Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. While the sole purpose of the Bill is to make technical changes to the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, it is none the less very important. It is a short, technical Bill that is required to ease the path of legislation which has already been enacted. I will try not to raise issues already raised by other Deputies. There is a desire on all sides of the House to solve the issues we face. I do not envy the Minister of State her post. She has inherited legacy issues from the overhang of the Celtic tiger era which will be difficult to sort out. A certain amount of realism must be brought to bear in the debate. Those of us who came to the House after cutting our teeth in local authorities know how important housing issues are. As a Labour Party Deputy, I would like to see the Government maintain direct provision, which, as other Deputies have said, has stood the test of time. Something went hugely wrong during the Celtic tiger era, particularly, if memory serves me, in 2004 with the watering down of the provisions of Part V of the Planning and Development Act. Martin Cullen was the Minister with responsibility at the time. That was when we started on the slippery slope to where we have ended up today, with a significant housing crisis.

I welcome the fact that the Bill will transfer powers from local authority management to elected representatives, which will serve us very well. Many people nationally find themselves in serious economic difficulty and the Bill will phase in changes over a period of three years. There will be a bedding-in period to ensure that those affected do not suffer undue hardship while the transition is being made and the rental scheme is being harmonised. There is no doubt that we face a crisis in this sector. Housing lists far exceed the amount of housing available to meet demand. Nevertheless, I have noticed that there are a huge number of unoccupied houses in places where people do not want to live. Housing lists are extremely lengthy and we do not appear to be able to match up the people with the houses or the areas. There is a great deal going on and I do not envy the Minister of State her task of solving the problems we face. Due to the crisis, we must be creative. It makes me angry to think of the mess we have been left in as a direct consequence of greed and in some cases, though I am loath to say it, pure stupidity. One cannot build houses in the middle of nowhere and expect people to flock to them when there is no local chemist, school, doctor or shop. The mind boggles at the idea that communities would develop in these areas.

The last Administration sat idly back as developers dictated where houses were to be built. I do not want to see us relying on the private sector. I want to see us revert to direct provision at some stage. However, if we are to change to a warts-and-all model of private sector provision, which is not something I want to see, we must build houses based on housing needs assessments. Not doing so was one of the reasons we got ourselves into such a mess. We need good, clear data which dictates where needs are and we must build only where a need has been identified. The data must be accurate and in black and white. In my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny, I see on an almost daily basis the problems associated with a lack of appropriate housing, particularly in rural areas, including Borris, Leighlinbridge, Paulstown, Gowran and my own town of Graiguenamanagh. There are no houses available for rent in those places because the houses do not exist.

Security of tenure is of great importance. If people are going to go to the private sector, we must provide for security of tenure as they do on the Continent, where 99-year leases which can be passed on to one's children are available. Leases of five, ten or 15 years will not make for good communities.

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