Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Paudie Coffey, on their appointments and wish them the best in their new roles. They face difficult jobs. The housing issues we are discussing were not created by them but they have an opportunity to do something positive and rectify the problems facing many people throughout the country. I left the Chamber to get a copy of the proposed amendment because I did not have a chance to read it before I arrived. It outlines some of the actions taken by the Government since it took power and some are welcome - I will not suggest the Government has done nothing positive. The former Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, worked on the issue of vacant dwellings in local authority areas and earmarked funding for this. This is starting to pay dividends in my area of Cork city - vacant houses have become available and this is welcome.

The former Minister of State also introduced the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014, which brought in the housing assistance payment, HAP, but I have a problem with this system. In theory, allowing a person continued access to housing supports when re-entering employment is very welcome. I raised my issue with the HAP system at the time it was debated and so did Deputy Ellis. My problem, specifically, is when a person becomes a HAP recipient, he or she is taken off the social housing list. I have read the Government position on this and I have examined the statements of the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly. They are reflected in the amendment that is to be moved by the Minister, which states that a HAP recipient will be able to access other housing options, such as local authority housing and voluntary housing schemes. However, many local authorities do not operate a transfer list. If the Minister is serious in what he says, he must direct such local authorities to operate a transfer list scheme. He must also outline the basic criteria for operating such a scheme or there will be a haphazard approach throughout the State. Uniformity is required when it comes to transfer onto the HAP system.

Regarding the construction of social housing, Sinn Féin has identified €1 billion that could create 6,600 dwellings at an average price of around €150,000 - this would save around €29 million in increased rents. The amendment to be tabled by the Minister states that 2014 will see the completion of around 11,000 houses and points out that a further 6,000 are earmarked. If this is the case, then I welcome it. However, this brings me to the main issue. It is not just a question of building houses - it will take more than 6,600 newly constructed houses to rectify the problem. This is a multifaceted issue that requires a multifaceted solution of which the construction of social housing is only one aspect.

Newly constructed social housing cannot consist only of standard two and three bedroom houses. I served as a councillor on Cork City Council for 11 years and over 50% of the people on the waiting list there are single applicants. We could build 6,600 or 11,000 two and three bedroom houses this year but it will not cater for single applicants. If we are serious about reducing housing waiting lists through a scheme of social housing construction, there must be a mix that caters for everyone in every circumstance. In addition to this, some areas have an ageing population and in my constituency I know of very elderly people in three and four bedroom council homes who want to downsize. This may be due to disability or difficulty getting upstairs and to the bathroom. Such people tell the council that they no longer require such a large home and would prefer something smaller that will be less onerous - perhaps a bungalow with a walk-in shower. They ask that the house be given to a family that needs it. Unfortunately, Cork City Council does not have that housing stock. Elderly people are forced to remain in three or four bedroom houses where it is impossible for them to get upstairs or access bathrooms. In such circumstances, housing officials recommend the person apply for an adoption grant to convert a bath into a walk-in shower.

They might get a stairlift. Then they apply for the housing adaptation grant, only to find there is no funding for it. They are stuck in this situation and meanwhile a family living in very overcrowded conditions and crying out for housing cannot get this house because we do not have the proper mix of house build. The Minister will publish a report on social housing in the coming weeks and I hope any report coming from the Department will take these issues on board. These are the nitty-gritty issues which would go a very long way to giving some relief to many individuals on the housing list.

I also wish to discuss rent allowance, the private sector and individuals on rent allowance schemes, RAS. The Minister will correct me if I am wrong but I believe that in the 1980s we had a rent cap in place, or at least there used to be rent controls. As far as I am aware they were ruled unconstitutional as the result of a court case. Earlier this year the then Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, stated she was examining the possibility of some form of rent stability measure. Whether she wanted to call it rent control was down to herself. In some of his recent remarks the Minister has ruled out this option, but he does not state this in the amendment to the motion, which states all options will be examined. If this is one of the options which comes forward as part of the report due next week the Minister will examine it, and if it means changing legislation this will be seriously considered. I welcome this. A total of 80% of people who come to my constituency office do so with housing-related issues such as those with a mortgage crisis; those on the verge being kicked out of a private tenancy because the rent has increased and they can no longer afford to give a backhander to the landlord because the rent supplement is nowhere near adequate; or the standard of accommodation not being up to scratch.

Earlier today I downloaded from the Department's website the most recent document, which dates from 2011. The document had multifaceted solutions and one of these was RAS. I do not know if the review will take RAS into account but I can tell the Minister hand on heart it is a disaster. People come to my office who went on RAS believing they would remain on local authority waiting lists only to find out later this was not the case. A property may have been up to scratch when it was first inspected but now it is in RAS the owner may have decided he or she is getting the money and will not make refurbishments or maintain the house. At present some RAS properties are a disgrace. RAS needs to be examined because it is a disaster waiting to happen. People are coming to our offices and going to local authorities stating they want to get out of RAS properties and back into local authority properties if possible. It is just not working.

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