Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

I welcome this Bill and believe it creates a very important roadmap for housing policy and the Government's schemes in this area for the coming years.

As the Minister of State said this afternoon, it is very important that despite the financial challenges being faced by the Government, we have a strong sense of where we are going with housing. The right to housing and the strong sense of entitlement to it in this country are enormously important for people and Government policy must adapt and change with new trends and in new economic times.

The regulatory impact assessment prepared for this Bill had very strong aims and principles such as the need to focus on the long-term housing needs of people, not just in the short term, as well as the need for greater social mix in estates through the geographical dispersal of social housing and the need to improve co-ordination of housing activities by strengthening the role of housing authorities in housing provision, along with support services generally. This last aim is very important if we are to get local authorities to ensure greater planning of housing needs within county development plans.

I warmly welcome the provision in the Bill to oblige local authorities to make a housing services plan within six months of a development being planned. Let us have no drift with regard to that time limit because it is so important to have housing copper-fastened in the county development plan. Equally important is the requirement on the county manager to ensure the plan's implementation.

Another important aspect of the legislation is the section dealing with measures to address anti-social behaviour. Other Members of the House have addressed this but I am aware from the experience of my constituents in Carlow-Kilkenny of the terror that overtakes those living in areas where hooliganism can be threatening, abusive, extremely noisy and can turn peaceful estates into nightmarish areas. I am not only referring to a few eggs being thrown at a window but rather joy-riding on green spaces, trees being cut down, galloping horses on greens and even the discharge of firearms, as in County Carlow recently, and the ever-prevalent scourge of drug dealing. There are probably other aspects of anti-social behaviour of which we are all aware but if we could eradicate and make it more difficult for this type of behaviour to be indulged in on estates, it would make for much more peaceful communities.

The redefinition of what constitutes anti-social behaviour and the protection given to the operation of social and affordable housing from unrealistic demands emanating from those who are anti-social is important. Chapter 4 of the Bill, with its provisions for the rental accommodation scheme, is extremely detailed. These new powers for housing authorities will improve the standard of housing accommodation available for those renting through councils. One important aspect of the new provisions in this chapter is the facility for local authorities to inspect the dwellings being rented from private landlords by those on social housing. We have all had complaint after complaint where rented accommodation is sometimes abused by the landlord, who does not maintain it properly, or indeed by the tenants who avail of private rented accommodation. Where such inspection is not possible by local authorities, the danger of exploitation is significant. This provision in this part of the Bill means a local authority can work with a tenant to ensure that the scheme is being respected by landlords.

The provision in Part 3 for a new incremental purchasing scheme is to be welcomed as a sign of further empowerment of those in need of social or affordable housing to move towards full housing independence. I believe Deputy Bannon raised the matter of the need for people to buy out the Respond houses. The jury is out in that regard because if the housing stock is all sold off the local authority will be in a parlous position in not being able to provide rented accommodation in times of need.

Looking forward, the implications of negative equity must be factored into all provisions of the Bill, and to a considerable extent they are. However, I hope the Minster of State ensures that the considerably changed housing market, even from the time this Bill was published, must be considered in all purchasing schemes. I should also like to see the Minister of State explore the possibility of allowing tenants the right to purchase local authority apartments, something that is currently prohibited. This would be a very welcome step forward in adding provision and security of housing for tenants. Why should they not be able to buy local authority apartments? It makes sense in these tough economic times in terms of smaller housing units, built in nice areas and well maintained. I hope the Minister looks at this proposal sympathetically.

An aspect of social housing which is perhaps beyond the scope of this Bill is important in terms of developments in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. It concerns the roll-out of retrofit schemes for social housing. Socially, environmentally and economically the sooner the retrofit scheme is implemented, the better. I have one last plea, which might not be in the remit of the Minister of State. I was in a local authority estate recently where one could not kick a ball on the miserly little green space catering for about 30 houses, while next door one could fit a couple of stadiums the size of Croke Parks and which was beautifully landscaped with lovely trees. We should put a good deal of effort into our social housing units, to ensure there are nice places for mothers to sit out with their children in buggies, for children to play or for older tenants to be able to enjoy a peaceful part of their housing development. That should be factored in. In very tough economic times we must ensure that the provision of housing and the aspect on which dwellings look out helps people enjoy where they are living. That aspect should be addressed in the Bill.

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