Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Government amendment to the motion. The Minister of State is a very caring Minister. She has inherited her Department at a time of difficult economic circumstances. It must be frustrating for her to have to deal with the problems while she must work under economic restrictions. Her departmental brief requires significant resources. I compliment her for being able to maintain funding more or less at €600 million from 2013 levels. It is hoped that some significant building schemes will be progressed throughout the country.

Like the current debate about water charges we cannot forget that for far too long social housing did not get adequate investment and it will be necessary to play significant catch-up in building terms for a number of years. We should give significant time and thought to a housing policy. It is noteworthy that one in five households are in the private rented sector. We should encourage and continue to embrace ownership of our own homes which is part of the Irish psyche. This has not been possible for some people but for most it has always been an ambition. However, in other European countries this is not the case. In northern and central European countries people live in rented accommodation all their lives.

We did not want to have it but Ireland now has NAMA which is one of the largest property-owning entities in the world. Some very large companies in Europe manage rented accommodation. It was always intended that NAMA would cease to exist as soon as possible but some element of a State-owned property company may continue. NAMA officials point out that much of its property is not suitable for social housing or any form of State-subsidised rental accommodation. I ask if it is possible for a legacy company to remain in State ownership which would take over some of those NAMA assets.

All Members of the Oireachtas have constituents who present with housing problems. I represent a large urban working-class area on the north side of Cork city. A very high number of representations to Oireachtas Members and to my office in particular relate to housing issues. In my view the humanity with which public representatives are able to deal with people has been restricted. I accept the bona fides and the independence of the local authority housing list system and that its processes and procedures must be robust. However, I refer to the extremely hard cases and the limited degree to which we can influence the local authority housing list system. When the Minister of State meets local authority directors of housing services I ask her to promote the notion that politicians from all parties should on occasion be permitted to interact more robustly with local authority housing directorates in order to advocate for people whom they believe are in particular distress. I do not know if the situation is similar in other parts of the country but the one sector where the response is poorest - I will be careful with my choice of words - is with respect to all matters to do with housing.

This is an opportune time to re-examine aggressively the area of tenant purchase. We need to continue to encourage, incentivise and facilitate as many people as possible. Unemployment levels are falling quite rapidly and more people are going back to work. There is a need to supply more social housing either by the building of new units or else by releasing existing units by means of tenant purchase. I agree with Deputy Eric Byrne that we all meet people in our offices who can point out houses which have been boarded up for a lengthy period which is very frustrating for those who are waiting on a housing list. On about three occasions people have come to us to say that they would be willing to fund the cost of renovation of a property. However, the local authority response has been that such an initiative would give a person on the list an unfair advantage because he or she may have the means to renovate a house to the disadvantage or someone else on the list. I accept that argument on one level but when it is the case that the local authority does not have the funding for the renovation work and a third party has the money, it seems to me to be a bit of a nonsense. In some cases these properties have remained boarded up for two years and unavailable to a new tenant. The other barrier is to do with insurance and the quality of the proposed work. When local authorities provide grants the work has to be inspected before any money is paid out. I do not understand why this system cannot be in place to supervise any renovation by a third party.

I am a member of the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service, as is Deputy Donnelly. The committee held a meeting attended by the Governor of the Central Bank, Professor Honohan. The issue of very lengthy mortgages was discussed. With some justification the regulators are completely opposed to very lengthy mortgages.

I am not fully convinced by that argument in respect of the provision of social housing. In central Europe, some families have inter-generational mortgages. Deputies often deal with cases involving people who have grown up in social housing which, although it happens to be owned by the State, is nevertheless the family home, and who subsequently face extreme difficulty, hardship and distress when the person in whose name the house is registered, as it were, passes away. All of us accept that providing for 50 year mortgages could result in an increase in house prices. The issue is different, however, when those involved are families who wish to purchase and own social housing. Such an approach would unburden local authorities and allow them to accommodate new applicants.

To be fair to the Minister of State, she is more than aware of the issues I raise. A focus on being creative to allow more churn in social housing stock would help achieve the objective all of us seek, namely, to reduce the housing waiting list by the greatest possible number. The housing list is a major problem for everyone.

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