Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this important issue. I acknowledge the presence of my friend, the Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, whose work I am always happy to applaud. I do not want to begin my speech at the end but wish to discuss the development of communities, in particular my community of Tallaght. The presence of the Minister of State reminds me that among the points I wish to stress is the need to consider the continued development of fire services in our county, in particular in the Tallaght area. He has been very supportive in that regard.

It is important that we have taken the opportunity to have this important debate. Housing is an issue that is regularly brought to our attention. As I go about my constituency business — Members will know Dublin South-West embraces not only Tallaght but also Brittas, Firhouse, Templeogue and Greenhills — many people visit my clinic or call to my full-time office in Tallaght to discuss housing which, as other colleagues have noted, also embraces issues such as homelessness and anti-social behaviour. I am sorry it will not be possible to cover all these issues in my short contribution.

It is important the Government understands that housing is a serious issue. When we were young, the first thing we wanted to acquire was a house. I speak as one who moved to the new community in Tallaght with an employer in 1969, having lived in Crumlin and having moved to there from the inner city. The idea of having one's own home and having somewhere to go is very much an Irish tradition. Our policies must try to achieve a situation in which this remains the case for many.

Homelessness is an important issue. In this day and age it is a shame that young people and others are homeless on the streets. As a Dubliner, this greatly concerns me. It also concerns me that homelessness is often hidden in other parts of Dublin, such as Tallaght. If one looks for it, one will find it but it is not as obvious as in the city centre. I am happy to support organisations throughout Dublin which support the homeless and, in this regard, I commend the work of the Tallaght Homeless Advice Unit.

Members have referred to the need for local authority and private housing development. No-one can suggest this issue is no longer a problem. We must continue to apply pressure to ensure housing is delivered. In 2002 South Dublin County Council, of which I am a former chairman, achieved 171 house starts. In 2003 this figure rose to 471 and in 2004 to 585, while there were 129 house starts this year. It is important that all local authorities continue to build houses.

I do not wish to make a political point but when my two colleagues from the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area made their points on housing, it struck me that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is behind the other Dublin local authorities in this regard. I hope my colleagues opposite will, as I do when required, put pressure on the controlling groups in the various councils to ensure they deliver what is expected. I am sorry for having to make this point but our communities depend on us with regard to housing.

It is important that local authorities do not simply build houses. Having represented Tallaght and served on committees there over the years, I have often heard the point made that Tallaght for many years had the population of a city but the status of a village. I thank God that this has changed and that huge progress has been made in Tallaght in recent times, certainly since The Square opened some 15 years ago. As the saying goes, much done, more to do. The point must be made to local authorities — I speak in particular for south Dublin and the Tallaght area — that infrastructure and facilities must be built where houses are built. New communities have developed in recent years in my constituency, for example, in Westbrook and the general Tallaght west area, including Ardmore, Carrigmore and Ballycullen. I receive telephone calls daily with regard to deficits in road infrastructure. It is important that local authorities understand that challenges arise in this regard and they must do their job.

I turn to the issue of rented accommodation. I hope my colleague, Deputy Crowe, will not mind me mentioning that he and I both live in Springfield estate in Tallaght, which was developed by McKeown builders in 1972 and in which many of the houses were privately owned. Having bought their houses at fairly cheap rates in 1972, owners were able to take advantage of the price of houses in recent years and there is now a major challenge with regard to the number of rented houses in the estate — I use the word "challenge" advisedly. The Ceann Comhairle will know that Deputy Crowe and I recently put down a joint motion on the Adjournment to discuss the challenges for our local school, St. Mark's of Springfield, where several hundred pupils are of international origin, which creates certain demands.

I am not afraid to point out that while the rent subsidy system has compensated for the lack of permanent housing and has helped many families over the years, not only in Dublin South-West but throughout Dublin and the wider country, it is putting money into a black hole. I am glad that responsibility for the scheme is to pass to the local authorities under the rent accommodation scheme. I hope local authorities — I refer particularly to South Dublin County Council — will take a long, hard look at the system and understand that simply giving out rent subsidies will never allow people to own their homes, as Deputy Catherine Murphy noted, or encourage them to provide wallpaper or carpets for their homes, because they do not own them.

I hope the local authority systems will be stringent. Local authorities should consider the families involved and work to create a situation whereby those families in receipt of rent subsidy would be provided with local authority accommodation. There is no question that building houses through State funding is a far better way to develop than simply giving money to landlords, with all the problems that creates. In that regard, the work of some political activists in my parish gives the parish a bad name. Many good, decent, honest people for one reason or another must seek rented accommodation and they should be assisted. It is important when building communities that we ensure all the normal facilities are put in place that would be expected, given good neighbourhood practices. My local community is no different and no worse than any other but it faces challenges and it is important that South Dublin County Council understands the need for action in this regard.

The Private Residential Tenancies Board has much work to do throughout our communities. I brought to its attention issues which need to be addressed throughout my constituency. I hope the board takes a proactive stance with regard to these issues and understands and helps families that need to integrate into communities.

I wish to stress the importance of keeping pressure on anti-social behaviour. I was reared in a corporation estate in Crumlin a long time ago. I have always been convinced that families who were not prepared to be good neighbours and do everything they should in the community should be subject to sanction by the local authority. In all our communities, not just in my constituency, there is an issue as regards anti-social behaviour. I am debating on the subject of anti-social behaviour orders in Trinity College Dublin tonight. Many people argue they are restrictive and unnecessary. However, where families are being terrorised — often single parent families or elderly people — they are entitled to our support. Until somebody can come up with a better system, we must support the families who tell us they need these types of restrictions.

I appreciate the time the Ceann Comhairle has given me to express some of my views.

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