Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015. Social housing is the biggest single issue the country will face in coming years. At present rates we will need to build 25,000 housing units each year, just to fulfil the current demand. We need to remove as many barriers as possible, especially from a planning point of view, to ensure the housing units that are needed are built.

I am particularly pleased the Bill will address some of these issues, including the amendment of Part V provisions of the Planning and Development Act to support the provision of social housing, the introduction of revised arrangements relating to the application of development contributions by planning authorities, and the introduction of a vacant-site levy to encourage the development of vacant and underutilised sites in urban areas for housing and regeneration purposes.

I am very familiar with the issue of housing, which is the single biggest issue I deal with on behalf of my constituents every week. People in Louth are waiting for an average of seven years before being offered accommodation. Based on my regular dealings with Louth County Council officials, I know they are currently dealing with housing applications from 2008. In addition there are nearly as many people on the transfer list.

While the new housing assistance payment is in theory an excellent system, unfortunately it is not working as intended. Many constituents complain that there are far too many barriers, meaning that the housing assistance payment does not work as intended.

One of the biggest challenges we face is the ever-rising cost of rent. In Dundalk the cost of renting an average home has risen from €500 per month to nearly €800 per month in a very short space of time. This is unsustainable and the only solution is to build more affordable housing units.

I am especially pleased that my constituency has secured more than €57 million for social housing which will result in more than 800 units becoming available over the next two years. Areas such as Coxes Demesne in Dundalk will get 35 housing units and Fr. Finn Park in Louth village will get 20 units. These are just two of the many areas that will benefit from investment secured for the county. This initiative is the first the county has seen in a number of years and will be of enormous help to those on the housing lists now and in the future.

While I am very pleased with the €57 million investment that has been secured for my constituency, I am fully aware that we have to address the underlying issues that result in people ending up on housing waiting lists. Full-time and sustainable employment is the main factor in getting people off the waiting lists. By obtaining meaningful employment people will be set free from the trap of social welfare dependency.

Through no fault of their own people have become trapped in this cycle of dependency on social welfare. Every week I hear from constituents that they feel trapped and that there is no escape from dependency on social welfare. It has been proven time and again that the only way out of social welfare dependency is meaningful employment.

In Louth, job creation and employment is better than in most other counties. In the Dundalk area alone unemployment has fallen from its peak of 7,023 in April 2012 to 5,900, which is a decrease of 16% in under three years. While companies such as SalesSense, Paypal, eBay and National Pen have quite rightly received all the headlines, small businesses in areas such as Dundalk, Ardee, Carlingford, Omeath, Dunleer and Drogheda, are to be commended on having dragged themselves through the most difficult recession we have experienced and are now beginning to reap the benefits.

While a lot has been achieved in Louth and it is now in a much better situation than it was three years ago, we must not lose sight of the fact that there is much more to be done. We must reduce our unemployment levels further in order that all sections of society benefit from the improving economic situation. We must ensure those on the housing waiting lists do not have to wait on average seven years to be housed and that those on the transfer lists also do not have to wait almost seven years for a transfer.

This Bill will be beneficial in helping to reduce the housing waiting lists and will ensure we reach our target of 25,000 units being made available annually. For this reason, I welcome this Bill and support its passage through the Houses.

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