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

First, I express my support for this measure. It is a small measure that is one part of the whole housing package that has to be delivered. It is very important in terms of the provision of private housing that we watch the situation to see if people can afford to purchase. If there are continuing difficulties in this area, it is very important that we make further interventions.

On the general issue of housing, I welcome the fact €2.2 billion is being set aside in the budget to address the chronic situation that exists for so many people. This will deliver a substantial number of houses next year and, in one way or another, it will deliver up to 7,500 houses in all.

I wish the State could put more money into the direct provision of social housing.

Given the debt borne by this State, I welcome the fact that the Government has devised various different models for acquiring finance to provide housing. Of all the issues we face at the moment, I would ask the Cabinet to keep a very close eye on how things are developing in housing, because it is absolutely essential that people are able to acquire housing regardless of whether they are dependent on social housing or private housing. We must get away from the current situation in which many people are unable to get housing or are living in situations that are totally unacceptable.

I represent a constituency that has land that was zoned for housing in the early 1970s but is still lying idle. It is beside the railway that comes into Dublin from Munster and the Galway direction. If that land is not used, I am very keen to see severe penalties for those who are sitting on that land. I ask the Cabinet to see that land is not being hoarded and that it is used for housing, where that will be of benefit to the local community and city.

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