M J Nolan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. No Administration foresaw the boom that started in the housing and construction sectors in the early 1990s. It took some time for us to realise the effects that the success of the economy would have on the construction industry. It also took time for construction companies to meet the huge increase in the demand for residential units, such as apartments and houses. It took a few years for the sector to invest the time, energy and resources needed to deal with the increased demand. Less than 30,000 housing units were being built per year some years ago, but that number had increased to 78,000 by 2004. It seems that a similar number of units will be constructed in 2005 and there is no sign of a significant reduction by 2007-08.

A number of issues need to be addressed by some of the agencies involved in the construction industry. I refer not only to building contractors and developers, but also to local authorities, which are responsible for planning. We seem, at last, to be starting to organise planning well into the future. The Minister of State said last night that there is now enough zoned land to construct 350,000 houses over the next five years. However, we cannot rest on our laurels. Local authorities must continue to rezone and identify suitable building land.

The Minister of State mentioned rented accommodation in his address last night. The Government has tried to put in place a system to control this area. It announced an initiative in July 2004 where local authorities will progressively assume responsibility for accommodating rent supplement recipients. Currently the old health boards adjudicate on applications for rent supplement. They must contact the housing section of the local authority to ensure the person applying is a genuine applicant and this is causing delays. It is only right that the Government gives this portfolio to the housing section of the local authority.

The local authorities will administer the rented accommodation scheme, will provide an additional source of good quality rented accommodation for eligible people and offer developers the chance to provide that quality accommodation by becoming involved with joint ventures. The local authority housing sections will have a major input into where the schemes will be provided. This use of public private partnerships is welcome.

The Government has set a target of September 2008 to complete implementation of the new arrangements in all local authorities and such a time scale is workable. Local authorities will take on their new responsibilities in batches over the next two years with the transfer of rent supplement recipients with long-term housing needs to be completed by the end of this four year period. This year the Government has provided €19 million to support the cost of the new structure and this will be increased incrementally as we move forward. This funding is in addition to the money provided under the local authority social housing programme and was redirected from the Department of Social and Family Affairs supplementary welfare allowance scheme. It transfers the funding from one Department to another.

The Minister of State should look at Traveller accommodation, where much good work has been done. Significant resources are being put into the provision of state-of-the-art, hard site accommodation to cater for Traveller families who do not wish to be included on the housing lists or in housing schemes in particular urban areas. In Carlow, the local authority has successfully regenerated an area that had been used by Traveller families but had fallen into disuse and disrepair. The council has now put eight units in place and provided a caretaker. It is a credit to the local authority, the caretaker and the families who are taking pride in the fact that they have good houses that are well heated and they look after them. The provision of a caretaker was a very good move.

I commend the Minister of State and wish him continued success. With the provision of ongoing resources by the Government, we will continue to see progress made in the area.

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