Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

If amended, Part V could deliver meaningful targets for the building of social housing. It is not the complete answer, but it is a start. The version of Part V in the 2000 Act was never given a chance to have its potential fully realised. The Minister of State said that it was slow to get going but his Government never gave it a chance to do so.

More than 44,000 families are on the waiting list for social housing, some of whom are enduring extreme hardship, and countless others across this State cannot afford to buy their own homes and are being churned from tenement to tenement by unscrupulous landlords. It is time this state of affairs ended. This Government has presided over it long enough.

In 1973, the Kenny report concluded that part of the solution to the housing problem was to give local authorities the option of making compulsory purchase orders in respect of land for housing. This view was supported by the All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution as far back as April 2004. Like the Kenny report, this committee's report is sitting on a ministerial shelf gathering dust while the Government does nothing about it. Members from every party, including those from the Government, sat on this committee so it is time the Minister of State examined the report and gave those powers to local authorities. It has been clearly proven that by virtue of the clearance of Part V through the Supreme Court such a move would be constitutional. The Minister of State should immediately avail of this move to resolve this housing crisis on behalf of people on the waiting list for social housing and the considerable tranche of people who simply cannot afford to buy their own homes. These people are being left at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords. It is time the Minister of State moved to resolve this crisis. He should acknowledge the pain felt by these people, recognise what is happening and deal with this issue once and for all.

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