entities or approved bodies as they are known. The purpose of this approach was to shift responsibility from local authorities. However, I do not accept that local authorities should become directly involved in housing provision. They should employ builders to build immediately, rather than in two, three or four years time because we do not have the luxury of waiting for things to happen. We must make them happen soon.