Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I have never liked the fact that in the Dáil, the Government frequently blames local authorities for the lack of house building or the housing crisis. Ministers say that they have given local authorities the money and that the Taoiseach has told them to go and work away with that. However, I must say that I am very disappointed by what I have heard today. Basically, local authority managers are saying that they are meeting all their targets and are going to exceed them. Homelessness is doubling. The fact that local authorities are ticking their boxes is no comfort to people out there. Local authorities were once the vehicle for social and affordable housing. It was not just social housing. There was an affordable mortgage scheme for people who were not on the list. It now seems that they are being sidelined by these approved housing bodies. I know the situation in greater Blanchardstown well. There is an acute homelessness problem there because I think it is probably the youngest area in western Europe and it is certainly the youngest area in the country. We also have the highest ethnic mix, which leads to much homelessness as many non-nationals become homeless because they are so reliant on the private rented sector. Representatives from Fingal County Council said it is meeting its targets. The council owns 15.5 acres in Blanchardstown that is zoned. That is all. There is nothing else left. Everything else is in the hands of either NAMA or private developers. No wonder Fingal County Council is meeting its target because it is 1,376. There are 10,000 people on the housing list. My point is that housing targets are being deliberately set low either by central Government or the councils.

I feel sorry for the managers. Obviously, they cannot come in here and give out about the Government but I would love to hear them say that they want more money and to be able to build more houses. Instead, I hear that one third will be construction or acquisition, roughly one third will be roughly approved housing bodies and one third will be private sector. The role of the local authorities is shrinking. How will we house the 100,000 families on the housing list if the local authorities are happy with their shrinking role?

Laying the Foundations is the most up-to-date document. Dublin is where most of the homelessness is found. Why are the targets for Dublin so low? That is where most of the homelessness is found. Fingal County Council will meet 10% of its target. That is what the target is - housing 10% of the people on the list. It is a similar case with Dublin City Council. It really is a joke. We are meant to have the largest housing crisis and the largest response yet we are setting a target of 10% of people on the list being housed.

In respect of acquisitions, Deputy O'Dowd made a point about some of the NAMA offerings. This will become an issue. Everyone is well aware of Tyrrelstown. The tenants have appeared before us. I see another mass eviction on the cards in a Dublin City Council area. I ask the managers to be much more open than they seem to be in respect of acquiring units with people in situ.

Many of them are on the housing list and they pay a huge amount in rent, but to turn down offers of 100 or 200 units because people are living in them is not good enough anymore, given, and it is not the officials' fault, the Government encouraged this policy of vulture funds and investment funds buying property en masse. I read earlier that estate agents are advertising for sale properties on Gardiner Street on which the rent can be increased by 49%, and Deputy Wallace mentioned another site earlier. That is what estate agents are offering as the carrot. We have to be open to purchasing these types of units compulsorily or purchasing them through local authorities or agencies. Similarly, I hope Fingal County Council is seriously negotiating to purchase the houses in Tyrrelstown and not just thinking that this will do nothing for its social housing list. Many of the people affected are on the list and if the council does not buy the houses, they will be homeless. I agree that issue must be examined again.

Finally, on the comments by local authority officials, I am concerned as well about speeding everything up. This is an emergency and the tendering process is a problem. If it were direct build, it could be shortened. However, I refer to this idea of a master plan. I have been on councils and I have sat through discussions on development plans. I do not say we should have shoddy planning by any means but a master plan could take ages. If that is the last site that can be developed by the council in greater Blanchardstown, with a population of 100,000, I would worry about devising a master plan, which could take ages. The development of these sites has to be speeded up.