Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Catherine Murphy for her Planning and Development (Transparency and Consumer Confidence) Bill, in which she is attempting to limit or repair some of the damage done during the so-called boom, which in fact saw some of the most negative and corrupt practices in the history of the construction industry.

Housing is one of the most basic human rights and the lack of it, or homelessness, is a disaster in anyone’s life. There is a crisis in public housing and we do not have to turn to the ESRI or other research agencies to tell us that. Every day, on the streets of Dublin and towns across Ireland, we can see people in horrific circumstances, trying to keep body and soul together without a roof over their heads. The constituency offices of every public representative are dealing with more and more people who are in housing crisis and housing lists are growing all over the State. The spectre of increased homelessness in rural areas is looming, something which was almost unknown in living memory.

The legacy of the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats coalition and its greed-is-good mentality is an attitude that Government should tax at the minimum and let people fend for themselves. This legacy did not, unfortunately, die with that Fianna Fáil-led Government but is alive and well and is central to this Government's policies. It goes against the honourable tradition of social welfare, including social housing, provided by Government to those who cannot provide for themselves.

The destruction of the rates system for short-term electoral gain by Fianna Fáil in the 1977 general election and the subsequent starvation of local authority funding by central Government means that it has almost become a thing of the past that county councils build and or even maintain social housing. The social housing that was available, dating back to the 1930s and 1940s, was sold off to tenants. This housing stock was never replaced, thereby reducing social housing and making housing lists all over the State grow longer while the housing crisis grows. Meanwhile, the private rental sector is being subsidised heavily to provide the housing that the local authorities once provided and should still be providing. Providing social housing is the most efficient, equitable and socially responsible way for local authorities to ensure that the housing needs of citizens are met.

While there is a role for the voluntary housing bodies, they are not accountable to the citizens in the same way as the county and city councils and they are not as transparent either. Furthermore, they do not have the ability to cope with the scale of the housing crisis we currently face. Meanwhile, we have the potential of NAMA housing, with 3,500 homes already earmarked for social and voluntary housing. However, progress is so slow that the Minister of State herself admits that only 500 of these units will be made available for social housing before the end of the year.

Despite all its financial difficulties, the local author sector is still the main provider of social housing, although it is becoming more dependent on the private and voluntary sectors to meet the needs of those on the housing lists. Significant borrowing restrictions imposed on councils are a major obstacle to progressive action on housing. Local authorities are owed €700 million in development levies from builders who are now in NAMA. However, local authorities are not listed as creditors of NAMA and so the moneys owed to them, which would alleviate some of their dire financial problems, are not going to be paid over to them. This situation also distorts their accounts, where such debts are listed as assets but in reality they are liabilities.

The solution is greater local authority involvement in the provision of social housing. Rental supplements and rental accommodation schemes should be nothing more than emergency measures while a properly planned and financed building programme, which would also create jobs, is implemented. The long-term aim must be that local authorities build, maintain and provide an adequate supply of housing for rental to the public at rates people can afford.

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