Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

I welcome this Bill. The housing situation has reached crisis point. Sadly, the country's wealth in recent years did not translate into improved housing standards, did not see those most in need being allocated social and affordable housing, did not see viable regeneration projects being delivered as promised or a reduction in homelessness on our streets. Instead, we saw developers and banks grow richer and richer, while the ordinary person on the street was priced out of the market. We saw an abundance of exemption certificates allow social and affordable housing units to be sold off as private units at crazy prices. We saw thousands of people being encouraged to take out huge mortgages on over-priced homes miles from their place of work and we saw our homeless population grow.

We are now stuck with a long list of failed schemes. First-time buyers are forced to reject affordable housing as it is no longer affordable; young people are unable to get on the property ladder because they can no longer secure a mortgage as a result of the credit crunch; public private partnerships have been dissolved; regeneration projects have failed; thousands of apartments lie empty around the city; and millions of euro of taxpayers' money has been spent on rent supplement for sub-standard accommodation.

A statutory assessment of housing needs is carried out every three years by all housing authorities in accordance with the terms of the Housing Act 1988. The most recent assessment took place in March 2008. This showed that there were just over 56,249 households in need of social housing support, an increase of almost 30% on the corresponding figure in 2005. In February, Daft's rental report revealed that rents in Dublin south city are down 10% and the total number of properties available to rent today is twice that of this time last year. With rental properties flooding the market, tenants should seize the opportunity to renegotiate their rent with their landlords. Many tenants are in a good bargaining position, given the greater choice of more affordable rents on offer.

This Bill presents a golden opportunity for reform of the rent supplement scheme. While this scheme serves a good purpose in the short term, supporting individuals and families who might otherwise not be able to afford their rent, it is open to abuse, especially when it comes to money being handed over to unscrupulous landlords who do not maintain their properties to basic living standards. The lack of checks and inspections on such properties means that valuable funds are being paid for sub-standard accommodation right across the country. Although rents have decreased by an overall 12%, rent supplement payments have fallen by just 2%. Clearly, adjustments should be made to ensure that the Government does not pay over the odds and line the pockets of wealthy landlords.

Expenditure on rent supplement was €392 million in 2007 and €441 million in 2008. What does this huge amount of money actually pay for? I have seen where people receiving rent supplement are forced to live in totally sub-standard flats and houses. Landlords must be made accountable and answerable for the state of the properties for which they are being paid handsomely by the State. Last week, I received a letter detailing the comments of a number of residents living on a particular road in Dublin South-Central. There are 72 houses on the road in question. I will read two excerpts from the letter.

The first lady wrote:

I was so excited about moving into my new house. It was great. We had been waiting years for this. I used to sit in my kitchen looking out at my children playing. Now I sit in the back room as I cannot sit in the front room any more watching the comings and goings on the road, drug dealing and people going to the toilet at the doors. The noise level from the drug dealers and the filth of the road are horrible. It is much worse than the flats in the bad old days. I wish somebody could do something about this, the landlord just wants his money.

A second person wrote:

Since I moved into my house, I have had horrendous experience in dealing with rat infestation related to houses adjoining mine, which is related to the dumping of rubbish at the lane at the back of the houses. I have spent hundreds of euro trying to address this. I have been in contact with the environmental health office of Dublin City Council, public representatives and anyone who could try to help me with these problems. I have young children and have had to move them out of their bedrooms at different times as we have heard rats behind the walls and partitions. The ongoing difficulties of antisocial behaviour are terrible.

The conditions in which these people are living are a disgrace. The problems relate to ten of the 72 houses on the road. These ten houses are owned by the same landlord. None of the houses is of a decent living standard.

I am aware that from 1 February, new minimum standards for rental accommodation came into effect. I sincerely hope that local authorities take their role seriously, inspect rental properties and ensure that the new minimum standards are implemented and complied with. I also hope that these standards will be applied to accommodation which is covered by rent supplement.

I welcome the provision in the Bill to give a legislative basis to the rental accommodation scheme, RAS. This scheme is more transparent than rent supplement and is a better solution for people with long-term housing needs. It requires proper standards to be met and compliance with regulations and provides tenants with a better choice of properties deemed acceptable by the local authorities. Unfortunately, the uptake of the scheme has been quite slow. This is partly due to the low number of landlords signing up for the scheme. It is also important that RAS approved properties are dispersed throughout the city. We must work hard to avoid creating new ghettos that will breed antisocial behaviour and other social problems.

The provision for the incremental purchase scheme in the Bill is also welcome. Unlike many European countries, we do not have a tradition of long-term renting in this country. Rather, people strive to own their own homes where possible. The current home ownership schemes run by local authorities have had some success in allowing people who might not otherwise have been able to own their homes to do so. Unfortunately, the major failure of this Bill is the failure to include provision for the sale of local authority flats and maisonettes to long-term residents. The Minister must clarify the position on this in the Bill and make provision for existing tenants and households, regardless of the type of property they are living in, such that they can benefit from the incremental purchase scheme. We all know that tenant purchase is available for people living in houses. Therefore, why not for those in flats and maisonettes? It is a fact that there are many residents in flat complexes in Dublin South-Central who would welcome the chance to buy their homes outright from the local authority.

I recently sent a questionnaire to the residents of the main flat complexes in Dublin South-Central. The aim was to find out for how many years individuals and families have been living in those complexes. The survey gave me an opportunity to determine whether the residents would be interested in buying their own homes. Of approximately 600 questionnaires sent out, I received 238 replies. Of these, 164 people, or 69%, said they would purchase their homes if given the choice, and just 74 people, or 31%, said they would not. Many of these council tenants have lived in the complexes for years. My findings show that 32% of people surveyed have lived in their flat or maisonette for more than 20 years, with no legal stake in or claim to it. In quite a few cases, two to three generations of the same family have lived in the same flat complex, and this obviously creates a sense of attachment to the community where one puts down roots.

Rents in local authority flat complexes are still quite high in some cases. Almost half of those individuals I surveyed pay between €40 and €80 euro per week in rent, while a quarter pay over €80 euro per week. In spite of relatively high rent, many people must put up with poor living conditions, such as dampness, the availability of only one socket in a kitchen, which socket is supposed to supply every electrical gadget, no proper kitchen presses in which to store food and no storage places for anything. Giving the tenants the opportunity to put their money towards buying their homes outright cannot and should not be put on hold due to legal complications. I understand there were obstacles to this but surely the legal issues should be resolved at this stage.

I know a number of residents in my area who have lived in the same flat for over 40 years. They have been good tenants and, had they been able to buy their houses in 1998, as was the case with those in houses, they would not have had to pay, a number of times over, what they would have paid by way of mortgage repayments. They are caught in limbo because of the lack of legislation, which means they have no option to buy their homes and are still paying relatively high rent to the council. We must afford them the right to own their own homes, as we do for everyone else. Where there is a will there is a way, but there is obviously no will at present.

I welcomed the affordable housing scheme most sincerely when I was on the city council and I actually sat on one of the committees. The scheme represented a real opportunity for many young people who could not afford to buy a home. I refer in particular to young couples who invested in the scheme in the belief they could continue to live in accommodation of a good standard without being cheated.

Recently, I read that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, is to allow local authorities to sell properties from the affordable housing scheme stock on the open market in an effort to offload the units. I am in favour of people being able to buy their own homes but believe this move is grossly unfair. Has the Minister considered all those young people who have bought under the affordable housing scheme and who will have to make clawback payments ranging from €40,000 to €80,000 if they ever want to sell their homes? These people participated in the scheme in good faith and are now at a complete disadvantage because the clawback will not apply to new home buyers. Bearing in mind the question as to what is affordable, the affordable housing scheme is now a joke. I call on the Minister to withdraw the clawback requirement in respect of all affordable housing and give young people an opportunity to own their homes, as was supposed to occur when the scheme came into being.

With regard to management companies, many young couples are being fleeced by considerable management fees of up to €3,000 annually. They have no advice, they go to meetings at which they offer their views and there is very poor maintenance and poor waste management. This needs to be addressed.

I welcome the inclusion of the antisocial behaviour provisions in the Bill as a positive development. Sadly, in recent years, no community has escaped the torment and threat of antisocial behaviour on its doorstep. Even my community has seen tragedies. Communities have been torn apart by a few mindless thugs who are intent on causing trouble on our streets. It is, therefore, very important that the new antisocial behaviour strategy be implemented properly and that all tenants be informed that they must comply with the rules as set out by local authorities.

Most people living in a community have respect for other members thereof. They are law abiding citizens who want a quiet, peaceful life and who want to contribute to the community. Sadly, I have seen many people being tormented by a minority who have no respect for person or property. I have noted great frustration among the staff in local area offices over the time it takes to effectively tackle antisocial behaviour among some of their tenants. This Bill ignores completely the problems experienced by private tenants owing to antisocial behaviour. I have experienced many cases in which private tenants were victimised and terrorised by neighbours. They had no choice but to go to the Garda, which often makes circumstances even worse. This is a major loophole in the legislation and must be addressed.

I recently met neighbours who have been tormented by the people living next door in private rented accommodation. The neighbours have, after two years of trying to deal with the problem, decided to sell their home. That this was necessary is a disgrace.

With regard to housing regeneration projects, I want to say a few words on St. Michael's estate and O'Devaney Gardens. I heard today that six regeneration projects in Dublin are to be suspended indefinitely and there are doubts about funding for another three. The regeneration of St. Michael's estate in Inchicore was to bring new hope and new housing and, above all, a new social agenda for the area. For such communities, the regeneration projects were long awaited and there was genuine excitement over residents having a chance to participate in the process of rebuilding their communities. However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel for the development of St. Michael's over the next seven years. I hope the project goes ahead to give people an opportunity to have somewhere to live and be part of a community.

That there is no reference to homelessness in the Bill is really incredible. We need a firm commitment from the Government that it will improve homelessness services and focus especially on reducing the number of homeless individuals. It is important to identify those people with a serious housing need and ensure they are not abandoned to a life on the street.

The most recent figures show there were 2,366 adults in the homelessness services in 2008. This represents a 4% increase over the figure for 2005. There are currently just over twice as many men as women accessing homelessness services — 68% versus 32%. The majority of homeless people who call to my clinics are single men. They are on the homelessness list because they have nowhere else to turn. The majority are being placed in transition housing, which is totally unacceptable and unsuitable. They need to be accommodated long-term accommodation and they need stability and hope, in the absence of which they can suffer from serious health problems, including depression, and a lack of self-esteem.

This Bill affords a great opportunity to include provision for ending long-term homelessness. The Government's homelessness strategy, The Way Home — A Strategy to Address Adult Homelessness in Ireland, 2008 — 2013, was published last August. However, unless the measures outlined in this document are given a legislative basis in this Chamber, it will be just another glossy document left on a shelf to gather dust. We need to consider people's long-term housing needs and not only provide emergency accommodation in the short term.

I compliment the voluntary housing agencies that participate in many projects in Dublin, such as the National Association of Building Co-operatives, Circle Voluntary Housing Association, Clúid Housing Association and Habitat for Humanity Ireland. I have a long established connection with the latter group. When I was Lord Mayor, I opened in Ballymun the first development by Habitat for Humanity Ireland. I have been very impressed with how the association is run.

I congratulate the organisation Alone which was founded by Willie Bermingham in 1977. It is an excellent voluntary organisation which provides shelter and accommodation for those in need, especially the elderly. These organisations do great work but they cannot do it alone and should not carry the can for local authorities.

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