Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Comerford, Mr. Bissett and Ms Fagan. It is rotten that the community has to come here to seek a meeting with the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government and put forward its own proposals when it has been let down on many occasions. The group is coming forward with its own proposals. I can understand why it considers the model it has put forward to be much better than the private model.

We need to have a major discussion on the cost rental system. The kernel of the problem is that we have a private rental market that is dominating the housing system. People have been allowed to profiteer, while public housing has consistently been allowed to run down and there was no provision during the period of the bailout, in particular. We have had many discussions at this committee. There is an ideological problem because we have a block whereby public housing is not being promoted. We recently received a report from Mr. Mel Reynolds which showed that we could build 114,000 dwellings on public land owned by either local authorities or NAMA and that the biggest hoarders of land in the State were local authorities. That is scandalous. Why are we not pinpointing it? In my area Fingal County Council could build 18,000 houses. It is one of the biggest local authorities sitting on land. It seems that some local authorities are even hiding their land and not declaring it, as reported on RTÉ last week. It is not the case that we have the land and not the money because we do have the money. There is not as much left as we would like, but there is at least €4 billion in the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund which used to be the National Pensions Reserve Fund. It is being doled out for small private developments and to private businesses, but the most strategic need is for housing. The money could be used to build public housing.

One of the problems is the EU fiscal rules. There was talk about the need for spending to be off or on the books. It seems that algorithms are being used to circumvent the rules. In Damastown in my area plans for a mixed development were put forward because we would all like communities to have a variety of people. We do not want to have monocultural estates. It could be done in different ways and that is what we need to discuss. There is a burning need for social housing. There is a need for an affordable mortgage scheme for those who do not qualify for social housing and cannot buy anything in the private market.

There is a need for an affordable rental scheme, such as that to which reference has been made. There are many young people, as well as middle aged and older people, who are being fleeced and whose lives are being damaged. They would like to rent and then move on. In Britain, one used to be able to have a council flat and then move on to something else.

There are different ways whereby a mix could be achieved. We could increase the council income threshold for eligibility, which is ridiculously low at the moment. I have heard from bus workers who do not qualify. When I grew up on an estate, everybody had jobs like that so there is a problem and it should not go uncriticised by the council.

I understand the scheme but I also understand that cost rental is now being pushed because it is fiscally sustainable, according to the report by Dr. Healy. We must retrieve the cost but Dr. Healy said that, in general, rents should be below market rate. Experience in other countries suggest the level should be between 70% and 80% of the market rate. That is much better than what people have to pay at present but even 70% or 80% of the market rate is not affordable in Dublin right now. In my area, rents are €2,000 and €2,200 and I am sure it is even worse in the city. Between 70% and 80% of that is still a lot. If the aim is to retrieve the money straight away, we have a problem.

There was a report last week on breaching the differential rent scheme and there is a campaign to get people in social housing to pay a lot more. They are comparing their rents with what others are paying and are trying to divide people in this way. It is important to maintain the differential rent scheme. The problem is that it is possible to have two people - living either next door to or across the road from each other but in the same scheme - and one is paying a differential rent and the other is paying perhaps €900. We need to demand a Government that breaches the EU fiscal rules and builds housing, with affordable mortgages and affordable rental for young and old people as well as social housing. I would be happy to help the witnesses in any way in this regard.

I have an issue with cost rental being pushed by some people who see it as a way of bypassing the public system. The housing situation is getting worse and I do not think it is just because the Minister is hapless. It is a policy decision and housing is not a priority. We have to demand that public housing is built and any rules which block that need to be ended.