Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015. The Government needs to focus on the housing needs of our people. In my own constituency of Dublin Bay North there are 5,000 people on the housing waiting list. We need to build more houses, particularly social housing, and to do so quickly. We also need to deal with the issue of high rents, which matter I will return to later. Doing nothing or progressing slowly is not an option. The Minister needs to focus on housing provision first. For this reason, I welcome this legislation and hope there will be movement on this issue soon.

This Bill focuses primarily on address of housing supply related issues with a view to facilitating increased housing construction activity, especially in the Dublin area where demand currently out-strips supply, with consequential knock-on effects on house prices and rents. To put this issue in context, in 2013 the number of housing units constructed nationally plummeted to 8,300, of which only 1,360 were in Dublin. There have been some modest signs of recovery in the sector since the publication of the Construction 2020 strategy, with the number of house completions nationally having increased to 11,000 units in 2014, almost 3,000 of which are in Dublin. However, the housing agencies and ESRI estimate that to meet housing need in Dublin alone 7,500 houses are required annually. A considerable increase in house completions is required to restore the housing market in Dublin to equilibrium. That is the reality on the ground.

The issue of rents and rent controls must also be addressed. Most economists say rent controls do not work. In my view, we need to increase the rent supplement to match market prices. We also need to build more social housing. On the tenancy and rental side, we need to improve security of tenure for tenants and to impose stronger regulation on landlords to support families. I put forward these proposals to help resolve the crisis in the housing sector. To be without a home is very sad for families. Many of our young people are paying high rents and would love to buy an apartment or house but they are being continually squeezed out of the market. This is a sad reality. Many commentators have suggested that Irish people need to get used to the idea of renting. It is the lifetime ambition of the vast majority of Irish people to own their own home and there is nothing wrong with that. It was suggested recently by some commentators that this should be frowned upon.

We must build more houses and regenerate the construction sector.

In regard to people on rent supplement, currently some 70,000 households have their rent paid through the rent supplement scheme. Rent supplement tenants find it increasingly difficult to access and retain homes and this is now a major cause of homelessness according to all those working at the front line on housing issues. Rents in Dublin and other urban centres have been increasing for some time and are now spiralling out of control. Rent supplements are out of kilter with market rents and many landlords advertise properties stating that rent supplement is not accepted. This is an issue that is raised in all of our constituency clinics. What it means is that low income tenants are being displaced by those who can pay more. The sad reality is that those with the most are being facilitated. We must deal with the issue of housing supply. An increased supply will improve access and make rents more affordable. Even when housing was in ready supply, major difficulties existed for rent supplement tenants in accessing that supply. This raises a question not just about the adequacy of rent supplement limits, but of whether the scheme is fit for purpose. We must examine these issues carefully.

So far, the tactic of successive Governments has been to wait for a market correction, in the hope that the various issues resolve themselves. They have taken a minimum cost approach that tries to give the impression of a policy that is working but which in fact kicks the problems down the road. We have been left with major problems with regard to rent supplement, which is difficult to implement in a rising rent market, as landlords leave the scheme in search of higher rents from the private sector. This poor value for money long term funds poor quality dwellings and distorts the rental market. We now have a severe shortage of dwellings for rent supplement claimants, a severe shortage of social housing and rising waiting lists. We need to focus on the immediate problems for these people.

A funding model to build more permanent and affordable social housing which does not add to the national debt and is sustainable through recessions is achievable. Capital for house building can be raised through off balance sheet borrowing from non-Government sources, banks, social investment bonds, standard bonds, NAMA, Government sources, the Housing Finance Agency and the European Investment Bank. Equity finance, real estate investment trusts and various other funding avenues are also available. With these funds we can increase our building capacity and get local authorities involved again, set up new housing associations and improve the build capacity of existing housing associations by way of amalgamation, co-operatives and partnerships. These are just some ideas the Minister should consider.

A recent ESRI report dealing with the projected population change and housing demand at county level, prepared by Dr. Edgar Morgenroth, provides projections of the number of households in each county for 2021 and analyses the consequences of the projected change on the required supply of housing. For Dublin from 2011 to 2021, the average increase is projected to be 8,000 households, which will have significant implications for the required housing units, particularly when we consider that in 2013 only 1,360 units were completed in Dublin. For the State as a whole, approximately 18,000 additional households are projected to be created each year. We must take these reports and facts into consideration. The report suggests that 18,000 additional units are needed on an annual basis between 2011 and 2021 to cover the country's housing needs. This is substantially higher than the 8,301 houses built in 2013.

I welcome this Bill and the main provisions dealing with amendments to Part V arrangements on social and affordable housing. I also welcome the fact that reduced development contribution charges adopted by local authorities since 2013 can affect planning permissions granted prior to that date. The Government needs to focus on helping people who need houses. It needs to get on with the job of building more houses.

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