Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I agree completely with what Deputy Casey has said, I would be of the reverse mind on NAMA properties that were given to the local authorities. It is unacceptable that local authorities do not take some of these properties. I know of four or five houses in my native Carlow that could be taken back. This concerns the bigger picture on properties and sites that are either half-finished or are nearly finished but which have gone back into NAMA. They should be taken back because they bring so much anti-social behaviour to an area. It is unreal. I spent last week in two houses trying to get rubbish taken up. Carlow County Council spends more time, like other local authorities, taking rubbish out of houses that are derelict and that are causing anti-social behaviour. They are in an area where good-living people are fed up with having the hassle of having bought their house in an estate, whether a local authority estate or a private estate, and all they have is this anti-social behaviour and rubbish that is being littered.

I do not suggest that all houses will come back but when houses are given back, it is the duty of every local authority to take them back because it is unfair for everybody who is living in those areas. If one takes town centres, for example, Carlow is one of the new areas for the repair and lease scheme. I monitor this closely and while 22 people were interested in it, only eight qualified. Consequently, the scheme needs to be examined. As Deputy Casey asked, who is putting these plans in place such that when 22 people want to qualify for a scheme, they cannot? Eight people will qualify but the rest will not. When we put a scheme in place, we must make sure that the people that need to qualify for it do. I do not suggest there will not be more because the scheme has only just started and many people have only just become aware of it. I highlight it myself when I go to different places. I always tell people this is a pilot scheme which is for €40,000 and which entails a lease-back to local authorities. I think that in the long term, it could be a good initiative but it appears to have issues that must be considered.

I have major concerns. While I acknowledge and welcome the passing of the rapid build programme for Dublin, that does not affect rural counties like Carlow. We would love to have rapid build. I firmly believe there needs to be a focus on areas that are not focused on. I suppose everybody has something he or she believes to be unfair I will repeat a point I have made previously. I was a councillor - like most members present - for 20 years and I find that in my local authority, a lot of people are falling in between. They do not qualify to go on the local authority housing list because Carlow has the lowest income limit of €26,500, which is another issue. We have more people. One is talking about people buying houses. I welcome the new incentive on the 20% on newly built houses. The reason people are not buying houses is because they are not getting mortgages. The Government needs to put a system in place where local authorities, and Carlow is the only one I can focus on, can give out mortgages. We have the lowest mortgage rates in local authorities all over Ireland because there is no promotion of it. They are not provided to the people who are getting refusals from the banks and building societies for mortgages. There are loads of people who would not be on the housing list but would love to go for a mortgage. The reason they are not getting it is because the banks and building societies are not getting it and the local authorities are not pushing mortgages.

The last time I brought this up, I really have serious concerns about this, I was told we are not an agency for lending but we are. We are what we are, that is, we are the taxpayers. We handle the taxpayers' money. We have a duty of care to people who need housing. One of the duties of care is for people who cannot get on their local authority housing list and need to have a home. In the future, if nothing else happens, we need to look at giving mortgages to those people who do not qualify to go on local authority housing lists. That is why we are in this position.

I wish to discuss properties in town centres. Discovering who owns them, be it NAMA or whoever, in my area is my main issue. I am forever trying to find out who owns this and that. Something must be put in place to allow local authorities to do this. We are painting derelict buildings because they are an eyesore, but this is not just about derelicts. We all want our areas to be lovely and we want to provide good environments for those whom we represent and who we feel need them, but nothing is as bad as entering a town centre where five or six shops are boarded up or a housing estate where, through no fault of the residents, there is anti-social behaviour, rubbish, etc. This is the bigger picture and, until something is in place, it will not work. It is unacceptable.

Money is a greater issue. One of the witnesses stated that local authorities did not take on the people they needed. Funding, staffing, resources and the timescale are his main issue. It does not matter what he says - local authorities need to start taking these. The money is there. We are being told by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, that there is money.

I will cite a final example. Last week, I dealt with the case of a house that had been boarded up for months. The engineer and I were in contact with the Department. It took us a year and two months to get funding - we got it yesterday - for a derelict local authority house. That is unacceptable. Funding is there. I cannot say whether this is down to information being handled the wrong way, but someone needs to be accountable for what is happening. I am not saying that everyone is not doing his or her best and I do not want to be negative, but major issues are not being addressed. In any job, one must do it right and be accountable. People need to be accountable for this funding.

We receive reports weekly, but could they contain figures on where the money is being spent? It was mentioned that properties in Dublin had been examined. That is fine, given that Dublin probably has more issues than any rural area, but there are homelessness and derelict houses everywhere. The reports we receive mention that houses are being built - not that we are building many - but please give us the statistics. We need to consider those areas that are covered by the programme. We are falling down in that regard. What investments will the programme make and which local authority will get what? I could then tell my local authority what the Department will be doing this year. That information is missing. Perhaps Dr. Sirr will revert to me with clarification.