Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 14 September 2016

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government

2:30 pm

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are a number of things. Procurement needs to happen a lot more quickly. We now have an Office of Government Procurement national framework which is close to being finalised. It has attracted a lot of interest from developers who have the capacity to build with rapid build methods and technology. There will be a central database of approved builders that any local authority can access in order that they will not have to go through a lengthy procurement process.

On the issue of sites and trying to manage communities that live in close proximity, there was huge resistance from the local community in Ballymun. Some of that has now dissipated and people realise that these houses look more or less the same as every other house but they are just built a bit faster. The truth is that building something in 12 weeks as opposed to six months takes some time off it but the other factors around decision-making, sign-off, funding, and procurement are the real delay factors in property. We have a number of local authorities under a lot of pressure to deliver on the target that we have set of 200 houses by the end of the year. Some of these sites are moving at the moment and some are about to get moving, but to have 200 houses built - we have none at the moment - by the end of December is a big ask. To have another 800 built by the following June or July and the remainder of the 1,500 that we have set as a target by the end of next year forces the pace all the time. In parallel with that there will be a lot of conventional build of social housing as well.

In my home city, last year in total there were 74 social houses built by local authorities. There were many social houses acquired and vacant properties brought back into use but in terms of new build there was 74. That is the figure in my head anyway. In Cork city alone we will have within the next five to six months 400 social houses under construction on 13 different sites across the city. That is a relatively small segment when one takes the whole country. That is the level of increase we are talking about. It is hoped we will see many more than that in Dublin. We are trying to get things moving here with a real focus on delivering volume and numbers with decent quality in the right places. Part of that solution is rapid build.

As far as I and the Government are concerned, the programme for Government commitments stand on trying to keep people in their homes. We have added a bit of detail and some new thinking in this plan that we think we can bring to it in terms of more supports and so on. I think one will find other initiatives happening before the end of the year that are outside the programme for Government. I have had a number of people come to me with new ideas and ways of, for example, making mortgage-to-rent work more effectively than it has in the past. Mortgage-to-rent is not the disaster that some people say it is. If one looks at local authority mortgage-to-rent figures, there are actually significant numbers. Where it has been far less successful than was expected is in the private market with people who are having homes potentially repossessed by a bank. Getting those people into a structured mortgage-to-rent scheme run by an approved housing body has proven not to be the success that many thought it would be. That does not mean we should not try to find a way of making it successful. To be clear on the numbers, 162 families have completed mortgage-to-rent and remain in their homes. Some 675 active cases are in the process and there will be a review by the end of the year to try to make the appropriate changes that can streamline and improve the outcomes there.

In terms of homeless HAP, I would make a distinction between HAP generally and homeless HAP in Dublin, which has been very successful. There have been 500 tenancies put in place under homeless HAP in Dublin so far this year, which is quite a significant number when one considers the number of homeless people. It is not enough but it is still quite a significant figure.

In terms of the 50% private allocations, it would be wrong to say that I agonised over it but I have been trying to make the right decision on this issue. The only report that was done that actually looked at it in any detail was from the Housing Agency. My experience of the Housing Agency is that it is pretty good at what it does. It genuinely cares about housing people and working with local authorities and so on. It made a recommendation. The previous Minister acted on the recommendation and I did not change it. That is the truth of what happened. I will not start running away from it and blaming the previous Minister. To be fair, we are requiring local authorities, particularly in Dublin, to prioritise homeless people and homeless families in terms of allocations. Whether we publicly set a 50% figure and whether there are implications of that which create pull factors or perverse incentives, as Deputy Ó Broin described it, I am not sure, which is why I have simply taken the advice of a body in which I have quite a lot of trust. Either way, we need to make sure that a significant percentage of the available properties coming on stream in terms of social housing are prioritising homeless people.

A fair question was asked about central co-ordination and assessment. How do we fairly, consistently and with the necessary compassion and support assess a family who declare themselves homeless? How do we ensure someone is not looking to try to access social housing faster because they are frustrated with the process or whatever? We have to trust the judgment of people who are making those assessments. There is virtually no way of setting hard and fast rules that can determine every case that comes in the door. We need to ensure we have experienced and qualified people who are assessing the needs of many vulnerable people in stressful and difficult circumstances. This will help in deciding on the best outcomes. I am unsure whether it is a good thing for a Minister to become overly prescriptive in terms of how that must work. I will gladly talk to the committee about it and hear any suggestions from committee members on the matter. However, for the most part, from what I am hearing, the right decisions are being made in allocating a new house, an emergency space or a hotel room to a family. The same apples in working with families or individuals who may be able to go home with some mediation and support. Others may have an addiction issue that can be dealt with, managed and contained within the confines of their own homes.

When we have as many people homeless as we have and as many people as there are looking for emergency accommodation and Housing First units, we have to try to prioritise and keep people in their own homes, where possible. That is what we have been talking about. This is a very practical and sensible way of responding. The truth is that for a considerable percentage of the people who find themselves homeless, it is often as a result of family break-up or tension in the home that has resulted in someone having to leave. Obviously, if it involves a domestic abuse case, we do not want to force someone back into that circumstance. However, if it is a misunderstanding or a breakdown of communication and we can intervene to try to ensure a person can go home, then I think we have obligation to try to do that to take the pressure off the system.

Someone said the figure of 300 Housing First units was not enough. That is true, but I would say it is a significant improvement on 100. The reality is we need to go beyond some of the targets we have, but we have to start somewhere. My view on Housing First is that the more houses we make available for the model, the more it will become the norm as opposed to being seen as a pilot project in certain areas. People will see the outcomes and the significant improvement in results that ensure people do not relapse into homelessness and so on. Let us get to 300 and then have the conversation about whether we can push on to 400, 500 and so on. The committee will not find me opposing that when we get there, but we have a job to get to 300 first. It involves budgets, management and co-ordination across various agencies and Departments and so on.

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