Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is good to hear. With regard to the number of void and vacant housing and the turnaround time, a simple scheme should be considered, whereby if people who are allocated a house are willing to put their own money into making it habitable it should be offset against the rent. Limerick has 4,500 people on the housing waiting list. It is just not good enough. It is not sustainable that 4,500 people are on the waiting list in Limerick when the Government is refusing to review the situation with regard to rent caps.

These people find they have to rent in the private sector where they face the prospect of eviction, a further knock-on effect of which could result in them facing homelessness which pertains across the country and which needs to be addressed. It is not unique to only locations outside Limerick.

I want a more proactive approach to be taken by the local authorities, with a lead from Government, in dealing with provision for people who are separating. When a man or a woman going through a separation process seeks to get on to the local authority housing list, which would then entitle him or her to receive rent supplement, he or she tends to get strung out for too long. There is a provision in the housing (miscellaneous provisions) legislation but it is being applied by local authorities in a draconian manner. The local authorities need to take a more common sense approach. As the Minister of State will know, in many cases the process of obtaining a court separation agreement can take years. We need to have a more hands on, common sense approach to such allocation.

Regarding the Central Bank announcements, the relaxing of the loan to value ratio back to 90% is a welcome move because it will go a long way towards people achieving the aspiration of home ownership. The issue of the non-first-time buyers needs to be addressed, especially given the fact that it is 50-50 split between first-time buyers and non-first-time buyers. Non-first-time buyers are being asked to come up with a 20% deposit and that could be difficult to secure particularly, if due to family circumstances and the size of their family, they have to trade up to a bigger house. That certainly needs to be examined.

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