Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

One reason I raised the issue of the disabled person's grant is because of a problem experienced by a constituent from County Cavan. My secretarial staff have been trying to deal with it. The constituent made an application for the grant in the first weeks of January 2004 but a decision has yet to be made thereon. This is totally unacceptable. The problem is such that it is absolutely impossible to get an occupational therapist through the county council and Health Service Executive. The Minister should take steps to restructure the system to ensure disabled people's needs are met.

Another very important support for the elderly is the essential repairs grant, which is made available to carry out reroofing or install heating systems. However, it is very limited and subject to much red tape. If the grant system were organised properly, many more people could remain in their homes at a minimum cost to the Exchequer.

The Health Service Executive's support for the installation of toilets, showers etc. could make life easier for people if they received it. There are many people in poor circumstances who are suffering as a result of delays in this regard, and sometimes they do not have the necessary matching funding. This problem is totally unacceptable.

The Minister and others talked about the general progress made in housing. However, it is very clear that house price inflation over the past ten years has been phenomenal. A private house built in Monaghan town in the mid-1990s cost £87,000. It was sold two years later for £140,000 and four years ago it was sold for £260,000. It is difficult to say what it is worth today but it is possibly worth between €400,000 and €500,000. There is no doubt that the only reason for these high prices is the lack of sewerage facilities, which results in many potential sites being frozen for years. The Government must be held responsible for that. In some cases, temporary sewerage facilities have been provided but this in itself increased the price of houses. I emphasise the serious need for proper facilities to be provided in new housing developments, especially facilities for children and young people. In this age of serious anxiety among elderly people living in isolated circumstances, more sheltered housing is a must.

I recognise the work and plans of Monaghan County Council regarding local authority housing. There are approximately 800 families or individuals on the waiting list for such housing. Plans have been in place for the provision of 838 houses between 2004 and 2008. Only 53 became available in 2004, but 277 houses are budgeted for this year. Of the 838 houses, we expect the voluntary sector to provide 342 and Part V of the planning and development legislation to result in approximately 230. However, one can be sure that the price of private houses is such that many more people will be added to the local authority housing list. It is vital that we continue to increase the number of local authority houses provided.

While much good work has been done in Monaghan, I must record my disappointment at the failure to secure eight voluntary houses for the small village of Drum, from where my late mother originated. The voluntary housing group and the Department spent four years planning and bargaining, and thus the owner of the site in question lost patience and sold it to the highest bidder. Consequently, local authority housing has yet to be provided in the village.

As a rural Deputy from County Monaghan, I must point out that planning is still the main problem. While statistics can be used to prove almost anything, the reality is that, at a time of population growth across the country, Monaghan has experienced one of the lowest increases. Vast areas of the county continue to experience a decrease. I welcome the efforts of councillors to develop our new county development plan. Without this and proper sewerage facilities in our towns, site prices and house prices will continue to soar.

It is vital the rural population level be maintained so schools, churches and football clubs can be fully utilised and maintained. It does not make sense to force people out of rural areas, thus leaving structures underutilised and placing young families in crowded circumstances.

The sustainable rural housing guidelines issued on 13 April 2005 are certainly being used against sensible housing development rather than for it. I appreciate it is difficult for one law to be considered acceptable and sensible in all counties. Obviously, what is sensible for parts of Meath and Kildare near the edge of Dublin is not logical in many areas of Monaghan and Cavan. Consider the following example of inconsistency in the planning process. Permission was granted for 12 houses on a certain site some time ago after a long planning debacle. A new owner acquired the site and got permission for 49. It is very hard to explain this to the first owner, who has asked for an explanation. Some individuals obtain permission for significant numbers of houses while others are limited to two. It can be seriously difficult to explain why there is one law in one area and a different one in another. The same applies to hipped gable housing and all sorts of developments.

Fine Gael believes an independent commission on rural housing must be given power to recommend changes to the law, if necessary, in addition to developing feasible policy measures to address this complex issue. It must examine existing planning practice, waste management implications and infrastructural requirements. Fine Gael has a strong housing agenda that will tackle the housing crisis. For first-time buyers, it will abolish stamp duty on properties valued at less that €400,000. It will provide for a SSIA-type saving scheme that will give first-time buyers €1 for every €3 saved for a deposit. It will frontload mortgage interest relief to the first seven years of mortgage payments, thus giving help when it is most needed. It will also reform the social welfare code that currently forces young people out of the family home, adding upward pressure on house rents and prices. The income of parents should no longer be taken into account when deciding on the welfare entitlements of those who remain at home.

Another issue with serious implications for a constituency such as Cavan-Monaghan, which has no third level degree college, is that of student accommodation. I listened with great anxiety to a report to the effect that rental charges are increasing. This imposes an enormous burden on families, including those with members working in manufacturing industries, who have to rent flats for the whole year for their dependants in third level institutions. The increase in the cost of student accommodation must be curtailed. There should be more campus accommodation for students — it should have better facilities and be cheaper.

It is hard to understand in Celtic tiger Ireland why there are so many homeless people on the streets of Dublin. This will have to be dealt with very seriously. There may be individuals with serious problems associated with their having fallen out with their families but we must ensure homelessness is no longer an issue, especially in a country that is supposed to be awash with money. It is being spent on other things.

Homelessness is not just a problem in Dublin city. Certain constituents of mine, who have presented their cases in my office, need homes urgently. There should be a bank of homes that can be made available, at a limited level, to such people.

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