Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a feeling of déjà vubecause I am about to raise the issue of affordable housing in rural Ireland. I thank all of the witnesses for attending. They stated the obvious when they noted that the population will grow by up to 600,000 over the next ten years. I will set out a few facts. At best, the reversible elements of inflation in housebuilding and construction amount to between 10% and 15% of costs. That is the best-case reduction in costs. There is no overnight solution for the skilled labour shortage. Portable building is great but it is not the panacea as some people believe. It will build houses faster but will not reduce costs.

I am sure Mr. Taaffe will remember that the last time he was here we spoke about affordable housing for rural Ireland. I was delighted when he told me that his unit was working with all of the local authorities to help them to move towards an affordable housing plan. On hearing that news, I left the meeting 5 stone lighter and somewhat elated. However, when I spoke to representatives of the rural authorities I was told that they had been asked to provide totally affordable models in order to get the green light for affordable housing. The Department insists on looking at a criterion that is based on historically low house prices that still cannot be balanced against the total absence of a new house sales market in rural Ireland. We are not comparing like with like or, as Mr. James would say, apples and oranges. Rural Ireland is facing not only an affordability crisis but also an availability crisis. Therein lies the opportunity for the industry.

Last week, there were only nine houses to rent in Longford, with an average rent of €925 per month, which is an increase of 60% since 2012. If the current run rates in Longford continue, we will be 52% off the House for All targets for new starts. Only 11 counties have been approved for affordable housing schemes. The league table for new starts shows that County Sligo will be 60% off the target, so it is excluded, and County Leitrim will be off the target by 74%. If that county continues the way it is going, it may not build anything. If the bottom five counties in the league table built only 50 houses each per annum for the next five years, that would amount to the guts of 1,400 houses between them.

As everyone in this room knows, the cheapest place to build houses is in the provinces and in rural towns. It is cheaper to build a house in counties Waterford and Limerick than anywhere in Dublin. Covid gave us a huge opportunity in that people had the opportunity to work from home. The pandemic drove up houses prices in rural Ireland because people realised they could work from home and decided to get a house for quality-of-life reasons. The problem is that the Custom House has not opened up the opportunities to build affordable houses. Deputies O'Donoghue and Ó Broin blame the Government for every ill but some of the culpability for this lies with the Custom House. It must take the foot off the brake and give local authorities and bodies the opportunity to provide affordable housing schemes because there is an obvious pent-up demand for them. We will not solve the entire housing crisis but if we kick-start affordable housing schemes in every county, it would act as a pressure valve and reduce some of the pressure in the housing market. As I said, only 11 counties have been approved for affordable housing schemes.

It baffles me that the Department has not gone ahead and continues to create obstacles for local authorities that want to provide affordable housing. Mr. Taaffe might address that point.