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

I agree with previous speakers. I looked at the five pillars again over the weekend. I am disappointed to be sitting here. When I originally read the proposal - around Christmas - we all stayed and were all delighted to make sure that things were going to be going on track. We are 12 months on and one is talking about infrastructure investment of €226 million, and we need to address this. That was there for empty houses, for homes for people. I do not see an improvement in the amount of empty houses that are still vacant.

On that particular pillar, we are talking about affordable homes. Mortgages are an issue. I have brought this up because it is linked to the 31 local authorities. The criteria for mortgages, where people do not qualify to go on the housing list - Carlow is one of the lowest - causes people to fall through the net. They do not qualify for mortgages, but there is no incentive from local authorities, because one has to get refusal from banks and building societies. This needs to be promoted to stop homelessness, and people need to be helped to get mortgages. Local authorities have to work with them and give them incentives so that they can get mortgages. The situation where a person is refused by a bank and a building society needs to be looked at, because if a person does not qualify, he or she has nowhere to go and becomes homeless.

I have concerns about the new builds. I am aware there is a grant for the first-time buyer, if he or she buys or builds, of €20,000. I hope the Minister will not change that because it is crucial for those who are buying for the first time. We need to promote this more, but we also need to look at the bigger picture when we are told there is this funding so that those who cannot afford to buy a new house might get some incentive to buy a vacant property. I am aware of the scheme in Waterford and Carlow, and that is rental. We need to provide an incentive for those who cannot afford a new house because many have come to me who have been pricing new houses and house prices have gone up. They cannot afford to buy a new house but they asking is there any help with buying a second-hand house. Is there some incentive for that?

My biggest issue is the lack of supply. I am so disappointed to see there is a €70 million roll-out fund to purchase vacant properties. I just cannot understand this or the €153 million provided in 2017 to local authorities to operate. Where is all the funding going when homelessness is getting worse, when people cannot afford to buy a house and when they do not qualify to go on the local authority housing lists? I have stated previously, and will say again, that the 31 local authorities need to have their own initiatives. I read the five pillars. I am aware everything is Dublin based and I understand that much of the Minister's work is done through Dublin because homelessness is more prevalent in Dublin but this is an action plan to be rolled out for Ireland. I feel for rural areas. For example, the fast-track planning for 150 houses does not affect small rural communities because there are not too many builders who will build 150 houses in one go. I would welcome that. I would love to see that in rural areas. We would go mad for it, but it is not happening. It is rural areas that are falling down.

In regard to the HAP initiative which I brought up on the previous occasion, I am adamant there needs to be a plan put in place so that landlords accept the HAP. I take issue with that. That is another reason people are becoming homeless. The HAP is a good scheme and I have said I have no problem with it, but in many areas landlords are not taking it. Landlords have that choice. If one telephones the landlord, he or she will say it is his or her choice whether to take a tenant on the HAP. That is where we are falling again.

I was unhappy with the initiative of certain areas, such as Dublin, Kildare and Naas, being picked for extra funding with the rent allowance where one had to qualify. Only certain areas were eligible for that initiative. That should have been rolled out to help with the rent allowance. They made a plan, and seemingly certain areas were targeted, but that plan should have been rolled out across the country. It is so unfair when there is a plan, and where seemingly certain areas meet this criteria, that these will get help with the rent allowance. That should have been available in all 31 local authorities areas while we have a housing crisis. Until this housing crisis ends, every local authority, whether urban or rural, should be treated the same, and that is not happening. Even though Dublin is suffering and we have to help, rural areas are not qualifying for many of the pillars the Minister is bringing forward and it is unacceptable.