Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Admhaím i dtosach go bhfuil an cheart ag an Teachta sa mhéid a dúirt sí faoi thithíocht agus daoine ag lorg tithe, go mórmhór ina dáilcheantar féin. Tá an taithí chéanna agamsa i gContae Lú le blianta fada anuas. Aontaím go bhfuil sé an-tábhachtach go mbeidh daoine a bhfuil tithíocht ag teastáil uathu in ann í a fháil chomh luath agus is féidir. Rinne an Teachta pointe maith maidir le tithe atá dúnta suas agus atá ag titim as a chéile mar nach bhfuil an t-airgead ag an bardas ná ag an comhairle contae chun iad a dheisiú. San am céanna, tarlaíonn antisocial behaviour timpeall orthu. Tuigeann gach éinne ansin nach bhfuil meas ag an bardas dáiríre faoi thimpeallacht na ndaoine sna háiteanna sin. Mar adúirt an Teachta, níl sin fíor agus ba chóir go mbeadh athrú polaisaithe ann. Tá an cheart ag an Teachta sa mhéid sin.

There has been virtually unanimous support for the Bill. Local authority rent policy is a very important element of the social housing framework and it is encouraging that there is widespread support for its harmonisation. I note that Deputies have welcomed the fact that local authority members will now have a statutory role in determining policies at local level. This will bring greater transparency and accountability to local government.

Deputy Catherine Murphy inquired as to why the Bill proposed to delete paragraph (b) and text in paragraph (e) of subsection (6) of section 31 of the 2009 Act. As Deputies are aware, the new rents system under section 31 will retain the essential characteristics of the existing arrangements for charging local authority rents, that is to say, rent is based on household income and, thus, related to the tenant's ability to pay. The references to market rents and the cost of providing social housing support in the text being deleted from section 31 run contrary to this approach.

A requirement to apply such rent setting criteria would inevitably weaken the link between income and rent charged and for this reason the Minister proposed to delete them from the legislation.

Deputy McLellansaid that foster care allowance should not be included as reckonable income, presumably for rent purposes. This payment is disregarded in the determination of income for social housing assessments and for eligibility to purchase under the new incremental purchase scheme. It is the intention that the regulations to be made will provide that foster care allowances will be disregarded in determining household income for rent purposes.

Deputy Boyd Barrettstated that local authorities charge public sector workers higher rents than other workers because they do not deduct the pension levy. The harmonisation of rent procedures under section 31 of the 2009 Housing Act extends to the calculation of reckonable household income and the necessary regulations will provide that rent will be assessed on net household income, that is to say, after tax, the universal social charge, PRSI and the pension levy have been deducted. He also asked if rent levels are to go up or down. The intention is to apply section 31 to harmonise rent rates across the country in a way that is broadly neutral as regards total local authority rental income. This means that some households will face higher rents while the rent payable by other households will fall. The regulations will provide for a phased introduction of material adjustments to rent levels in individual cases.

Deputy Cowencalled for the differential tax rates set by individual housing authorities to be published so that people could see the different rates being charged across the country. The harmonisation of differential rent under section 31 will reduce substantially the differences between individual authorities. Section 31 provides that each authority must specify its differential rates in a rent scheme that is available for inspection on the Internet and in the council's public offices.

A number of Deputies asked about the implications of the new property tax. Section 31 of the Act predates the new property tax legislation. Housing authorities are liable for this tax in respect of their residential accommodation, other than that provided to cater for people with special needs. The valuation of each liable local authority property is set at €50,000, giving an annual tax liability per liable property of €90 per annum up to the end of 2016. The Government recently indicated its intention to move, from 2014, to 80% retention of all property tax receipts within the local authority area where the tax is actually raised. The remaining 20% of the tax collected nationally will be reimbursed on an equalised basis to local authorities within the context of the annual allocations of general purpose grants, which will increase further the percentage being retained in many cases. This means that at most, housing authorities have to find a net €18 per annum or 35 cent per week to meet their property tax liability for each of their dwellings. The introduction of the new rents system will not affect the capacity of housing authorities to raise the funds needed to pay property tax liabilities.

As the Bill before the House has one substantive section only of a technical nature, it is understandable that Deputies covered many issues of social housing policy in their contributions to the debate. These points have been noted by our officials for consideration in future implementation of the social housing agenda. Points were made by Members on all sides of the House, particularly from Deputies whose local government experience would help them to understand and appreciate all of the issues involved.

Many points were made about the operation of the rent supplement scheme, which is the responsibility of the Minister for Social Protection. This is a worthy scheme for short-term income support but is not designed for households which need support to meet their housing needs in the medium to long term. This was the basis for the introduction of the rental accommodation scheme in 2005 and is the reason the Government has decided that long-term rent supplement cases should in future be dealt with by local authorities as part of their housing functions. The introduction of the system of housing assistance payments will bring about a major change in the way in which social housing support is provided, signalling the most important shift in social housing policy in recent times. It involves a programme of work that would be difficult in any circumstances but at the present time provides a challenge for all. The proposals for housing assistance payments are being progressed by a steering group comprising officials from my Department, the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, City and County Managers Association, the Housing Agency and the Revenue Commissioners. My Department is preparing legislative proposals to underpin HAP and it is intended that the general roll-out and transfer of responsibility under the scheme will begin in 2014.

Deputies have urged the Government to return to large-scale local authority house-building programmes of the past. In ideal circumstances, there would be a notable ongoing programme and it is intended to ramp up construction as soon as possible. In the meantime the Government is determined to ensure that the social housing programme optimises delivery of social housing and a return for resources invested. To achieve this we must tailor the use of available Exchequer supports to prevailing conditions and explore the full range of solutions to address housing needs. The Government is committed to responding more quickly and on a larger scale to needs through a variety of mechanisms, including through increased provision of social housing. This delivery will be significantly facilitated through more flexible funding models such as the rental accommodation scheme and leasing but the Government is also committed to developing other funding mechanisms that will increase the supply of permanent new social housing. Such mechanisms will include options to purchase, build to lease and the sourcing of loan finance by approved housing bodies.

There is obvious potential for the Government's objective of sourcing and providing suitable residential units for use as social housing to be aligned with the commercial objectives of the National Asset Management Agency. NAMA said in 2011 that it would provide units for social housing. A steering group comprising Department officials, representatives of NAMA and the Housing Agency have been working with housing authorities and approved housing bodies in identifying properties which would be appropriate in terms of meeting this objective. Progress has been slow, mainly due to the complexities of getting agreement from multiple parties operating within an environment subject to a range of legal and financial constraints. However, the establishment by NAMA of a special purpose vehicle to facilitate the leasing of units will speed up delivery. NAMA has completed or contracted 339 properties to date for use as social housing and continues to work closely with the agencies concerned to identify additional units. The figure of 110 units referred to in the debate relates to the first three months of this year - 60 completed and 50 further contracts signed.

Deputies Durkan and others raised the tenant purchase scheme. While the 1995 tenant purchase scheme for existing local authority houses closed for new applicants in December 2012, two incremental purchase schemes remain in operation - one for newly built local authority houses and the other for local authority apartments. It is intended to advance the necessary legislative proposals as soon as practical to underpin an incremental purchase scheme for existing local authority houses. Such a scheme will involve discounts for tenants, linked to household income and a discount-related charge on the property that will dwindle away over a period unless the house is resold or the purchase fails to comply with the conditions of sale. The precise terms of the scheme will be set out in regulations, hopefully before the end of this year.

The possibility of European Investment Bank funding for local authority housing was raised. The Department is currently engaged in exploratory talks about the possibility of seeking EIB or ERDF funding over the period 2014 to 2020 that would support a major programme of retrofitting and refurbishment of social housing accommodation in large urban areas in a manner compatible with our overriding objectives. Proposals are at an early stage but the Minister wants to assure the House that every possible source of funding for social housing will be followed up. There will be opportunities to debate social housing policy in more detail in this House at a later date when a substantive housing Bill is published later this year on the new system of housing assistance payments.

I thank all Deputies for contributing to the debate on this technical Bill and look forward to the co-operation of the House in ensuring its early enactment.

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