Maria Bailey (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the representatives from Focus Ireland and One Family to the committee and thank them for the work they do in what are very difficult and often traumatic situations.

I want to pick up on a couple of points that were mentioned, one of which is the fact that child care is the biggest barrier to parents getting back into the workplace. Most parents would rather have a relative or childminder look after their children. Child care providers are very low down the list for the people to whom I refer.

The Department of Education and Skills has started to examine the possibility of having on-site child care facilities in primary schools, where children would already feel safe and secure in the environment. Most parents already have good support networks with each other in that environment. A number of schools across Dublin - I do not know about rural areas - already provide such services. My children's school started a pilot scheme this year. It is a very small school and the service is a lot cheaper than the fees charged by child care providers. The underlying factor is that there is already a network of support in place for pupils and parents in the school.

I fully recognise that there were cuts in 2012. The circumstances were very difficult and difficult cuts had to happen across the board in recent years. Thankfully, while the increases are small, we are starting to rebuild. The Department of Education and Skills added €160 million to its budget this year to directly target the disadvantaged sectors of society and individuals who find it very difficult to get back into education. Lone parents come under that umbrella and a total of €8.5 million for maintenance grants is being provided this year and next year for parents to get back into education. I do not know how we can get the message out so that people know that such schemes are available.

I welcome the increase in funding for school meals. I know this funding needs to be increased further and the Minister wants to do that this year. We are building on the funding each year. Deputy Brady mentioned a costing carried out by Sinn Féin which indicated that an extra €5 in payments would total €98.6 million. What would we cut in order to get €98.6 million into the sector? Our homeless budget for this year is €98 million, up from €70 million last year. We can calculate figures all we want but in order to come up with additional moneys in a particular area, we often have to make cuts elsewhere.

I want to touch on couple of points mentioned by Mr. Allen. He referred to the reform of the rental sector. I do not want to go into too much detail on the housing sector but I do want to touch on what he mentioned. The planning legislation that was passed before Christmas will commence shortly. It will introduce rental pressurised zones. I know Mr. Allen is very aware of what is contained in the legislation, but the underlying issue is supply. The commencement orders for planning applications and planning permissions are well up on last year. We are starting to see a lot more cranes on the horizon. Houses are starting to come back on the market, but all of us in this room know that one cannot build a house overnight. Whether people want to call them developers, builders or other names, one has to give them certainty and encourage them back into the market.

The help to buy scheme will do that. I always say it is like a jigsaw, and that there are many pieces that have to come together in order for something to work. Often that takes time and it is like building a house. It takes six to nine months to build a house. We are starting to see that work come to fruition now. Supply is the underlying issue here with people who find that they are homeless.

In the private rental sector, we will give them more certainty now that their rent cannot increase above market value or above 4% per annum. Reform is starting to happen in the rental sector. I want the witnesses to clarify what they mean in regard to individuals who find that they have become homeless not now going to the top of the social housing list. Does this mean that they do not get a council house? The whole purpose of emergency accommodation is that that support and those services are available to those families who need it, including the centre that just opened recently. It is a transition centre for 32 families. We all recognise that children cannot do their homework on a bed, and that one family is too many to find themselves homeless. That particular centre has homework rooms, dining rooms, crèche facilities, and it is supposed to assist in transition. It is a way to get them into sustainable long-term accommodation, whether that is in the private rental sector, or a council house. Do the witnesses mean that they only want them to get a council house? I want clarification. To me, a family wants security of tenure, certainty, and a home. Whatever that home is, they want to feel safe and have certainty for their family in that home. I agree with Senator Humphreys on that one.

We are accelerating the building of social housing, which comes back to supply as well. That planning Bill will help the private sector as well, and to get Part V accommodation back on the market. We are tripling the target for Housing First. There is an increase from the Department of Health for the services provided by Focus Ireland, the Peter McVerry Trust, the Simon Community and so on. Choice-based letting has been piloted and rolled out in other county council areas and we are strengthening the Residential Tenancies Board, not only for landlords, but also for tenants. We are strengthening tenants' rights and seeking to give them the information that they need. There is a lot of reform happening in the private rental sector.

We are not anywhere near where we need to be and I fully recognise that, but as I said, it is a case of many pieces of a jigsaw that have to come together. That takes time. We need more than a year to do that. They are just a couple points. I might come back in.