Dáil debates

Wednesday, 30 September 2015

Social Housing Policy: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]

 

6:25 pm

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the catastrophe which Deputy McDonald has just outlined. A number of times earlier this year, the Government made a big play of addressing the housing issue. I received its capital investment plan but there is nothing new in it on housing and dealing with this important issue. The figures we have seen will only deal with a tiny percentage of those who are on the waiting list and would benefit from the new houses that are coming on-stream. While all new houses are welcome, not enough is being done.

If it was in Government, Sinn Féin would increase the availability of funding for the local authorities to ensure that long-term solutions are put in place for social housing. The legislation that went through the House before the summer break, which reduced the social housing contribution under Part V in private housing developments, baffled me. I was chair of a housing strategic policy committee, SPC, when that was in operation. Although it was not a silver bullet, it was certainly part of the solution. In the case of County Laois, we were getting 18% of all new builds. They were being bought by the council, not given to them. There was a level of success there. It could have been improved on and not everything was done right, yet I would say it was 80% or 90% successful, which is better than 0%.

In respect of vacant sites, I proposed a Bill earlier in the year and outlined the need for derelict sights to be utilised and for developers and those who are sitting on sites to either use them or lose them. There are 123 such sites in the county.

In the short time I have available, I want to outline a few figures for the Minister of State. NAMA has made 6,500 residential properties available for social housing, according to my information and has made that known to the Minister of State's Department and to the councils. However, it has only confirmed demand for 2,500. There are only 1,500 already tenanted. There is obviously a logjam and I would like to know what is happening. This is an issue I have banged on about in the past and will again.

The Minister of State is holding up voids as being the solution. They are a solution. Looking at the list of voids, County Roscommon, with a small council, has 113 houses empty. County Mayo has 145 while in the case of County Laois, there are only four voids out of over 2,000 properties. There would be four houses empty any week, anywhere. The private sector would not have as good a record as that. The voids are not being left empty in County Laois. In the case of County Kildare, there are 39 out of a bigger housing stock, which is not massive. Work is being done filling the voids. We do not want to blame the local authorities for all of this either.

There are in the region of 7,000 households on the waiting list in County Kildare. In the case of County Laois, a much smaller county, there are 1,773 on the waiting list. Going by areas, there are 367 seeking housing in Mountmellick; 419 in Portarlington; and 1,150 in Portlaoise. In the town of Monasterevin in south Kildare, there are 536 households seeking housing and not a social house has been built in that area for over 20 years. The figures are astronomical.

Focusing on solutions, the Government always asks what the Opposition has put forward. We put forward 22 separate measures to solve the problems. I will not read them all out but there are a few which I will highlight. They include: increasing funding to local authorities; reversing the prioritisation of State-subsidised private rented accommodation, its effective privatisation, through the housing assistance payment, HAP, the rental accommodation scheme, RAS and social leasing; bringing this to the attention of the European Commission and have it declared a national emergency; and capping. This needs to be done and I know the Minister, Deputy Kelly, keeps talking about it. For God's sake, he should go and do it. The issue of NAMA needs to be addressed and the Government needs to set up municipal trusts so that money can be borrowed by local authorities off balance sheet to fund houses. The Minister should restore Part V to 20% and bring the legislation to the House in order to do that. We should also examine the feasibility of a rural resettlement scheme.

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