Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Even though that is a reasonably significant slot, it is not in any way sufficient to deal with all of the housing issues that we must address. I do not view housing in isolation. Nearly more than anything else, it defines the type of society one wants.

Before I address the wide vision for housing and the issues alluded to in the Fianna Fáil motion, we have not dealt in a constructive way with the crisis many people face due to debt. We have introduced personal insolvency measures but, given the small number who have availed to that process, it is too complicated.

The mortgage-to-rent scheme is one that is great in theory, but can anyone show me someone who has been able to avail of it?

There are so many crinkles in it, so many conditions that one would have to fulfil, that in fact the Minister will find that the number of people who have availed of that scheme to date is totally insignificant.

We need to examine the problems faced by people on a day-by-day basis who in some cases may be paying their mortgages but are finding it nearly impossible to handle the unsecured debt. In other cases, they have done deals with the bank to tide them over for another period, but there is no long-term solution for a large number of them. If constructive leeway was given, these people would be in a sustainable position.

The Government often talks about changing the minimum wage. One aggressive change was made in the previous four-year plan, in which there was a promise to strengthen and improve the mortgage interest supplement, which was a safety net to tide people over when they temporarily lost employment and could not pay their mortgage. The interest kept getting paid until they got a job again. Extraordinarily, this measure was removed by the Government. For the life of me, as an ex-Minister for Social Protection, I cannot understand the rationale of the Tánaiste in acceding to such an idea. We know from statistics that 60% of those who become unemployed are re-employed within a year. By preventing them from falling into a spiral of debt, the mortgage interest supplement was hugely cost-effective.

I wish to discuss the wider issue of housing policy and what we believe is the broad policy we should pursue. Some commentators said we had too much home ownership in this country and that we should pursue Continental policies and practices in this regard. One of the great contributors to the stability of post-Independence Ireland was high home ownership. People who owned their own homes had a stake in society. From the early days of the State, assistance was given to people to own and improve their houses. It was given in direct grants and through tax relief. It seems that somebody somewhere - these great people who know all the problems but only consider narrow financial criteria - decided it would be much better if we all rented or leased houses. We need to have that debate in the first place, because I think they are wrong.

I have always believed that apartments have a role to play, but for the vast majority of families with children, a conventional house - not a duplex or an apartment - should remain the preferred choice. Children are the future. They are the raw material that will pay all of our pensions, please God. If we do not look after them and give them a stable childhood - not only for their own personal well-being but also for society's benefit - then we cannot expect the best outcomes. Security of tenure, for those who can afford it, means buying their own houses. For those who cannot afford to do so, it means getting a local authority house, as was the case in the past. Security of tenure for families is vital. It is a totally different situation for young, mobile people who are coming and going, but we must focus on the importance of stability for families.

There is another issue that this Government seems to ignore totally, which is the insistence on having a policy that concentrates everything into the major cities. For example, the Government insists on rolling back policies for rural development and decentralisation. It should not be surprised, however, if it creates a housing crisis in those cities which are expanding too fast. Meanwhile, areas of the country that could provide houses quite easily are left without people to live in such houses. The situation is exacerbated by new social problems that are created.

We should re-examine our spatial strategies. The optimum arrangement would be to try to get every community in the country growing, rather than allowing the depopulation of certain areas which already have schools as well as sports and health facilities. People are being put unnecessarily into new estates with no community bonds or supports, including being near their families and facilities.

I wish to echo what my colleague Deputy Kitt said. There seems to be a policy driven by architects and town planners whereby there is something objectionable about the rural house. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has instructed local authorities not to allow the building of any more one-off rural council houses. That is gentrification of the worst kind. In other words, rural Ireland is moving away from being a mixed community as those who cannot afford to build their own houses are moved away. All sorts of other barriers are being put in place which prevent people from settling in the communities they came from. The upshot is that old people are living without their families around them.

The stratification of society includes moving people into towns and segregating them by social class. That is one of the biggest social challenges we face in towns and cities. Housing is not just about putting a roof over somebody's head; it is about the construction of our society. Bad planning featuring segregated housing in cities is one of the greatest causes of anti-social behaviour and other such challenges we face every day. There are large pockets of society where, despite all the resources put into education, very few children can aspire to third level education.

Housing policy must be societal rather than just financial. Once one knows what one's societal aims are and what one is trying to do, one should then build the financial constructions around them - not the other way around. Leaving housing policy to central bankers is wrong. The bubble was not caused by people owning one house for themselves, but by people who started to buy extra houses and speculate on the market. We should therefore return to a policy of prioritising single home ownership and helping each family to own one house.

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