Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is fine. I will terminate my comments sooner because Deputy Penrose is a much greater expert in this area than I am. I hope these provisions will stand up when challenged, as it is important for the sake of those who live around such extremely difficult tenants. I appeal to the Minister of State to consider if it is possible to have a similar provision where people in private rented accommodation on the housing list are causing hell for people in private estates. That issue also must be tackled as it is a problem in certain estates.

I have very mixed views about the tenant purchase process. On one level it is a very good idea because it encourages a tenant to take a greater interest in a house and surroundings etc. but we must tread carefully. I would be a full supporter of the scheme if for every tenant who purchased a house there would be a new dwelling built for others who needed to rent from a local authority. The reality is that has not always been the case. I ask the Minister of State to consider carefully how things are going in that regard.

I am pleased the housing assistance payment, HAP, is being brought under local authority control. It is good that direct payment to landlords is to be introduced, whether they are a county council or a private landlord. I am aware of people who get into financial difficulty and are then left in a position where they could face eviction. It is far better that people would not be allowed get into that position. We need to consider carefully what will happen to anybody who is evicted as I presume they would have to be housed again. It is important such people are not housed in an immediate neighbourhood where they would have caused great problems. It is a tricky matter and we must consider how it can be dealt with. It is important that people on the housing list and in private housing are not effectively excluded from taking up employment, and I am glad the Minister of State is addressing this issue, which has led to a poverty trap for people over the years.

I shall make a couple of general comments on housing before handing over to my much more distinguished colleague, Deputy Penrose. I sat in this Chamber the other day when the Fianna Fáil spokesperson replied to the Minister of State, and I was absolutely staggered by his attack as, in many ways, the policy that party introduced after 1997 is one of the problems which led us to where we are today, with an insufficient supply of council housing. In effect, Fianna Fáil left it to private landlords - who are mainly amateur landlords - to house people. It will take us quite some time to achieve the goal but it is important we move away from that process, as it puts people in a very vulnerable position. We can see to a major extent how many people are now losing their accommodation because a landlord is in trouble with a mortgage, for example, and is obliged to sell the property. Through no fault of their own, the tenants would be obliged to move in such cases. We should try to move away from amateur landlords to a much more satisfactory process.

I welcome the Government's initiative with the construction programme, and the faster this gets under way, the better. This applies both to private and social housing. As we know, there are people homeless or living in hotels today who should not be. We are in the midst of an emergency so I ask the Minister of State to consider temporary emergency accommodation while we wait for long-term accommodation to come on stream. It takes approximately three years from the time plans are initiated to get to when houses can be occupied, and there is a need to consider exactly how much temporary emergency accommodation must be provided. That should be brought about as rapidly as possible.

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