Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015 which will have a significant impact on residents in my constituency of Dublin Bay North and many other constituencies all over the country. It aims to deal with issues of housing supply, but, as Deputy Thomas P. Broughan argued, action in this regard is not happening in a timely enough manner. If the Government is serious about addressing the issue, it needs stronger legislation to deal with the housing crisis which is particularly acute in Dublin.

Owning one’s home is not a right, but it should not become a privilege either. We need to develop high density, mixed use housing to provide a variety of residency solutions, including family homes, starter homes, studios and homes for the elderly. This legislation does not cater for different home owners, an issue that must be looked at as a matter of urgency.

There is a housing crisis in Dublin. Put simply, not enough houses are being built to match demand. This is affecting both the private housing and social housing sectors. In many areas of Dublin constituents have been on local authority housing lists for ten to 15 years. This is shameful and an issue the Government inherited from its predecessor. There are 21,000 people on Dublin City Council’s housing waiting list, while nationally there are over 100,000 people are waiting to be housed by local authorities. Only 1,360 housing units were built in Dublin last year, but 18,000 units are needed per annum to enable supply to keep up with demand. There is a massive gap which will not be closed overnight or even in a year or two, but the Government should be more ambitious in its targets. It set out its social housing strategy for the years 2015 to 2020 which proposes to make over 100,000 units available nationwide for those in need of housing. All local authorities have a housing target set by the Government. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government must monitor the position closely to make sure the targets sets are met. This issue must be treated in an urgent manner.

The budget for social housing has been reduced significantly, from €1.7 billion in 2008 to just over €597,000 in 2014. More money is needed for housing construction. In 2013 only 293 houses were completed by local authorities, a pathetic figure when one considers the level of demand. The mortgage market is not functioning correctly. Potential home owners are trying to secure mortgage finance, but they cannot meet the new deposit requirements laid down by the Central Bank. This means that they are being forced onto social housing waiting lists. There is a severe lack of affordable housing in the market.

The housing crisis is spiralling out of control, with 1,800 people presenting to the homeless services in Dublin every day. They have been priced out of the housing market and are being housed by Dublin City Council in emergency accommodation, including hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation. This is costing the local authority a substantial amount of money, while also depriving families with young children of anything resembling normality. Such families are often forced to live far away from their children’s schools and do not have access to proper cooking facilities and so forth. This is not a long-term or even a medium-term solution; rather it is a fire fighting solution that is not sustainable. What we urgently need is an increase in supply. The inclusion of a vacant site levy of 3% in the Bill is very welcome in that context. The aim of such a levy is to make more land available for housing, but it is not acceptable that such a levy will not come into operation until January 2019. It is a bit rich that it is not kicking in from January 2016. I do not understand why the Government is waiting so long before introducing the levy considering the urgency of the issue. Dublin City Council has 152 vacant sites on its list and a further 131 sites on which there are derelict buildings. These buildings should be demolished to make way for high density housing, as proposed by Renua. Pension funds and other investors will invest in housing once a decent commercial return is available to them, which is possible through rent supplement payments and the other moneys made available to tenants. A lot could be done in this regard and it is a shame to see so many derelict buildings around the capital city. They are lying idle and will continue to lie idle until the vacant site levy kicks in. Office space is also in short supply in Dublin, as pointed out by both NAMA and IDA Ireland. Once the levy kicks in, it will free up land for residential or commercial development.

The construction sector has shrunk considerably, with only 123,000 employed compared to 250,000 in 2008. It suffered enormously following the recent economic collapse. New legislation is needed to rejuvenate it and create thousands of new construction jobs. To be fair, the Government is encouraging young people to take up a trade again and become involved in construction related activity. What other legislation will the Minister bring before the House to deal with the housing crisis?

Will he introduce any emergency legislation in the coming months to help alleviate the crisis? It is having a huge psychological effect on families not living in proper houses, forced to live in hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation, and having to move around constantly. It makes it extremely difficult and stressful for families to have a proper family life. In his concluding remarks I ask the Minister of State to respond on urgent emergency legislation on housing.

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