Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will try to maintain the focus. As the Minister said, the Joint Committee on Housing and Homelessness recommended 10,000 units per annum. That was a very large target and is clearly not going to be met. There are a few key issues. One is the housing summit. The Minister spoke to us last week about the importance of the housing summit. He has set targets for the chief executives but we are not yet privy to them. We should see them quickly. I read in a number of local and national newspapers yesterday that some chief executives said they will not be able to deliver. The committee does not know the targets but the chief executives are talking to the press, in two or three cases, suggesting there may be difficulties. It is very loose language but it is nearly setting up the scene that it is not going to happen. That is where we come in. We must turn the screw. I wish to hear about the targets. When can the Minister release them to the committee? We should have them. More importantly, as I said the other day, there must be sanction. I have heard the talk about the carrot-and-stick approach, the reluctance to do that and I accept what the Minister said. However, this is about sanctions and the accountability gap. The key word here is "accountability". The Minister, the committee and the people who deliver the services locally have a role to play. Everyone has a role. How will we address accountability in the context of a failure to deliver? What sanctions will be imposed?

The second issue is the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA. The Sunday newspapers reported that NAMA said it is on course to clear its original €32 billion debt this year and that the remaining surplus will be returned to the State. There is a possible role for NAMA. Nobody should rule it out. NAMA is a focused organisation. Yes, it has had difficulties and we have had problems with it in the past. However, the possibility to which I refer should be considered. Can NAMA deliver? Can it use the capital it says it has, its expertise and, more importantly, the knowledge it has about real estate and the lie of the land, for want of a better phrase, in this country? I wish to hear a response on that at some point. It need not necessarily be today but I wish to flag it as a possibility.

Another issue is the local authority land that is lying idle, to use that horrible expression. We hear there are land banks all over Dublin that belong to the local authorities, which have primary responsibility for the delivery of houses, and the authorities are doing nothing about it. We must review the inventory. I have been told there is an inventory and this committee needs a detailed inventory of all State lands, be they in health authorities, harbour port authorities or local authorities. We must have a tracking system and accountability in the short, medium and long term for how these lands will be put into use. In addition, as part of the lands inventory we must see what the zoning is on each site and whether the sites are serviced. Let us get realistic and not be dreaming about pie in the sky. With the land aggregation scheme, the local authorities are up to their oxters in debt and in servicing that debt. They will never deliver houses in the short to medium term. These are issues I am flagging for the Minister. I am not expecting a response today.

The other issue is the Part 8 housing scheme. I have asked about this previously, and I am asking again today, because it will assist our work. We want to see an inventory or list setting out each of the Part 8 planning applications that exist. Part 8 has a life. It does not end but continues on and on. We must see where the applications are across the 31 local authorities, why they are not delivering, if they are stuck in the pipeline somewhere and what they plan to deliver. We should examine that and if there are difficulties, setbacks and blockages we want to know that. It is all about integrity in data, streamlining and putting systems in place. That is important.

The Minister said in press commentary recently that the Government must take a direct role and must ensure it does not outsource all of the solutions to the private sector. We want housing solutions and, personally, I do not have a hang up about who provides the houses or where they come from once we provide people with housing solutions.

The next issue is local government. Each chief executive prepares a monthly report. These reports exist and I have taken the time to look at them. I am not sure if there is collaboration but each local authority presents a report to its elected members and I understand the reports are also sent to the Department. I am not sure what the Department is doing but all the statistics and the key objectives are in the reports. We need to find out about them. There might be a case for extending the remit of the National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, in terms of the delivery of key objectives.

Finally, the Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance affordable housing model in Poppintree in north County Dublin and the Ballymun project are good news. This is a very good story. I hear that housing associations are finding it very difficult to negotiate with housing and planning authorities to get sites and land, yet I referred earlier to all the idle land that is available. The associations are delivering units, which is important.

I do not expect the Minister to deal with all of that today but I wish to share my concerns. It goes back to the multifaceted approach to addressing the housing problem and finding solutions. It has to be about increasing the social housing stock. Direct provision of social housing must be a key element of it, although it is not the only one. There is also the construction of private affordable housing, private affordable rental, social rental, homes for the elderly and the downsizing the Minister has discussed. Rent to own is a viable option. People want that option if it is good accommodation in the right locations. Housing options for people downsizing, and the community around that, as well as student accommodation are required.

I acknowledge that it requires a multifaceted approach, as does the Minister and Rebuilding Ireland, but it is about delivery and accountability. It is possibly about considering the idea of project managers to deliver targets and specific big projects that the Government and the relevant authorities put in place. Then there is the issue of sanctions. The accountability gap must be closed because it is all over the place, with sanctions if people do not deliver. Finally, the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, is exceptionally good at his job. The Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, announced that he would lead the housing delivery unit. That is a good idea. It is the type of focus we need. Perhaps the Minister will share with the committee in the coming weeks how that will be rolled out and what will the priorities in the context of the roll-out.

I do not expect the Minister to respond on those issues now but he might engage with the committee and provide it with feedback on them at an appropriate time.