Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. In the time that I have been a public representative, formerly as a member of Clare County Council and latterly as a member of the Oireachtas, I can say without fear of contradiction that the provision of public homes and housing has been the single biggest issue I have encountered or will continue to encounter. This fundamental issue has a profound influence on how people participate in, contribute to or engage with society. It has been my experience as a public representative that once an individual or family's housing needs are addressed and sorted out, their lives and how they contribute to the overall social and economic well-being of society changes dramatically. It is for this reason a Bill such as this is so important.

Notwithstanding the enormous capital input into housing over the past 12 years by the Government, it is safe to say we have missed many targets. The specific approach of the Government to the provision of housing in general has had an undue influence on where we find ourselves today. It is interesting to note that Dr. Peter Bacon is back on the scene with regard to bad banks and such. This time, I hope the Government chooses to listen to what he may say because in ignoring many of his earlier recommendations for the housing market, it has put us in a very weak economic position.

When presenting the Bill to the House, the Minister of State asked whether we are getting value for money from our investment, whether we are efficient and effective and, most important, whether we are protecting the most vulnerable sections of our society. In order to answer the question on whether we are protecting the most vulnerable, the Minister of State must bring his proposals on homelessness before the House. He must also consider providing for this on a statutory basis. This issue was placed on the agenda during my first period as a member of Clare County Council and through the creation of the homeless forum all parties concerned sat down to work out a strategy for County Clare. This was an interesting exercise and members such as the local authority, the HSE, the probation service and the voluntary sector came together to create their own plan. That said, it was also interesting to see that some State agencies viewed it as an opportunity to absolve themselves of certain responsibilities, passing the buck, so to speak. Placing the issue of providing for homelessness on a statutory basis could, possibly, alleviate this type of behaviour.

I take this opportunity to commend voluntary organisations such as the St. Vincent de Paul on its Trojan work on the issue of homelessness. It was they, the representatives of the voluntary sector, who did most on this issue in Ennis in County Clare. On the broader issue of homelessness, it is ridiculous that local authorities can invest large capital sums in building shelters and facilities for homeless people, but that these remain closed and unused because the HSE refuses to pay to staff them. There must be a more integrated way to deal with the issue.

In response to the Minister of State's question as to whether we are getting value for money from our investment, we need only look at what went on throughout local authorities over the boom years of the Celtic tiger. It was quite common during the first six years of this century for county councils to buy back local authority housing which had been sold to tenants just ten or 15 years previously under the early tenant purchase schemes. These houses were sold at a very competitive price initially, but the local authorities found themselves having to buy back stock they once owned at six to ten times what they sold it for. This was ridiculous and is a prime example of just throwing money at a problem for the sake of it. The practice is unsustainable and I welcome the provision in the Bill for the incremental purchase scheme. This is a more natural approach to house ownership. I understand and agree with the principle of Irish people owning their homes, but we cannot allow a repeat of what went on over the past ten years. The State must have and maintain its own stock of housing that will allow people get on the path of home ownership.

This Bill is very much slanted towards local authorities, both executive and members, and the manner in which they go about their work. The Minister of State asked about efficiency and effectiveness. He need look no further than the voluntary housing sector and how it operates to find these. In the past number of years there has been a significant and worthy contribution from this sector towards the provision of housing for their own communities through the voluntary housing scheme. This housing provision works well.

In my constituency of County Clare, I have seen parallel housing provision from both the local authority and the voluntary sector. However, the projects that come from and of the community are invariably more successful. They do not seem to have the same problems as the local authority projects. This is not to take from the fine work that local authorities do. However, projects such as those provided at Kilmaley and Kilmihil in west Clare and, perhaps, the Áras Mhuire development in Tulla, are housing developments that have very strong roots in their communities. These projects create a sense of empowerment for both the individuals who finish up with a home and the local committees who steward the project. It is disappointing that this Bill does not reflect on this or provide any developments or improvements towards the concept of communities taking charge of their own housing needs.

The cost of the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, is no doubt one that will come under the budget microscope. It cost the HSE some €441 million in 2008 and has increased by €91 million or 26% since its introduction. This is, surely, an indication that some of our housing policies are not working as they should. The Bill does not make provision to review the scheme. This is a mistake. The whole scheme should be more integrated into our local authority housing plans. Two questions must be asked about RAS. Does it provide the best value for money for the State? What type of security of tenure does it provide for the participants? If our housing policies were working correctly, we would see the aforementioned figure decrease year on year. Without proper assessment and analysis of the RAS in the current economic climate, it could become a millstone around the Government's neck.

I acknowledge the provisions within the Bill that extend more powers to local authorities to deal with anti-social behaviour. The Minister of State should note the extreme difficulties created in some estates by a small number of people who have bought out their houses through the shared ownership scheme or the tenant purchase scheme. The local authorities are left powerless in preventing them from engaging in anti-social behaviour. This is a growing problem within local authority estates and needs to be addressed. The local authorities should have the power to step in and deal with people who are creating absolute misery for their neighbours and the community at large. Will the Minister of State re-examine this issue and introduce a section on Committee Stage to tackle it?

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