Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The word "arrogant" is often used, but I suggest the Deputy be careful, as she is new. I would not use such language if I was her.

Let me read the amendment because there has been a total over-reaction to what the legislation contains. What Deputies Barry Cowen, Seán Ó Fearghaíl and Dessie Ellis are seeking to do is change the wording as follows. Section 35 states "the provision of housing assistance under this Part shall be deemed to be an appropriate form of social housing support for a household that is determined by a housing authority under the said section 20 to be qualified for such support". What the Deputies are seeking to do is to say it would not be an appropriate form of social housing support. I am not saying this is a permanent solution to people's housing issues, but let us not put in the legislation something that is not in it. I am not saying that under the Bill we will suddenly build a pile of houses because we are not going to do so. There is an issue with supply, as I have acknowledged, and I have spoken in various debates about how we might address it. The Bill is not the answer to all housing issues.

The cases described by many Deputies arise under the current rent supplement scheme. They involve people who are at risk of being kicked out of their houses because of the current rent supplement scheme which has developed, as many Deputies rightly said, into a so-called long-term solution to their problems. There will still be under the Department of Social Protection a short-term rent supplement scheme which is what it should be about for those who find themselves urgently in need of housing. What the Bill is attempting to do is to give some security to those in so-called short-term rent supplement schemes and allow them, for example, to go back to work. We had a reasonable discussion on the purpose of the legislation on Second Stage, but it is not meant to provide the only long-term solution to anybody's housing problems. In fact, the word "permanent" is not used anywhere in the legislation.

Of course, we have issues of supply and there are financial constraints which were also faced by the previous Government in the last couple of years of its life, regardless of who was at fault, but we will move away from them as quickly as we can and we will do so by trying to fix the economy. We cannot pay for social housing to the extent that it is required from current capital budgets. As that is the reality, we must find ways of addressing the issue of supply.

Deputy Ruth Coppinger talked about the Labour Party's way, but if she looks at other countries, including the Nordic countries which have had social democratic governments and systems in place for years, she will see that they have operated systems which involve a mix, with some housing being directly funded by the state through local authorities, some provided through a very large voluntary housing sector and some by private owners. I take the point that we need much greater security of tenure for people who find themselves in that position and we need to learn from neighbouring countries in that regard. That is why we are amending the Residential Tenancies Act and I am willing to look at the issue of rent controls and have asked the Housing Agency to carry out a short review which will be ready for us in about one month. I am not saying we do not need to regulate the private sector. Of course, we need to regulate it. I am certainly not happy with the fact that more and more money has been poured into the pockets of private landlords without proper controls. At least with this Bill the local authorities will have some control over what happens.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett spoke about slum landlordism, while Deputy Róisín Shortall spoke about the bad conditions in which people were living. That is why we are dealing with the issue of regulation and amending the Residential Tenancies Act. I heard people say recently on "Liveline" with Joe Duffy that we should row back on standards and allow for bedsits that did not have sanitary facilities. I am not giving into this. I am not giving into the landlord class that is suggesting I should do so.

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