James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, a colleague from a neighbouring constituency. I compliment him on his hands-on approach and on the work he has done in his portfolio since he took over as Minister of State with responsibility for housing. He has performed extremely well, which is widely acknowledged throughout the country. I always give credit where it is due. I hope he keeps up the good work in the portfolio.

The Minister of State has been good to his neighbouring counties. I acknowledge his support for Granard recently in allocating funding for housing there. County Longford needs more public housing, particularly in Longford town and Ballymahon, and I ask the Minister to allocate sufficient funds from his budget for additional housing in those two areas. There are also areas of County Westmeath where funding for housing is needed. I know when we approach the Minister of State, he will not be found wanting in supporting us and giving us the necessary funding for housing, which is badly needed. Close to 600 people in the small county of Longford are on the waiting list for public housing. There is huge demand and anything the Minister of State can do to alleviate the problems in our counties will be welcomed.

Last July, in a scene that would not be out of place in a movie on gangland warfare, dozens of people armed with hatchets, iron bars, shovels, sticks and stones rioted in a housing estate in Mullingar, in my constituency of Longford-Westmeath. Petrol bombs were thrown and weapons of all types used, with a complete disregard for the safety of the residents of the area. What deeply concerns me is that this breakdown in civil order took place during the school holidays, when young innocent children were playing in what should have been the safety of the open area of their own housing estate.

To date, 55 people have been charged with offences relating to public disorder and have been remanded on bail to appear in court again in May in regard to this breakdown of the norms of society. A number of men were charged under the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act with possession of a variety of implements, including a golf club, a sword and a shovel.

This case is by no means unique across the country and, in so far as it addresses such problems, the Bill is welcome. Any measure that would allow decent law-abiding citizens to live in and enjoy the facilities of their home areas in peace and safety must certainly have the support of all sides of the House.

Deputy O'Rourke referred to the joint policing committees which have been recently set up throughout the country under the local authorities. They are a perfect example of co-operation between local authorities, Members of the Oireachtas and local Garda superintendents. I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural meeting of the Longford committee last week. Such a united effort to develop policy to bring law and order to our cities and towns is very welcome and should be a powerful force for change.

The provision for the making of an anti-social behaviour strategy is the major strength of this legislation. On the one hand, it could be said to be long overdue, and I am glad the Minister of State has taken this on board, given his responsibility for housing. On the other hand, however, the escalation of violence on our housing estates to its current level was undoubtedly difficult to envisage. It has now presented itself to us in its most outrageous manifestations and must be tackled before innocent lives are lost and built environments destroyed. We have evidence of this in many parts of the country, in particular in many of our large towns, although it may not be evident in villages.

The issue of graffiti that wantonly destroys the appearance of the built environment, despite the best efforts of residents to maintain the appearance of their estates, is one that must be urgently tackled. In conjunction with efforts to enforce law and order, the initiative under restorative justice in which the offender must right the wrong is particularly applicable in this regard. We want to see those who cause graffiti, anti-social behaviour and damage dealt with and it is important this has been addressed in the Bill. If youths feel the need to deface property, it is important they be made clean it up. We cannot have a softly, softly approach to this problem in any of our local authority areas. When this legislation is passed, it is important the directors of services and senior officials within local authorities are brought in and asked to implement it to the last letter of the law. It is fine having laws in place but the implementation of these laws is vital and will breathe life into housing estates.

The issue of the tenant purchase scheme is now more important than ever. The recent decline in the public housing stock, allied with high property prices, has played its part in lowering the number of tenant purchases. The tenant purchase provision as outlined is disappointing in so far as it allows for a discount of only 30%. I ask the Minister to reconsider this because it needs to be examined with greater attention. The Minister of State might be open to an amendment on this issue as such a discount is way below that offered in the past.

The sale of the century took place when the late John Boland was Minister for the Environment and it was a great success. More people took control by buying out their houses under the tenant purchase scheme and there were fewer problems in housing estates. It is important that we have a good social mix of tenants in such estates.

It is no longer acceptable that people in voluntary housing schemes such as those linked to Respond, Clúid and Focus are precluded from purchasing their homes as this flies in the face of fairness and equality. It is certainly a thin line of argument to refuse them this facility as these agencies are funded by the State and local authorities. Can the Minister enlighten me as to why, and on what grounds, such purchases are disallowed? Perhaps he will consider including them. When people own their property, they have a greater sense of pride in that property and will maintain it to the letter of the law. We all have a sense of pride in our homes and want them to look well, particularly when they are privately owned rather than in public ownership.

In 2000, the Government launched a report entitled Homelessness — an Integrated Strategy. This report related to accommodation, health, welfare, education and preventative measures. Of concern to us in regard to this Bill was the proposal in the report that local authorities were to be responsible for the provision of accommodation for the homeless, including emergency hostel accommodation, with the health boards, now the HSE, being responsible for in-house care and health needs. Supposedly building on what was considered to be strong progress made under the integrated homeless strategy, The Way Home, which is described as a new strategy to address adult homelessness in Ireland between 2008 and 2013, was published last year. The stated core objectives are to eliminate long-term occupation of emergency homeless facilities and the need to sleep rough — which we see in plenty — and to prevent the occurrence of homelessness as far as possible. This should be the aim of all of us.

There are currently more than 5,000 homeless people in Ireland. Although the Bill encompasses measures that could be said to step outside the usual housing provision, it does not mention those people who lack basic living accommodation. Housing, or shelter, is a basic human right and entitlement. That this right is not mentioned, or considered as an option to be discussed in the Bill, is an insult to those among us who are forced to live in doorways and cardboard boxes, in a Third World manner.

There is a man I pass every day who sleeps on doorsteps in Molesworth Street, across from this House, day in day out, rain, hail, snow or sunshine. We might consider how different his circumstances are from those of tourists, or, of Members of the Oireachtas who book into the hotel across the road from where he sleeps. Many of us stay in Buswell's or in other hotels close by and we see great numbers of homeless people. This man is only one of those who sleep rough in doorways within 150 metres of this House.

Life is relative. It is not given to everyone to have a well-appointed house or, in some cases, two or three, but surely it is possible to give this man regular accommodation. The Government does not appear to see him or others like him. It must open its eyes to the issue of homelessness. There is nowhere better to start than with this Bill and I ask the Minister of State to take this on board. I would appreciate if he were to do this. He has shown a hands-on approach from the outset and therefore I have no doubt he will do so and that he will accept amendments from this side of the House concerning these issues.

One report after another is published, each one supposedly building on the wonderful progress made by the proposals in the preceding one. The process is repetitive. MakeRoom, the campaign alliance of Focus Ireland, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Threshold Alliance have launched a campaign designed to highlight the scandalous omission of the issue of homelessness from this legislation. They rightly ask the Minister to put homelessness at the heart of the Bill. I am sure those agencies have corresponded with the Minister of State as well as with Members of the Opposition.

I am shocked that a country which has placed such importance on housing since its inception should, in this Bill, ignore the most needy and vulnerable and fail to provide for them under its provisions. The omission by the current Government should be a cause of shame. Perhaps the Minister of State might talk to his advisers about this. Historically, the Free State Government made the first large-scale attempt to provide houses on a large scale under what was known as the "Million Pound Scheme". Local authorities provided £225 million which was matched by £1 million in State aid for the provision of houses in each area. Up to 2,000 houses were built under that scheme. The Housing Acts of 1931 and 1932 were particularly significant, effecting slum clearance and giving greater assistance to local authorities for the housing of displaced families. Over 75 years later we are still trying to achieve equitable housing provision.

The Celtic tiger years of 1995 onwards saw figures of those in employment rise from 1.1 million to 1.7 million. Unemployment fell below 4%, effectively full employment, and housing demand and prices rose along with income levels and the greater participation in the work force by women. This should be acknowledged. I heard a discussion on "The Ryan Tubridy Show" today about the value of women in employment. I very much support what was said in that programme.

It is intolerable, after a decade of prosperity, that we still live in a society where homelessness is a part of life for so many and the valuable initiatives started in the opening years of the State have not led, despite the extremes of wealth reached in the intervening years, to basic housing provision for those unfortunate enough to be living on the streets. It is vital that the root causes of homelessness such as poverty, drug and alcohol dependence be tackled but, more important, Bills such as this one must recognise the problem and put in place measures to deal with it. This cannot be emphasised often enough. With the spectre of homelessness hanging over so many, as the Government takes the earnings of the low and middle income earners, leaving many of them unable to meet mortgage repayments, surely now more than ever is the time to face the issue of homelessness rather than bury it and refuse to deal with it.

An associated issue is repossessions. When I spoke on the debate on the Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Bill 2009, I highlighted the plight of frightened people throughout the country who have been made redundant and are now falling into mortgage arrears. This situation is widespread. I am sure that in his weekend clinics the Minister of State is, like myself, very much aware of this problem. I call on the banks to work with home owners who find themselves in this unenviable situation. The banks must take a more humane approach, forgetting repossession orders or legal proceedings in the short term, or until all other initiatives have been considered. All Members should call on the banks to do this because this House has been very good to the banks. We have pumped approximately €7 billion into them over the past few months and it is important that they should be considerate to their customers at this stage.

While repossessions are not directly related to this Bill, it is important for us to consider their impact on social housing provision, with the potential increased demand for public and affordable housing. I support this Bill but not in its totality. How difficult can it be to stop skirting around the major issue of homelessness and tackle it head on? I know the Minister of State has the ability to do this and I shall keep an eye on his progress in this regard. The first step must be to make good the omission at the heart of this legislation. I have no doubt the Minister of State will consider the many amendments this side of the House will put forward. He will doubtless put forward his own amendments to strengthen the legislation. We have a golden opportunity at this time to bring in good law and we do not need to rush to legislation. I appreciate that we are giving plenty of time to this important Bill over the coming days.

I acknowledge the wonderful services provided by the staff of local authorities, especially housing staff around the country. Deputy O'Rourke referred to those people in part of my constituency who work for Westmeath County Council. I acknowledge the invaluable services given by officials in counties Westmeath and Longford. I pay special tribute to a man the Minister of State knows very well in my own county, Mr. James Clark, who recently retired as director of services for housing with Longford County Council. He was a model senior official and was very well thought of——

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